First China Quiz (there is one prize)

March 3, 2010

China Quiz—the answers are in the first hundred posts at iLook China. The first person to answer all the questions correctly will win a free copy of either “My Splendid Concubine” or “Our Hart”.  If the winner lives outside the United States, I will provide a free e-book copy for them to download. There is no deadline. This quiz and the prize will be kept open until the first person answers all the questions correctly. The answers may be found in the first one-hundred posts.  If you find an answer from another source, provide the source but it must match or be similar to the answer found in iLook China. Write your answers in a comment to this post. Make sure there is a way for me to contact you.

1. Why did I write American Hypocrisy, my first post at iLook China?
2. What Chinese city would you find next to the Westlake?
3. What is the name of Zhang Zimou’s night spectacular on the Li River?
4. What is the first of all virtues to most Chinese and what does it mean?
5. Why was the Reuter’s employee roughed up outside Foxconn’s walled city-like facility in Guanlan?
6. During what Dynasty did the Chinese invent paper money and add credit type loans to the banking system?
7. Bob Grant said, “In all honesty, over the years, I have ___ ___ __ ___________ __ ________ flight anywhere inside China.” (fill in the blanks for the six words that are missing)
8. After Mao died in 1976, what did Deng Xiaoping introduce to China for a brief period-of-time, and what was the public allowed to do?
9. What American president’s administration seems to have been the role model for the changes in China’s health care system and what kind of health care system was this?
10. Before the Communists won China in 1949, what was the life expectancy for the Chinese people?
11. What was the name of the health care program that Mao started and how did this system work?
12. (Fill in the blank) Chinese Internet users are _____ times as likely to have blogs as Americans.
13. How far did Tom Carter walk while taking pictures for China: Portrait of a People?
14.  Where will a Disneyland be built in China?
15. On February 28, 60 Minutes ran a segment about a Taiwanese man spying on the United States for mainland China. What was this man trying to discover and why would China care?
16. Who moved China’s first Capital and what was the name of that first capital?
17. Construction of the Longi Rice Terraces was started during what Dynasty?
18. What do the Chinese think about the crew of the Tough Titi, an American B-24 Liberator bomber?
19. What did Confucius say about the importance of gaining an education?
20. What happened in 1421?


Rediscovering China

February 15, 2010

China has turned into a tourist destination—for the Chinese.

Before Nixon visited China, the country was surrounded by an invisible bamboo curtain. It’s citizens were not allowed to travel far—even from their homes. In September and October 2008, there were so many Chinese tourists, that we were the minority.

Sedan Chairs Waiting to Climb the Dragon's Back

The Dragon’s Back is in Southeast China near Vietnam. After our bus climbed a narrow, winding mountain road, we reached a parking lot. For a few yuan, we gained entry and men with iron legs were willing to carry us to the top in sedan chairs. We walked.

The construction of the Longi Rice Terraces started during the Yuan Dynasty (1271 – 1368). Today, many Zhuan and Yao ethnic people live simple lives that honor the laws of nature. China’s central government encourages that life.

A hundred feet further, vendor’s stalls lined both sides of the road. It was China’s market economy in action reminding me of Disneyland and the shops that sold trinkets no one needs.

Halfway to the top, we reached a village built on stilts clinging to the mountain. The steep slopes were terraced to grow rice. Since it was mid afternoon, we stopped to eat local rice cooked in sections of bamboo on a hot bed of coals.

Cleaning Home Grown Rice Safe from the Sun

Mao’s Cultural Revolution ended decades in the past, and China is moving on while time seems to stand still on the Dragon’s Back.

See About iLook China

Lloyd Lofthouse is the author of the award winning novels My Splendid Concubine and Our Hart.