Series of Chinese lessons offered by SpeakMandarin.com will be formally launched from today. Each lesson divided by “Content Overview” ,”Read After Me” and “ Mini Video Course” will be posted on Facebook and Instagram part by part. Follow us, mark lessons as “Like” and learn Chinese easily with us by using fragmented time. You are welcome to join in us！
Shanghai（上海Shànghǎi） topped a list of leisure cities（休闲城市Xiūxián chéngshì） in China, followed by Sanya（三亚Sānyà） in South China’s Hainan province and Beijing, according to a report jointly published by the National Academy of Economic Strategy, Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences as well as Social Sciences Academic Press on Aug 5, 2019. The report evaluated 290 cities in the country from six aspects: city image and reputation, leisure space and environment, leisure economy and industry, leisure facilities and services, leisure life and consumption, as well as attention to tourism（旅游业Lǚyóu yè）. Eight of the listed cities are eastern（东部Dōngbù）, while the other two come from western（西部Xībù） China. Cities in the eastern region have a far better city image and reputation as well as leisure life and consumption than those in western regions, though eastern cities are less competitive when it comes to leisure environment and space. Here are the top 10（排名前十位Páimíng qián shí wèi）leisure cities in China.
In my last post, I roasted some funny and awkward tattoos I saw on foreigners and mentioned a quite philosophical sentence tattooed on Mr. David Beckham’s body——“生死有命，富贵在天”. As I promised, here I would like to talk more about it and share another story. Shēngsǐ yǒu mìng, fùguì zài tiān 生死有命，富贵在天。
This Chinese old saying is an allusion to The Analects of Confucius · Yan Yuan 《论语· 颜渊篇》（Lúnyǔ, Yányuān piān）.
Literally speaking, it tells a point of view: Life or death is by ones’ fate, while wealth and honor by God. Man proposes, God disposes!
As we all know that there are thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes. Different people often give different interpretation of it. From my perspective, I prefer to understand it this way: We can’t completely control our life and death. Thus, we should do our best to pursuit a wonderful life in our unpredicted future.
Another interesting thing is that I find many foreigners are big fans of China’s Zodiac and often tattoo their zodiac signs on bodies. In their eyes, China’s Zodiac, as a unique Chinese tradition, represents a mysterious oriental power; but they can hardly imagine that: “Chicken（鸡Jī）”, in addition to the expression of an animal, holds an extremely particular meaning in China that refers to a special kind of people (prostitute); our Chinese people would easily see the deep meaning of this word when reading “鸡”！ I hope that this rock lady will never realize the special meaning of “鸡” commonly understood in our Chinese cultural life.
Sometimes, my friends asked me why many foreigners love to tattoo Chinese characters on their bodies? I guess on the one hand, they reckon the square characters have an alternative kind of beauty and it seems extraordinary; on the other hand, it may be because foreigners also feel that the non-native language gives them a sense of mystery. Of course, it is still a very cool thing to have some tattoos of Chinese characters on body, only when you find a reliable tattoo artist!
(The content above only represents personal insights.)
Have you made a fool when you speak Chinese language? Don’t be shy to speak even if you always make the fool because language needs to keep practicing from day to day. And now, let’s correct some.
Jonathan attended his Chinese friend’s wedding on Saturday. He has been learning Chinese for a while and prepared several greeting and blessing words in Chinese. When he saw the bride, he said:“你今天真漂亮！/Nǐ jīntiān zhēn piàoliàng!”. The bride smiled and expressed her gratitude to Jonathan:“哪里哪里。/Nǎlǐ nǎlǐ.” Jonathan felt a little embarrassed thinking that he didn’t praise enough, and said:“Hair, eyebrows, eyes, ears, nose, mouth are all very beautiful!” Language Tips: 哪里 is known as where for most foreign Chinese learners. To ask for where to go: 去哪里？; where it is: 在哪里？ However, in the Chinese world, 哪里 is also used as an expression of modesty. It is the same as “You flatter me” in English.
Less time to use, but need to be more fluent at speak mandarin Chinese! 15-min short-time online mandarin course at Speakmandarin.com can help!
It has been said that the process of learning a language is not just about grammar and phrases. More importantly, it is a tool for communication. We strongly encourage learners to develop good learning habits, such as accumulating one language point every day or trying to utilize more spare time learning the language. The new 15min short time session is a very useful course for students who want to improve oral Chinese but don’t have enough time to take more than one regular session per week. Access Anywhere Anytime from your home, your office, or even on your way to work,you can learn Chinese online easily and effectively within 15-mins!
Your personal teacher will take the drill practice with you every day to make sure the your oral Chinese is kept moving day by day! Don’t be shy, let’s talk just from now on!
Please find more information about this short-time Chinese course from here.
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