Archive for December, 2017
Most Popular Posts of 2017 Posted by sasha on Dec 28, 2017
Can you believe we’re about to say goodbye to 2017 and hello to 2018? Time flies (时间飞逝 – shí jiān fēi shì)! The end of the year is always a great time to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. We love looking at the year-end stats and seeing which posts were…
What Are You Doing? in Chinese Posted by sasha on Dec 26, 2017
When teaching English to my Chinese students, I find that it’s always a bit difficult for them to switch between the simple present and the simple present continuous tenses in English. That is, the different between saying “I go” and “I am going.” Thankfully, this really isn’t so tough in Chinese. In this post we’re…
Christmas Songs in Chinese Posted by sasha on Dec 21, 2017
Christmas (圣诞节 – shèng dàn jié) is right around the corner, and even in China you’ll hear carols throughout the month. Although most people in China don’t celebrate the religious side of Christmas, they sure love the commercial one. There are Christmas trees and lights in shopping malls all over the country, as people take…
Yunnan Cuisine Posted by sasha on Dec 20, 2017
Yunnan province is one of the most beautiful places to travel in China. In addition to amazing places like Dali and the Tiger Leaping Gorge, it’s also home to some pretty delicious cuisine. From the crossing the bridge rice noodles to the yummy old grandma’s potatoes, they’re cooking up lots of good stuff here. Let’s…
Warm Up with Chinese Hot Pot Posted by sasha on Dec 18, 2017
Winter is in coming, and temperatures are falling fast. This is especially true in the northern part of China – it’s already hovering around 0 degrees Celsius in Beijing and it’s far, far below zero in the provincial capital of Harbin. Coupled with the awful air pollution, this can lead to a serious sense of…
Chinese Transportation Vocabulary Posted by sasha on Dec 14, 2017
Getting around China can be tough. Chinese mega-cities and the crowds of millions that inhabit them are tricky enough. The last thing you need is language barriers getting in the way! Never fear, as we’re here to help you learn some useful Chinese transportation vocabulary. Just follow this short video and practice at home, and…
Chinese Bowed String Instruments Posted by sasha on Dec 13, 2017
In my first post about traditional Chinese instruments, I covered some of the history and background, along with the plucked string instruments. In that post, we learned about the guqin, pipa, ruan, and guzheng. Now, let’s focus on the Chinese bowed string instruments. Huqin Instruments The Er Hu belongs to a series of Chinese instruments known as…