Archive for the year 2011
Chinese Instruments: èr hú or Chinese Violin (二胡) Posted by Stephen on Sep 6, 2011
The èr hú (二胡) is a two-stringed, bowed musical instrument affectionately called the “Chinese violin” or “Chinese two-stringed fiddle” by westerners. If you have ever taken a walk down a crowded Chinese street, waited for a train in the subway, or enjoyed a weekend stroll through the park, you’ve undoubtedly heard the ear-piercing cry of the er hu. Love it…
Chinese Numbers 0-1000 Posted by sasha on Sep 6, 2011
When learning a new language, one of the most important things is to get the numbers down. Whether you’re telling a new acquaintance how old you are, figuring out bus routes, ordering food in a restaurant, paying for a taxi, or bargaining in a local market, you’ll be totally lost without a firm grasp of…
Hutong Life in NLGX (胡同） Posted by Stephen on Aug 31, 2011
Following Sasha’s recent post on Beijing’s NLGX district or 南锣鼓巷 (nán luó gǔ xiàng), I thought I would write a little about my experience living in NLGX in a traditional or 传统 (chuántǒng) open courtyard house, called a 胡同 (hútòng). Hutongs are essentially open courtyard building complexes, centered around The translation for “hutong” literally means…
Beijing Fun Places – Volume II – NLGX (南锣鼓巷) Posted by sasha on Aug 31, 2011
One of, if not the best spot in Beijing for a fun afternoon out is NLGX (南锣鼓巷 – nán luó gǔ xiàng – lit. South Gong and Drum Lane). Nestled right in the middle of one of Beijing’s oldest traditional hutong (胡同 – hú tòng) neighborhoods, this bustling road represents both old and new Beijing…
Chinese Universities (大学) Posted by sasha on Aug 30, 2011
Going along with Steve’s post about heading back to school, I decided a post about China’s higher education is in order. China has well over 2,000 universities (大学 – dà xué) and colleges, with a total student body population in excess of 20 million. Between 2002 and 2008 alone, the number of higher education students…
Chinese Fire Drill Posted by Stephen on Aug 30, 2011
Well it’s back to school, and you know what that means: orientation. The following is orientation for an “Earthquake Evacuation Drill” which is essentially a fire drill or 消防演习 (xiāo fáng yǎn xí). I figured it would be a good reason to get out of the teacher’s office, so I grabbed my video camera or…
Back to School (开课) Posted by Stephen on Aug 29, 2011
Well it’s that time of the year again, when students of all ages go back to school or 开课 (kāi kè). As commencement gets under way, students or 学生 (xué sheng) should familiarize themselves with the mandarin basics of school vocabulary, especially if they are studying in the mainland. Hopefully these vocabulary words can help you…