Learn The Top 10 Tourist Attractions In China

Tutorial Transcript

Hi! I’m Rui. Welcome to Chinese Top Words. Today, we are going to cover top 10 tourist attractions in China. The first one is of course… 长城 (Chángchéng) “Great Wall” 中国有句俗话：不到长城非好汉。 (Zhōngguó yǒu jù súhuà: búdào Chángchéng fēi hǎohàn.) “There's a saying in Chinese which goes like "He who does not reach the Great Wall is not a true man."” I’ve never been to Great Wall, but I heard there are many people from all over the world. Maybe some Chinese-learning foreigners are attracted by Great Wall because of this proverb. The Chinese Great Wall is considered as one of the Seven Wonders so I think it should be fun and good to see, the Chinese Great Wall, for at least one time in your life. 颐和园 (Yíhé yuán) “Summer Palace” 颐和园曾经是皇室家族在北京的避暑之地。 (Yíhéyuán céngjīng shì huángshì jiāzú zài Běijīng de bìshǔ zhī dì.) “The Summer Palace was once a place for the imperial family to escape from the summer heat in Beijing.” 紫禁城 (Zǐjīn chéng) “Forbidden City” 紫禁城又称故宫，位于北京的中心。 (Zǐjīnchéng yòuchēng Gùgōng, wèiyú Běijīng de zhōngxīn.) “The Forbidden City, also called Gugong, is located at the center of Beijing.” Actually for this 紫禁城 (Zǐjīn chéng), if you literally translate it into English, it’s actually “Purple Forbidden City”. I don’t know why they made this word or omits the color of purple which is 紫 (zǐ), 紫禁城 (Zǐjīn chéng). 紫 (Zǐ) means “purple”, 禁 (jīn) means “forbidden”, 城 (chéng) means “city”. So 紫禁城 (Zǐjīn chéng), if you literally translate it into English, it should be “Purple Forbidden City”. 外滩 (Wàitān) “The Bund” 在外滩可以看到上海美丽的天际线。 (Zài Wàitān kěyǐ kàndào Shànghǎi měilì de tiānjì xiàn.) “You can see the beautiful skyline of Shanghai at the Bund.” The Bund is my favorite tourist attraction in China and I have spent 3 years, about 3 years in Shanghai and Shanghai is also my favorite city in China for its open mindedness and always fresh, always exciting every day. I love Shanghai so much. 豫园 (Yùyuán) “Yu Garden” 豫园的小笼包很有名, 有机会可以尝尝。 (Yùyuán de xiǎolóngbāo hěn yǒumíng, yǒu jīhuì kěyǐ chángchang.) “The soup dumpling in Yu Garden is very famous. You should try it if you get a chance.” What do you call manju in English? Manju? Dumpling. Yeah. Soup dumpling, ok, ok. I haven’t tried the soup dumpling in 豫园 (Yùyuán) and it is famous for its soup, not for their filling or for the meat, but for the soup so everybody was given a straw for tasting the soup only. The only thing you have to be careful is it’s super hot so be careful. 布达拉宫 (Bù dá lā gōng) “Potala Palace” 布达拉宫是位于西藏的佛教胜地。 (Bù dá lā gōng shì wèiyú Xīzàng de Fójiào shèngdì.) “Potala Palace is a Buddhist attraction located in Tibet.” My friend who went to Tibet said it’s a life-changing experience and that was the first time he felt the sky was never that blue like that was the first time in his time to feel the pureness of heart and the closest ever he felt with the sky and the pureness of heart. 西湖 (Xīhú) “West Lake” 杭州西湖有一种宁静的美。 (Hángzhōu Xīhú yǒu yì zhǒng níngjìng de měi.) “The West Lake of Hangzhou demonstrates the beauty of peacefulness.” If you go to West Lake, you will see so many couples renting the boat and enjoying the scenery for the West Lake. The boat rental service usually is reluctant to rent the boat to the single person because if you row the boat and you’re surrounded by so many couples, sometimes people commit a suicide by the sadness of being single. I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but rumor has it. 苏州园林 (Sūzhōu yuánlín) “Suzhou Gardens” 苏州园林是中国古代建筑的典型代表。 (Sūzhōu yuánlín shì Zhōngguó gǔdài jiànzhù de diǎnxíng dàibiǎo.) “Suzhou Gardens represent the most typical traditional architectures of the ancient China.” I visited Suzhou Gardens before. It’s very beautiful, but I regretted I didn’t read enough or hire a tour guide while I’m visiting because the way they designed it always have a reason behind it, not only for the beautifulness, but there was a cultural meaning hidden in the design so I would strongly recommend you to read some books, get some knowledge before or just hire a tour guide to introduce the Suzhou Gardens for you. 九寨沟 (Jiǔ zhài gōu) “Jiuzhaigou” 九寨沟的湖多彩清澈。 (Jiǔzhàigōu de hú duōcǎ iqīngchè.) “The lakes of Jiuzhaigou have lots of colors and are crystal clear.” But it’s not always like that so I think it depends on the timing. So if you’re lucky enough, you will see a lot of colors and a crystal-clear beautiful scenery, but I heard the Jiuzhaigou scenery depends on the timing. If you’re lucky enough, you will see the lakes of Jiuzhaigou have lots of different colors and are very beautiful so good luck. 成都大熊猫繁殖研究基地 (Chéngdū dàxióngmāo fányù yánjiū jīdì) “Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding” 你喜欢大熊猫的话，就一定不能错过成都大熊猫繁育研究基地。 (Nǐ xǐhuān dàxióngmāo dehuà, jiù yídìng bù néng cuòguò Chéngdū dàxióngmāo fányù yánjiū jīdì.) “If you like giant pandas, you shouldn't miss the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breedings.” Thank you for watching Chinese Top Words today and let us know which is your favorite Chinese tourist attraction and why. Please subscribe to our ChineseClass101.com and I will see you next time. Bye!