9 of the Latest Chinese Movies You Need to Watch

Natasha Davis October 22, 2015

Alright… you’re in the mood for watching a movie tonight but you have one requirement: that the movie be in Mandarin. Now you need to decide on a genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi, Horror? Hmph… one problem: all you know are Kung-Fu movies. As much as you love Kung-Fu movies, you want more options. Well great news! We have curated a list of movies in Mandarin, broken down by genre, so you can pick and choose based on what you’re in the mood for. Read more to check out the list and some fun cinema-related vocabulary! Read More

Beginner’s Guide to Talking About Directions in Mandarin

Karl Ryan September 29, 2015

Avoid getting lost by learning directional vocabulary with ChinesePod’s Jillian Steward. In this video lesson, follow Jillian around NYC’s Chinatown as she goes over commonly used vocabulary that will allow you to ask for directions, as well as talk about common objects you will find on the street. Read more to view the video and read the review vocabulary and grammar points! Read More

Funny & Weird Stories from the Mid-Autumn Festival

Karl Ryan September 25, 2015

For every festival in China, you are sure to find a bounty of folk tales claiming origin to the day. Mid-Autumn Festival, coming up this weekend, is no exception — it is considered the most important of Chinese Holidays, in addition to Chinese New Year and Spring Festival — so this day has funky folk tales staking their claim to why the moon is celebrated on this spirited day. Read more for the stories and traditions that stem from the stories to impress your Chinese friends during the festivities.

Yikes! Four Spooky Chinese Ghost Stories to Read with the Lights On

Karl Ryan August 31, 2015

As August draws to a close, Ghost Month also comes to an end. To celebrate this ~haunting~ month, we are going to showcase four fantastic ghost stories from the famed Pu Songling. Pu published a collection of ghost stories in the early 1700’s and today, these stories remain some of the most well-known supernatural tales in Chinese culture.

Read more to learn about how this anthology came about and our picks for the top four ghost stories! Read More

Chinese Valentine’s Day: Not the V-Day You Know and Love (or Hate!)

Karl Ryan August 20, 2015

When you think of Valentine’s Day, you probably think of roses, chocolate, heart decor everywhere.… or the alternative: a bitter hatred of the holiday and all the sappy reminders of love around you.

So you are probably wondering: what the heck is up with Chinese Valentine’s Day? Why does the picture above have a bird on it against a starry sky? Well for starters: throw your understanding of Western Valentine’s Day out the window. Chinese Valentine’s Day doesn’t take in February. It take’s place on the seventh day of the seventh moon of the Lunar Year… or today, August 20th, 2015. The holiday is rich with mythology and tradition, with an origin tale dating back two thousand years ago to the Han Dynasty.

Read to learn why this holiday take place, how Chinese Valentine’s Day is celebrated, and key vocabulary for the day.