bazza - Mandarin Audio Tours anyone?
Tags: audio tours,
Posted by bazza August 17, 2008 .
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eunica says
August 17, 2008
Superb link, thanks a lot!
The pronunciation is really clear and easy to understand. Very entertaining. Have you found more gems like this?
bazza says
August 17, 2008
Beijing World Art Museum
Another library
Museum of Modern Art (This one shows paintings as you listen.)
calkins says
August 17, 2008
太好了! I just went through the MoMA program and it was really great (even if I didn't understand 75% of the speaker!).
I liked the pace of the speaker...is this normal speed? It seemed a bit slower than normal, which was nice.
Great find.
bazza says
August 17, 2008
calkins, here is one I think you'll like:
http://www.downloadchicagotours.com/
And yet another library.
calkins says
August 17, 2008
Bazza you rock! Thanks for this. When I get some time later, I'm gonna listen to the Frank Gehry and Anish Kapoor tours of Millennium Park. It'll be cool to learn about my city in 中文。
bazza says
August 17, 2008
Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai soundwalks
These sound good, they're $17 each though I think. Gong Li does the Beijing one, Shu Qi does the Hong Kong one and Joan Chen does the Shanghai one.
I think these will probably appeal more to the male audience. ;)
eunica says
August 17, 2008
Regarding those soundwalks, it's possible to listen to the guides online, you only have to pay for downloading the files. It's possible that the premium version contains more features, but what's accessible is pretty sexy (language-wise, of course) already. 巩俐的声音最好听 。。。
On a sidenote, what is it with the audio tours of libraries? In my whole life I've never been to one that offers this kind of tour? Is that commonplace?
bazza says
August 18, 2008
Didn't notice you can listen to them online, I've already bought the Gong Li one in Mandarin, there are 3 extra chapters on the download version though.
bazza says
August 18, 2008
The online audio is just short samples, the download versions are about 60 minutes in total.
dpay02 says
August 18, 2008
Bazza, I'm going to Beijing in the very near future, is it worth getting the Gong Li guide? I don't think I can handle it in Mandarin although it would be great study material.
bazza says
August 18, 2008
Haven't actually tried the English one but I might do just for comparison, but I'd say it was worth getting, particularly if you're a Gong Li fan.
bazza says
August 18, 2008
I can recommend the English one, just listening to it makes you feel like your there, she describes it quite vividly.
bazza says
August 22, 2008
I know how to say 'keep walking' now, 往前走.
I think these soundwalks are good for learning from, if you get both the Chinese and English versions. You can then listen to a chapter in English, then the same chapter in Chinese and they both have the same background sound effects. Or if you prefer you can listen to the Chinese first, then find out how much you understood correctly.
sushan says
August 22, 2008
Off topic, but for anyone touring in China who has at least a working knowledge of Mandarin, a Chinese guide is best.
Recorded and live guides in English are at least twice the price of Chinese versions even after bargaining, and the English is often not that easy to understand. As for the people who claim to be English guides at the entrance gates, many of them don't really speak English - they have memorized information about the displays in English but they often don't understand any questions that you ask and are little more practical help than the recorded guide. If you are going to use these guides ask them a few test questions first.