Q 01/05

Why do families avoid using brooms on Chinese New Year's Day?

A) Ancestors could be disturbed

B) Luck could be swept away

C) Dust would spoil the feast

D) Evil spirits could get in

Answer · why

B) Luck could be swept away

Luck could be swept away, so families give the house a thorough clean before New Year to clear out the old year's bad luck, then leave the brooms alon...

Q 02/05

Which food is eaten at the Duanwu, or Double Fifth, holiday?

A) Jiaozi

B) Zongzi

C) Baozi

D) Wontons

Answer · why

B) Zongzi

Zongzi were traditionally wrapped at home for the festival, but today most people buy them ready-made from shops and restaurants, and only some famili...

Q 03/05

Which game is traditionally tried at noon on the Dragon Boat Festival?

A) Balancing a chopstick upright

B) Standing an egg on its end

C) Spinning a coin on its edge

D) Stacking coins into a tower

Answer · why

B) Standing an egg on its end

Standing an egg on its end at noon was one of several festival customs believed to keep disease and evil away, along with bathing in herbal water.

Q 04/05

Dragon boat races most famously honour which poet and minister of the state of Chu?

A) Li Bai

B) Bai Juyi

C) Du Fu

D) Qu Yuan

Answer · why

D) Qu Yuan

Qu Yuan was exiled by his king and drowned himself when Qin took Chu's capital, though some regions honour other heroes, such as Wu Zixu, instead.

Q 05/05

In which river did Qu Yuan drown himself?

A) The Miluo River

B) The Yellow River

C) The Yangtze River

D) The Pearl River

Answer · why

A) The Miluo River

The Miluo River is where locals are said to have paddled out to save the poet or recover his body, the tale often given as the origin of dragon boat r...