Chinese Language Blog

For our second day in Luoyang, we wandered around the Old City and then took a trip out to the White Horse Temple. This is known as the first official Buddhist temple in China, and thus it has a long history and an interesting story behind it. We finished off the day with a stroll around a night market, sampling delicious food, and then dancing to burn it off.

小贩 – xiǎo fàn
hawker/peddler

肉铺 – ròu pù
butcher shop

蔬菜店 – shū cài diàn
vegetable shop

教堂 – jiào táng
church

清真寺 – qīng zhēn sì
mosque

凉菜 – liáng cài
cold dishes

牛肉面 – niú ròu miàn
beef noodles

白马寺 – bái mǎ sì
White Horse Temple

这是中国第一个官办佛教寺院 – zhè shì zhōng guó dì yí gè guān bàn fó jiào sì yuàn
This is China’s first official Buddhist monastery.

汉明帝 – hàn míng dì
Emperor Ming of Han

印度 – yìn dù
India

阿富汗 – Ā fù hàn
Afghanistan

和尚 – hé shàng
Buddhist monk

他们正在做施工 – tā men zhèng zài zuò shī gōng
They’re doing construction.

晚上的时候我们逛街 – wǎn shàng de shí hou wǒ men guàng jiē
In the evening we strolled the streets.

舞龙 – wǔ lóng
dragon dance

夜市 – yè shì
night market

又好吃又便宜 – yòu hǎo chī yòu pián yi
It was delicious and cheap

串，麻辣烫，烤肠，和面条 – chuàn, má là tàng, kǎo cháng, hé miàn tiáo
kebabs, hot/spicy soup, grilled sausage, and noodles

炒锅 – chǎo guō
wok

床上用品 – chuáng shàng yòng pǐn
bed ware

填充动物玩具 – tián chōng dòng wù wán jù
stuffed animals

臭豆腐 – chòu dòu fu
stinky tofu

青年宫 – qīng nián gōng
Youth Palace Square

看电视 – kàn diàn shì
watch TV

我跟当地女士一起跳舞 – wǒ gēn dāng dì nǚ shì yì qǐ tiào wǔ
I danced with the local ladies.

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)