China is a fascinating country to both foreigners and locals. There are so many famous places of historical interest to see and visit—all spread out throughout this huge country. It takes some considerable time to get around and see all of the attractions, unless you spend a few months traveling from region to region. Something to do on your next holiday perhaps after you’ve learned to speak better Mandarin Chinese, perhaps?
In this Podcast, you will learn:
(i) How to talk about some feature of historical interest in China
(ii) To name some of famous places you have been or wish to go
Dialogue:
Two friends meet up and talk about travel:
（在餐馆）
(Zài cān guǎn)
(at the restaurant)
A:听说你辞职去当背包客游遍了全中国？
A: Tīng shuō nǐ cí zhí qù dāng bēi bāo kè yóu biàn le quán Zhōng Guó?
I heard that you resigned from your job and went to backpack around the whole of China.
B:对啊，我可是走遍了大江南北啊！
B: Duì a, wǒ kě shì zǒu biàn le dà jiāng nán běi a!
That’s right. I’ve been to the north and south of the Yangtze River.
A:快跟我们说说，都去哪玩了？
A: Kuài gēn wǒ men shuō shuō, dōu qù nǎ wán le?
Hurry up and tell us where you visited.
B:长城，故宫，秦始皇兵马俑，西湖，漓江，黄山，张家界，九寨沟，还有……
B: Cháng chéng, gù gōng, qín shǐ huáng bīng mǎ yǒng, xī hú, lí jiāng, huáng shān, zhāng jiā jiè, jiǔ zhài gōu, hái yǒu……
The Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Warriors, West Lake, Lijiang River, Yellow Mountain, Zhangjiajie National Forrest Park, Jiuzhaigou National Park, and…
A:你去西藏了么？
A: Nǐ qù xī zàng le me?
Did you go to Tibet?
B:去啦，布达拉宫真的很壮观！
B: Qù la, bù dá lā gōng zhēn de hěn zhuàng guān!
Yes, I did. The Potala Palace is spectacular!
Chinese words and phrases mentioned in this Podcast:
著名旅游景点：famous places of interest
听说：hear
辞职：resign, quit the job
当背包客：go to be a backpacker
背包：backpack
背包客：backpacker
游遍：travel all over, travel everywhere
大江南北：an idiom, refers to throughout China, in which ‘江’ refers to ‘长江’, the Yangtze River
走遍：walk (throughout) everywhere
长城：the Great Wall
故宫：the Forbidden City
（秦始皇）兵马俑：the Terracotta Warriors (in Xi’an of Shaanxi Province)
西湖：West Lake (in Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province)
漓江：Lijiang River (in Guangxi Province)
黄山：Yellow Mountain (in Anhui Province)
张家界：Zhangjiajie (a national park in Hunan Province), the full name is ‘张家界国家森林公园’ (Zhangjiajie National Forrest Park)
九寨沟：Jiuzhaigou (a famous national park in Sichuan Province), the full name is ‘九寨沟国家公园’ (Jiuzhaigou National Park)
西藏：Tibet
布达拉宫：Potala Palace (in Tibet)
壮观：spectacular
尼亚加拉大瀑布：Niagara Falls
Cultural/Grammar note:
If you want to describe a spectacular site, such as Niagara Falls, you can say:
尼亚加拉大瀑布很壮观。
Ní yà jiā lā dà pù bù hěn zhuàng guān.