When you’re learning a language, a good way to practice is to describe people, things, and places. As such, I’m going to introduce the place where I currently call home – Beijing – to you in a short article in Chinese, with pinyin and English to help.

现在我住在北京。我二零零八年来这里了。那个时候北京有奥运会。我觉得北京的奥运会很有意思。这是我第二次住在北京。我住在这里一共三年了。我想给大家介绍一下北京：

(xiàn zài wǒ zhù zài běi jīng. wǒ èr líng líng bā nián lái zhè lǐ le. nà gè shí hou běi jīng yǒu ào yùn huì. wǒ jué de běi jīng de ào yùn huì hěn yǒu yì si. zhè shì wǒ dì èr cì zhù zài běi jīng. wǒ zhù zài zhè lǐ yí gòng sān nián le. wǒ xiǎng gěi dà jiā jiè shào yí xià běi jīng)

Now I’m living in Beijing. I came here in 2008. At that time, Beijing had the Olympic Games. I think Beijing’s Olympic Games were very interesting. This is my 2nd time living in Beijing. I’ve lived here for a total of 3 years. I’d like to give everyone an introduction to Beijing:

 

北京是中国的首都。是一个特别大的城市。北京是中国的政治，文化，和教育中心。这里有很多有名的地方，比如：天安门广场，故宫，天坛，颐和园，什么的。也有很多有明的大学，比如：北大，清华，和人大。

(běi jīng shì zhōng guó de shǒu dū. shì yí gè tè bié dà de chéng shì. běi jīng shì zhōng guó de zhèng zhì, wén huà, hé jiào yù zhōng xīn. zhè li yǒu hěn duō yǒu míng de dì fāng, bǐ rú: Tiān’ān mén guǎng chǎng, gù gōng, tiān tán, yí hé yuán, shén me de. yě yǒu hěn duō yǒu míng de dà xué, bǐ rú: běi dà, qīng huá, hé rén dà)

Beijing is the capital of China. It’s a really big city. Beijing is the political, cultural, and educational center of China. There are many famous places here, such as: Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, and so on. There are also a lot of famous universities, such as: Beijing University, Qinghua University, and Renmin University.

 

我很喜欢北京菜。如果你来北京，你应该吃当地的小吃。我给你推荐一些小吃：炸酱面，煎饼，驴肉火烧。它们都非常好吃。除了小吃以外，北京还有烤鸭。它是北京最有名的菜。

(wǒ hěn xǐ huan běi jīng cài. rú guǒ nǐ lái běi jīng, nǐ yīng gāi chī dāng dì de xiǎo chī. wǒ gěi nǐ tuī jiàn yì xiē xiǎo chī: zhá jiàng miàn, jiān bǐng, lǘ ròu huǒ shāo. tā men dōu fēi cháng hǎo chī. chú le xiǎo chī yǐ wài, běi jīng hái yǒu kǎo yā. tā shì běi jīng zuì yǒu míng de cài)

I really like Beijing food. If you come to Beijing, you should eat some local snakcs. I’ll recommend a few snacks for you: fried sauce noodles, egg pancakes, and donkey sandwiches. They are all incredibly delicious. In addition to snacks, Beijing also has roast duck. It’s Beijing’s most famous dish.

 

虽然我喜欢北京，但是我不喜欢这里的天气。冬天太冷了，夏天太热了。全年太干了。我觉得北京还有三个问题。第一个是人多。第二个是堵车堵的特别厉害。第三个是空气不好。

(suī rán wǒ xǐ huan běi jīng, dàn shì wǒ bù xǐ huan zhè lǐ de tiān qì. dōng tiān tài lěng le, xià tiān tài rè le. quán nián tài gàn le. wǒ jué de běi jīng hái yǒu sān gè wèn tí. dì yí gè shì rén duō. dì èr gè shì dǔ chē dǔ de tè bié lì hài. dì sān gè shì kōng qì bù hǎo)

Although I like Beijing, I don’t like the weather here. It’s too cold in the winter, and too hot in the summer. It’s too dry all year. I think Beijing has three more problems. The first is that there are many people. The second is that the traffic jams are especially terrible. The third is that the air is not good.

 

北京的公共交通很方便。这里有地铁，公交车，出租车，和蹦蹦车。我常常坐公交车或者骑自行车。

(běi jīng de gōng gòng jiāo tōng hěn fāng biàn. zhè li yǒu dì tiě, gōng jiāo chē, chū zū chē, hé bèng bèng chē. wǒ cháng cháng zuò gōng jiāo chē huò zhě qí zì xíng chē)

Beijing’s public transportation is very convenient. There’s the subway, public buses, taxis, and rickshaws. I usually take the bus or ride a bicycle.

 

北京是一个国际的城市。全世界的人住在这里。很多外国人来北京。有的学习汉语，有的教英语，还有的在大使馆或者国际公司工作。

(běi jīng shì yí gè guó jì de chéng shì. quán shì jiè de rén zhù zài zhè lǐ. hěn duō wài guó rén lái běi jīng. yǒu de xué xí hàn yǔ, yǒu de jiào yīng yǔ, hái yǒu de zài dà shǐ guǎn huò zhě guó jì gōng sī gōng zuò)

Beijing is an international city. All the world’s people live here. Many foreigners come here. Some are studying Chinese, some are teaching English, and others are working in an embassy or an international company.

 

夜生活的话，北京有几个好玩的地方。晚上的时候你可以去酒吧，电影院，音乐会，或者比赛。北京有篮球队（北京鸭）和足球队（北京国安）。欢迎大家来北京！

(yè shēng huó de huà, běi jīng yǒu jǐ gè hǎo wán de dì fāng. wǎn shàng de shí hou nǐ kě yǐ qù jiǔ bā, diàn yǐng yuàn, yīn yuè huì, huò zhě bǐ sài. běi jīng yǒu lán qiú duì (běi jīng yā) hé zú qiú duì (běi jīng guó’ān). huān yíng dà jiā lái běi jīng)

As for the nightlife, Beijing has several fun places. At night, you can go to the bar, the cinema, a concert, or a match. Beijing has a basketball team (Beijing Ducks) and a football team (Beijing Guoan). Everyone is welcome to come to Beijing!

 

For more on Beijing and its many interesting places, check out this video I made a few months back: