Choose a levelRead at your level
Every reading sits at the level where most of its words are taught
All readings at HSK 6
Page 2 of 2 · 13–20 of 20
Article · 2 min audio紫禁城为什么叫紫禁城?Why is it called the Forbidden City?Ask for the Forbidden City in Beijing and people say, “You mean 故宫?” The purple in its Chinese name is not the walls but a star.HSK 6
Article · 2 min audio胡同是什么?What is a Beijing hutong?Your map app tells you to turn into a hutong, and the lane is barely wide enough for a bike. Where did these alleys, and their strange name, come from?HSK 6
Article · 2 min audio二十四节气是什么?What are the 24 solar terms?The Beijing Winter Olympics opened with a 24-second countdown, one second for each solar term. What are these 24 named days, and why do they follow the sun?HSK 6
Article · 2 min audio四大发明是谁说的?Who named the Four Great Inventions of China?Every Chinese child can name the four great inventions. The idea began with an Englishman who praised three of them without knowing where they came from.HSK 6
Article · 2 min audio拼音是谁发明的?Who invented pinyin? The story of Zhou YouguangThe pinyin you learned on day one was led by a former Wall Street banker who called himself an amateur and lived to 111.HSK 6
Article · 2 min audio中文为什么要用量词?Why does Chinese have measure words?Everyone learning Chinese has said 一个马 and been gently corrected. Why does Chinese squeeze a little word between the number and the noun?HSK 6
Story · 2 min audio伯乐和千里马Bole and the thousand-li horse (伯乐相马)An old horse hauls a salt cart up a mountain road until a stranger climbs down, weeps, and covers it with his own coat. The horse answers with a cry that reaches the sky.HSK 6
Article · 2 min audio高考是什么?What is the gaokao?One week in June, China goes quiet: building sites stop, horns fall silent, and mothers wait outside the gates in red qipao. All for one exam.HSK 6