---
title: "Detective Chinatown (唐人街探案) with Pinyin Subtitles, Free | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "Watch episode 1 of Detective Chinatown (唐人街探案) from its official channel with every line in characters and tone-coloured pinyin, lit as it is spoken. HSK 1–4 words are 81% of what it says: see your level’s share and the words to learn first. Free, no sign-up."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dramas/detective-chinatown"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

Free tool · No sign-up

# Detective Chinatown with pinyin subtitles

Watch episode 1 of 唐人街探案 with every line in characters and pinyin.

熊猫xióngmāopanda

Press play.

The next episode is on YouTube. Get these lines under it.Tap any word as it plays, and keep the ones you want. [Add to Chrome](https://mandarinthewild.com/go/chrome?from=%2Fchinese-dramas%2Fdetective-chinatown) [Open in the reader](https://mandarinthewild.com/read?watch=M3c5AHJPCtc&pinyin=1)

## How much of Detective Chinatown would you understand?

The share of the words it says that are at your HSK level or below. Pick your level for a line from it and the words that take you furthest.

1. [HSK 154%](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dramas-by-level/hsk-1?drama=detective-chinatown#match)
2. [HSK 264%](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dramas-by-level/hsk-2?drama=detective-chinatown#match)
3. [HSK 374%](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dramas-by-level/hsk-3?drama=detective-chinatown#match)
4. [HSK 481%](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dramas-by-level/hsk-4?drama=detective-chinatown#match)
5. [HSK 586%](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dramas-by-level/hsk-5?drama=detective-chinatown#match)
6. [HSK 690%](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dramas-by-level/hsk-6?drama=detective-chinatown#match)
7. [HSK 7–995%](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dramas-by-level/hsk-7-9?drama=detective-chinatown#match)

## The words to learn first

The words above HSK 3 that Detective Chinatown says most. Add them before you watch, and you’ll hear every one.

### Learn these 7 and you’d follow 75%

1. [自杀zì shāto kill oneself; suicide](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E8%87%AA%E6%9D%80)
2. [侦探zhēn tàndetective](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E4%BE%A6%E6%8E%A2)
3. [就是jiù shìexactly; precisely; is (emphatic)](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%B0%B1%E6%98%AF)
4. [神shéngod; deity; spirit](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E7%A5%9E)
5. [明明míng míngobviously; clearly](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E6%98%8E%E6%98%8E)
6. [报警bào jǐngto call the police; to report to the police](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E6%8A%A5%E8%AD%A6)
7. [推tuīto push](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E6%8E%A8)

[Print as flashcards](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-flashcards?level=mine&words=%E8%87%AA%E6%9D%80%20%E4%BE%A6%E6%8E%A2%20%E5%B0%B1%E6%98%AF%20%E7%A5%9E%20%E6%98%8E%E6%98%8E%20%E6%8A%A5%E8%AD%A6%20%E6%8E%A8)

## Is Detective Chinatown good for learning Chinese?

Detective Chinatown (唐人街探案) is a 2020 drama of 12 episodes. Words from HSK 1 to 4 are 81% of what its characters say, number 9 of the 17 dramas we counted, easiest first, and its lines run at about 5 characters a second. Watch episode 1 above with pinyin, tap any line you missed to hear it again, then watch it once more without looking.

## What HSK level do I need to watch Detective Chinatown?

At HSK 3 you’d know 74% of the words it says, at HSK 4 81%, at HSK 5 86% and at HSK 6 90%. Following a story with ease takes knowing about 95 to 98% of its words (Nation 2006), so below that, watch with the Chinese lines, their pinyin and a meaning for any word you don’t know, as this page gives you.

## Where can I watch Detective Chinatown free?

Episode 1 plays above, free, from iQIYI 爱奇艺, the official channel that put the show on YouTube. On YouTube itself, turn its Chinese subtitles on with CC, then Chinese.

## How do I get pinyin on the other episodes?

Add the Mandarin The Wild extension to Chrome: every Chinese video on YouTube gets its line under the player with pinyin over each word, and a card with the meaning of any word you point at.

## Where do the lines and the pinyin come from?

The lines are the show’s own Chinese subtitles, uploaded by iQIYI 爱奇艺 with the episode. Our reader splits each line into words and gives each word the reading it has in that sentence; a word whose reading isn’t settled stays in characters rather than guess. The level counts are from its first episode, names left out.

## Is it free?

Yes, with no account.

## More to watch

- [Which Chinese dramas can you understand?](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dramas-by-level)
- [Dream of Golden Years (你好1983) with pinyin](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dramas/dream-of-golden-years)
- [The Knockout (狂飙) with pinyin](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dramas/the-knockout)
- [Hikaru no Go (棋魂) with pinyin](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dramas/hikaru-no-go)
- [Chinese movies by HSK level](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-movies-by-level)
- [Chinese YouTube videos by level](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-youtube-videos)
- [Peppa Pig in Chinese with pinyin](https://mandarinthewild.com/peppa-pig-chinese)

Episode 1 plays in YouTube’s player from iQIYI 爱奇艺, the show’s official channel. Lines from the show’s own Chinese subtitles; pinyin and counts from our reader, levels from the official HSK list (2025 syllabus). Detective Chinatown belongs to its makers and plays here only as its channel published it.