Chinese Blog Greatest Hits: Volume 2
Transparent » Chinese Language Blog
by sasha
1y ago
There’s an old Chinese idiom that goes “Time flies like an arrow” (光阴似箭 guāngyīnsìjiàn). I can totally relate to that one at the moment. It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that I moved to Beijing the day before the start of the 2008 Summer Olympics (夏季奥运会 xiàjì àoyùnhuì). Not too long after that, I started contributing here on the blog. Well, here we are in 2022 – the year that Beijing became the first city to host both the summer and winter games – with my final post. It’s been a great ride, and I’m excited to cap things off with the Chinese Blog Greatest Hits: Volume 2. At the Beijin ..read more
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Chinese Blog Greatest Hits: Volume 1
Transparent » Chinese Language Blog
by sasha
1y ago
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 12 years since I started writing for the Chinese Language Blog. At the time, I was an English teacher (英语老师 yīngyǔ lǎoshī) in Beijing. I had a personal blog (博客 bókè), but it was just for fun. Since then, I’ve probably written thousands of blog posts for various publications. As I’m getting ready to bid farewell, I thought I’d take a walk down memory lane (内存通道 nèicún tōngdào) with a few posts about the Chinese Blog Greatest Hits. In Volume 1, we’ll go back to the early years. One of our first days in Beijing. Image taken and used with permission by Sasha S ..read more
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A Beach Trip from Beijing: Visiting Beidaihe and Nandaihe
Transparent » Chinese Language Blog
by sasha
1y ago
The summer heat can be intense in the concrete jungle of Beijing, but thankfully there’s a beach (海滩 hǎi tān) escape not too far away. A few hours on a train or bus can bring you to the popular beach towns of Beidaihe (北戴河 běi dài hé) and Nandaihe (南戴河 nán dài hé). While Beidaihe was once famous as a summer retreat for Communist Party officials, these lavish gatherings have been cut back on to project a more frugal image of the party and its leaders. A few days in either of these towns is a great way to get out of the city to enjoy some time on the beach, a bit of sightseeing, and of course lo ..read more
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Summer Fun in And Around Beijing
Transparent » Chinese Language Blog
by sasha
1y ago
Summer is right around the corner (夏天就在拐角处 xiàtiān jiù zài guǎijiǎo chù). It’s definietly my favorite season (季节 jìjié). Get ready for it by brushing up on your Chinese summer vocabulary. In this post, we’ll dive into all the options for summer fun in and around Beijing (北京 běijīng). Summer fun on Houhai. Summer Fun in the City The winter (冬天 dōngtiān) months in Beijing are brutal, so people like to get out and enjoy the warm weather while it lasts. There are tons of things to do in the city that are more fun in the summer, so get out there and take advantage of it! Check out some of the par ..read more
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Beijing vs. Shanghai
Transparent » Chinese Language Blog
by sasha
2y ago
Beijing and Shanghai are the two biggest and most famous Chinese cities. One is an ancient city known for its cultural icons, while the other is a modern metropolis full of futuristic skyscrapers. So which city is better? Well, you’ll just have to visit them both and decide for yourself! This post is actually all about making comparisons in Chinese. The Beijing vs. Shanghai debate is a good place to begin this lesson, though. Let’s start with a question… Beijing vs Shanghai 北京比上海好吗? běi jīng bǐ shàng hǎi hǎo ma Is Beijing better than Shanghai? Now let’s break down the question: Beijing ..read more
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Shanghai Lockdown Continues
Transparent » Chinese Language Blog
by sasha
2y ago
One Chinese city has been in the news a lot lately – Shanghai (上海 shànghǎi). That’s because the city has been under an intense lockdown (封锁 fēngsuǒ). This is a result of the strict “zero COVID policy” (清零政策 qīng líng zhèngcè) that China has had in place. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at what’s going on as the Shanghai lockdown continues. Image by BC Y from Pixabay It’s been about six weeks since China’s largest city went into strict lockdown due to the Omicron variant. To combat the spread of the virus (病毒 bìngdú), Chinese health officials have implemented a strategy called “dynamic ..read more
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Visiting the Ancient City of Pingyao
Transparent » Chinese Language Blog
by sasha
2y ago
For those interested in Chinese history and culture, a great place to visit is the Ancient City of Pingyao (平遥古城 píng yáo gǔ chéng), located in central Shanxi province (山西省 shān xī shěng). Although the small city of the same name will be of little interest to travelers, the old town is a fantastic UNESCO World Heritage site, listed as “an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional Han Chinese city.” In fact, many consider the ancient walled town to be the best of its kind in China. This post is all about visiting the Ancient City of Pingyao and what you can do while there. But ..read more
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Eating Chinese Food in Italy
Transparent » Chinese Language Blog
by sasha
2y ago
Now I’m traveling in Italy. Because Chinese people really like coming here, there’s a lot of Chinese food. (现在我在意大利旅游。因为中国人很喜欢来这里,所以有很多中国菜。 xiànzài wǒ zài yìdàlì lǚyóu。yīn wéi zhōngguó rén hěn xǐhuān lái zhèlǐ, suǒyǐ yǒu hěnduō zhōngguó cài). In this post, I’ll tell you all about eating Chinese food in Italy while teaching some useful expressions. When in Rome… Photo taken and used with permission from Sasha Savinov. When in Rome… Surely you’re familiar with that old expression – “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Well, I just finished up a week in Rome (罗马 luómǎ) and I definitely did my b ..read more
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Chinese Morning Exercises
Transparent » Chinese Language Blog
by Ayana
2y ago
Photo by Mikelmania from Pixabay.com, CCO The Chinese phrase 晨练 is composed of two characters: 晨 (chén) that means morning, dawn; and 练 (liàn) that means to practice, to exercise. Together 晨练 (chén liàn) means morning exercise. 晨练是早上进行的健身运动。 Chén liàn shì zǎo shang jìn xíng de jiàn shēn yùn dòng. Morning exercise is the fitness workout one does in the morning. The benefits of exercise are endless: improving health, strengthening the body, shaping the body, increasing self-confidence, raising the mood, and more. It’s true for 晨练 and it’s true for 黄昏练 (huáng hūn liàn, evening exercise). N ..read more
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A Perfect Day in Beijing
Transparent » Chinese Language Blog
by sasha
2y ago
Beijing is a massive, sprawling city that’s home to over 20 million people. As such, it can be an overwhelming place to explore. Having spent half a decade calling the city home, I’m here to help you plan a trip to the Chinese capital. In this post, I’ll share my advice for how to spend a perfect day (完美的一天 wánměi de yītiān) in Beijing. Morning (早上 zǎoshang) The early bird gets the worm (早起的鸟儿有虫吃 zǎoqǐ de niǎo er yǒu chóng chī). This is a great phrase to take to heart when plotting a day in Beijing. It’s worth suffering through the early alarm clock to get out there before the worst of rush ho ..read more
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