Chinese Language Blog

A UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000, the Longmen Grottoes outside of Luoyang, Henan province, are one of the best examples of Chinese Buddhist art. Here, over 100,000 statues of Buddha and his disciples are carved into the limestone caves of the Xiangshan and Longmen mountains. It’s an amazing sight, and certainly worth a visit if you are traveling in China.

火车站很拥挤，也很脏 – huǒ chē zhàn hěn yǒng jǐ, yě hěn zàng
The train station is very crowded, and also very dirty.

*Note: I made a mistake on this one with the tone – 脏 in the 4th tone (zàng) means “inner organ”… it should have been the1 1st tone (zāng)

洛阳 – luò yáng
Luoyang

我们买了硬卧票 – wǒ men mǎi le yìng wò piào
We bought hard sleeper tickets.

带了葡萄酒和奶酪 – dài le pú táo jiǔ hé nǎi lào
…and brought wine and cheese.

河南省 – hé nán shěng
Henan province

龙门石窟 – lóng mén shí kū
Longmen Grottoes

中国佛教艺术 – zhōng guó fó jiào yì shù
Chinese buddhist art

北魏 – běi wèi
Northern Wei Dynasty

唐代 – táng dài
Tang Dynasty

香山 – xiāng shān
Mt. Xiang (lit. fragrant mountain)

龙门山 – lóng mén shān
Mt. Longmen (lit. dragon gat mountain)

伊河 – yī hé
Yi River

孝文帝 – xiào wén dì
Emperor Xiaowen

北宋 – běi sòng
Northern Song Dynasty

晋 – jìn
Jin Dynasty

元代 – yuán dài
Yuan Dynasty

步步生莲 – bù bù shēng lián
Seven Steps at Birth/Step by Step Lotus

万佛洞 – wàn fú dòng
10,000 Buddha Cave

奉先寺 – fèng xiān sì
Ancestor Worshipping Temple

大日如來 – dà rì rú lái
Vairocana Buddha

武则天 – wǔ zé tiān
Wu Zetian

钟楼 – zhōng lóu
bell tower

鼓楼 – gǔ lóu
drum tower

蒋宋别墅 – jiǎng sòng bié shù
Jiang Song Villa

蒋介石 – jiǎng jiè shí
Chiang Kai-shek

国民党 – guó mín dǎng
Kuomintang (KMT)

For the last of our Hangzhou series, join me on a trip to the City God Temple, a cruise around the town at night, and a late-night feast.

城隍阁 – chéng huáng gé
City God Temple

龙舟 – lóng zhōu
dragon boat

中国的历史 – zhōng guó de lì shǐ
China’s history

传统的中国 – chuán tǒng de zhōng guó
traditional China

现代的中国 – xiàn dài de zhōng guó
modern China

美丽的西湖 – měi lì de xī hú
beautiful West Lake

杭州发展地很快 – Háng zhōu fā zhǎn de hěn kuài
Hangzhou is developing very fast

京剧 – jīng jù
Beijing opera

二胡 – Èr hú
Erhu (Chinese instrument)

午饭我们吃了中式炒面，喝了美式啤酒 – wǔ fàn wǒ men chī le zhōng shì chǎo miàn, hē le měi shì pí jiǔ
For lunch, we ate some Chinese noodles and drank American beer

蹦蹦车 – bèng bèng chē
bouncing car (rickshaw)

雷鬼音乐 – léi guǐ yīn yuè
reggae music

美国总统 – měi guó zǒng tǒng
President of the USA

夜生活 – yè shēng huó
nightlife

烧烤 – shāo kǎo
BBQ

辣椒 – là jiāo
hot pepper

鸡翅 – jī chì
chicken wing

他们做饺子做的特别好吃 – tā men zuò jiǎo zi zuò de tè bié hào chī
They cook dumplings especially well.

辣椒太辣了 – là jiāo tài là le
the hot peppers were too spicy

太辣了! – tài là le
It’s too hot!

喝啤酒, 马上你没关系呢… 不辣的吧！ – hē pí jiǔ, mǎ shàng nǐ méi guān xì ne… bù là de ba
Drink some beer, you’ll be fine in no time… it’s not spicy!

Every night from March to December, you can catch the amazing Impression West Lake performance in Hangzhou. Taking place on the beautiful West Lake itself, this show has it all: music, lights, elaborate costumes, and a great story. Check out some highlights in this video.