Archive for 'Uncategorized'
Giant panda breaks out of his Enclosure in front of visitors at Beijing Zoo Posted by Ayana on Dec 27, 2021
The Chinese word for zoo is composed of two nouns: 动物 (dòng wù, animal) + 园 (yuán, park) = 动物园 (dòng wù yuan, zoo) 动物 means animal. 园 means garden, park, and it is mostly used when talking about the beautiful public parks (公园 gōng yuán) of China (in Beijing, for example). The character 园 appears…
Where to See Fall Colors in Beijing Posted by sasha on Oct 8, 2020
Fall is the best season in Beijing (秋天是北京最好的季节 qiūtiān shì běijīng zuì hǎo de jìjié). Winter is too cold (冬天太冷了 dōngtiān tài lěngle). Summer is too hot (夏天太热了 xiàtiān tài rèle). The pleasant fall weather is a welcome relief from the summer heat and a prelude to the chilly winds of winter. In my many…
Learning Chinese through Songs Posted by Ayana on Sep 21, 2020
I love Chinese food, I adore Chinese characters, and I savor Chinese music. Chinese songs are not only pleasant to the ears, they are also a good way to learn the language. One of my favorite Chinese song is 其实你不懂我的心 (qí shí nǐ bù dǒng wǒ de xīn). Recorded in 1989 by the Taiwanese singer…
Chinese Vocabulary for the (Postponed) 2020 Olympic Games Posted by Ayana on Jul 20, 2020
The Olympic Games (奥运会 ào yùn huì) are the world’s biggest celebration of sport. More than 200 nations participate in the foremost international sporting event. For a couple of weeks, people from all over the world engage together in fair competitions and athletic skills. The international festival aims to promote solidarity and respect, and to rejoice…
Guizhou Province: the world’s bridge museum Posted by Ayana on Jun 15, 2020
The landlocked province of Guizhou (贵州 Guìzhōu) is situated in southwest China. The Chinese describe the province as: 天无三日晴， tiān wú sān rì qíng, 地无三里平， dì wú sān lǐ píng, 人无三分银。 rén wú sān fēn yín. The rhymed parallelism depicts it well. The first part describes the sky and indicates the weather: 天无三日晴 (tiān wú…
An Update on the Coronavirus in China Posted by sasha on Mar 4, 2020
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you’ve probably heard a lot about the coronavirus (冠状病毒 – guānz huàng bìng dú). Ayana wrote a great, detailed post about the virus last month, so click here to read that if you missed it. In this post I’ll give an update on…
Lao Xiang Ji: Number One Top Chinese Fast Food Brand Posted by Ayana on Jan 20, 2020
The Chinese catering industry (餐饮产业cān yǐn chǎn yè) has seen rapid growth over the past decade. In 2018, it exceeded 4 trillion RMB (more than 600 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue. A major part of it is the fast food industry (快餐产业kuài cān chǎn yè). 中国餐饮业实现销售额不断增长。 Zhōng guó cān yǐn yè shí xiàn xiāo shòu…