Photo location game · Asia

China landmarks quiz: guess where 25 photos were taken

25 places in China, each with a photo, a fact and a spot on the map. Play five of them here, then study the rest below.

25 places·12 easy, 8 medium, 4 hard, 1 expert·Free

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Quick round · 5 photos

Five photos from China. Tap the map where you think each one was taken.

Where they are

25 on the map
Hover or tap a dot to name the place.

All 25 places

by id
Great Wall of China
Great Wall of Chinaeasy

The defensive wall snaking along forested ridges north of Beijing.

Photo: Velatrix / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Forbidden City, Beijing
Forbidden City, Beijingeasy

The vermilion-walled imperial palace complex at the centre of Beijing.

Photo: User:kallgan / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Terracotta Army, Xi’an, China
Terracotta Army, Xi’aneasy

Thousands of clay soldiers guarding a Qin emperor’s tomb.

Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Zhangjiajie, China
Zhangjiajiehard

Thousands of sheer sandstone pillars rising through mist.

Photo: chensiyuan / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Li River, Guilin, China
Li River, Guilinhard

A river winding among conical karst hills and rice fields.

Photo: chensiyuan / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Potala Palace, Lhasa, China
Potala Palace, Lhasahard

A white-and-red palace-fortress towering over a Tibetan city.

Photo: Ondřej Žváček / CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Pudong Skyline, Shanghai, China
Pudong Skyline, Shanghaihard

Futuristic towers across the river from the historic Bund.

Photo: King of Hearts / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Zhangye Danxia, China
Zhangye Danxiaexpert

Striped rainbow-coloured sandstone ridges in Gansu.

Photo: Terry Wu / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pangong Tso, People's Republic of China
Pangong Tsomedium

A 134-km salt lake at 4,225 metres, stretching from Ladakh into Tibet.

Photo: KennyOMG / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Temple of Heaven, People's Republic of China
Temple of Heaveneasy

The circular Hall of Prayer where Ming and Qing emperors prayed for good harvests.

Photo: Shujianyang / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Nanjing, People's Republic of China
Nanjingmedium

A former Chinese capital where Ming city walls meet a modern skyline.

Photo: xiquinhosilva / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Makalu, People's Republic of China
Makalueasy

The fifth highest mountain on Earth, a four-sided pyramid near Everest.

Photo: Ben Tubby / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Leshan Giant Buddha, People's Republic of China
Leshan Giant Buddhaeasy

A 71-metre seated Buddha carved into a cliff face where three rivers meet.

Photo: xiquinhosilva / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mount Kailash, People's Republic of China
Mount Kailasheasy

A pyramid-shaped Tibetan peak sacred to four religions, never climbed.

Photo: Jean-Marie Hullot / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Longmen Grottoes, People's Republic of China
Longmen Grottoesmedium

Tens of thousands of Buddha figures carved into limestone cliffs along a river.

Photo: Rialfver Original uploader was Rialfver at nl.wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Yungang Grottoes, People's Republic of China
Yungang Grottoesmedium

Some 51,000 Buddhist statues carved into a sandstone cliff in the 5th century.

Photo: Marcin Białek / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Jengish Chokusu, People's Republic of China
Jengish Chokusumedium

Victory Peak, the northernmost 7,000-metre mountain in the world.

Photo: Chen Zhao / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Jiuzhaigou Valley, People's Republic of China
Jiuzhaigou Valleymedium

A valley of turquoise lakes and travertine waterfalls in the Sichuan mountains.

Photo: Chensiyuan / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Summer Palace, People's Republic of China
Summer Palaceeasy

The imperial lake garden of Beijing, with a hill of temples over Kunming Lake.

Photo: xiquinhosilva / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Wulingyuan, People's Republic of China
Wulingyuanmedium

Thousands of quartz-sandstone pillars, the inspiration for the floating mountains in Avatar.

Photo: chensiyuan / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gobi Desert, People's Republic of China
Gobi Deserteasy

Asia's largest desert, where the first dinosaur eggs were discovered.

Photo: Christopher Michel from San Francisco, USA / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mogao Caves, People's Republic of China
Mogao Caveseasy

Nearly 500 Buddhist cave temples painted over a thousand years on the Silk Road.

Photo: Zhangzhugang / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Yinxu, People's Republic of China
Yinxumedium

The Shang dynasty capital where the oracle bones, China's earliest writing, were found.

Photo: xiquinhosilva / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
West Lake, People's Republic of China
West Lakeeasy

Hangzhou's lake of pagodas and causeways, the model for gardens across China and Japan.

Photo: Louisa Salazar / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mount Everest, People's Republic of China
Mount Everesteasy

The highest mountain on Earth, 8,849 metres above sea level.

Photo: Mount_Everest_as_seen_from_Drukair2.jpg: shrimpo1967 derivative work: Papa Lima Whiskey 2 (talk) / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to place them

Pangong Tso is the westernmost of China's 25 places and Pudong Skyline, Shanghai the easternmost, 4,000 km apart. The north-east is the crowded corner: Great Wall of China, Forbidden City, Beijing, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace, all inside 120 km. Jengish Chokusu sits alone, 930 km from Pangong Tso, its nearest neighbour in the set.

Great Wall of China and Forbidden City, Beijing are rated easy and Zhangjiajie and Li River, Guilin hard; the other 21 sit in between. The expert photo is Zhangye Danxia. Gobi Desert is the forgiving one: a 150 km radius, so anywhere in the right region is full marks. Nanjing is a former Chinese capital where Ming city walls meet a modern skyline.

China is one country. The daily draws from all 167.

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Questions & answers

How many places in China are in the game?

25, from Gobi Desert in the north to Li River, Guilin in the south. A round here plays five of them.

Which photo from China is the hardest?

Zhangye Danxia, the only one rated expert. At that level the score halves every 277 km past the accuracy radius.

Which one is easiest to score full points on?

Gobi Desert: its accuracy radius is 150 km, so any pin inside that circle scores 5,000.

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