Interesting Chinese Words Posted by sasha on May 19, 2012
When you’re learning a language, it’s almost impossible to directly translate everything into your mother tongue. This is certainly true for native English speakers studying Chinese. Today, I’m going to introduce you to some interesting Chinese words that really require you to think in Chinese, as they cannot be translated directly into English. 东西 (dōng…
Letting it All Hang Out: Bang Ye or 膀爷 (Exposed Stomachs) Posted by Stephen on May 17, 2012
Everyone has their own way of coping with the heat. For most, it involves fleeing to the comfort of air conditioning and electric fans indoors. But what happens when you’re stuck outside in the stifling heat? Most parts of China are in the upper 90s during the July and August months, with debilitating humidity that…
Thousand Island Lake (千岛湖） Posted by Stephen on May 15, 2012
Well it’s that time of the year again in China when temperatures (温度 wēn dù) rise (上升 shàng shēng) and a great deal of humidity (潮 cháo) descends upon the mainland (大陆 dàlù). Whether you live in 北京，上海 or 重庆，summer (夏天 xià tiān) always comes early in China. For some people, air conditioning (空调 kōng…
Life in the ‘Jing Posted by sasha on May 12, 2012
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…
Luoyang (洛阳) – White Horse Temple (白马寺) Posted by sasha on May 9, 2012
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…
Musicology (the Chinese Way) Posted by sasha on May 7, 2012
Do you like listening to music? (你喜欢听音乐吗？- nǐ xǐ huan tīng yīn yuè ma) I don’t know about you, but I really like listening to music (我非常喜欢听音乐 – wǒ fēi cháng xǐ huan tīng yīn yuè) Well, what kind of music do you like? (你喜欢什么音乐 – nǐ xǐ huan shén me yīn yuè) To help…
Longmen Grottoes Video Posted by sasha on May 7, 2012
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…