September is here, which means the summer holiday (暑假 – shǔ jià) has come to an end, and children all around the world are going back to school. Luckily for Chinese students, there’s another holiday coming up in just a few short weeks. As a matter of fact, this year there are TWO holidays back to back – Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节 – zhōng qiū jié) and National Holiday (国庆节 – guó qìng jié). As such, many people in China are already planning a vacation (假期 – jià qī) for the holiday week. Some will return to hometowns to visit family, some will head for the sun and fun of places like Hainan (海南 – hǎi nán) and Xiamen (厦门 – xià mén), and others will get out of dodge and escape the madness of traveling in China during a big holiday by heading abroad. I fall into the latter category, as I’m planning a trip to Bali (巴厘岛 – bā lí dǎo) to visit a friend, relax on the beach, and do some hiking/water sports. Talking about vacations is one of the most fun things to do when learning a language, so here are some important words and phrases related to planning vacations in Chinese:

Transportation:

• buy a ______ ticket (买______票 – mǎi _____ piào)

1. airplane (飞机 – fēi jī)
2. train (火车 – huǒ chē)
3. bus (公共汽车 – gōng gòng qì chē)

• rent a car (租车 – zū chē)

Accommodation:

• hotel (旅馆 – lǚ guǎn; 饭店 – fàn diàn; 酒店 – jiǔ diàn)
• guesthouse (宾馆 – bīn guǎn)
• youth hostel (青年旅舍 – qīng nián lǚ shě)

• book a room (预订房间 – yù dìng fáng jiān)
• single room (单间 – dān jiān)
• double room (双人间 – shuāng rén jiān)
• deluxe room (豪华房间 – háo huá fáng jiān)

• Do you have _______? (你们有_____吗？- nǐ men yǒu _____ ma?)

1. a free room (空房 –  kòng fáng)
2. 24-hour hot water (24小时热水 – Èr shí sì xiǎo shí rè shuǐ)
3. air conditioning (空调 – kòng tiáo)
4. WiFi (无线上网 – wú xiàn shàng wǎng)
5. a safe (保险柜 – bǎo xiǎn guì)

Traveling Styles:

• backpacking (挑运 – tiāo yùn); backpacker (背包客 – bèi bāo kè)
• independent travel (自助游 – zì zhù yóu)
• tour group (旅游团 – lǚ yóu tuán)

Activities:

For the fitness lovers:

• hiking (徒步旅行 – tú bù lǚ xíng)
• sightseeing (游览 – yóu lǎn)
• go swimming (游泳 – yóu yǒng)
• cycling (骑自行车 – qí zì xíng chē)
• mountain climbing (爬山 – pá shān)

For those who want to chill out:

• relax (放松 – fàng sōng)
• shopping (购物 – gòu wù)
• massage (按摩 – Àn mó)
• go to the beach (去沙滩 – qù shā tān)
• take photos (拍照 – pāi zhào)

Discussion:

Now, try to put some of these new words and phrases to use with these questions. Leave your comments here to practice!

Your next vacation (你的下个假期 – nǐ de xià gè jià qī)：

• Where do you want to go? (你想去哪里？- nǐ xiǎng qù nǎ lǐ?)
• How will you go?  (你怎么去？- nǐ zěn me qù?)
• Where do you want to stay? (你想住在哪里? – nǐ xiǎng zhù zài nǎ lǐ?)
• What do you want to do? (你想干什么？- nǐ xiǎng gàn shén me?)