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China today

How life in China works now, from trains to phones.

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Every reading sits at the level where most of its words are taught

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34 readings

Story · 1 min audio十二排F座Taking the high-speed train in China: seat 12FHis first high-speed train on his own. He finds his seat, and an old lady sitting in it, with the very same ticket.HSK 2

Article · 1 min audio什么时候去北京最好？The four seasons in Chinese: when is the best time to visit Beijing?A friend wants to visit Beijing and asks when to come. Spring has wind, summer has rain, winter has cold. And autumn?HSK 2

Article · 2 min audio“躺平”是什么意思？What does 躺平 (lying flat) mean?In 2021 a young man wrote that he lived on 200 yuan a month and had stopped trying. Within weeks, all of China was talking about lying flat.HSK 4

Article · 2 min audio“关系”是什么意思？What does guanxi mean?No appointments left with the famous doctor. Then a colleague mentions her friend’s cousin.HSK 4

Article · 1 min audio共享单车怎么骑？How to use shared bikes in ChinaToo far to walk, too close for a taxi. Outside every metro station in China there are rows of yellow, blue and green bikes. Here's how to ride one in three steps.HSK 2

Article · 1 min audio大熊猫的小秘密Fun facts about giant pandasA baby smaller than an apple, twelve hours of bamboo a day, and a sixth finger that isn't a finger.HSK 2

Article · 2 min audio“内卷”是什么意思？What does 内卷 (involution) mean?A student rode his bike with an open laptop on the handlebars, and China found its word of the year. Why does everyone stand up in the cinema?HSK 4

Article · 2 min audio中国的高铁有多长？How big is China's high-speed rail?Join every high-speed line in China end to end and it would go round the Earth, with ten thousand kilometres to spare. It all began in 2008.HSK 4

Article · 2 min audio家族群里都有什么？Chinese family WeChat groups: red packets, good-morning pictures and health rumoursSix thirty in the morning, and the family group sends you a glittering lotus that says “Good morning!” What else goes on in China's family chats?HSK 5

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