Mandarin Audio Tours anyone?
bazza
August 17, 2008, 10:11 AM posted in General Discussionsushan
August 22, 2008, 12:05 PMOff 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.
calkins
August 17, 2008, 02:20 PM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
August 17, 2008, 04:36 PMcalkins, here is one I think you'll like:
calkins
August 17, 2008, 05:29 PMBazza 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
August 17, 2008, 11:52 PMBeijing, 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
August 18, 2008, 12:44 AMRegarding 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
August 17, 2008, 01:29 PMMuseum of Modern Art (This one shows paintings as you listen.)
bazza
August 18, 2008, 11:00 AMThe online audio is just short samples, the download versions are about 60 minutes in total.
dpay02
August 18, 2008, 11:17 AMBazza, 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
August 18, 2008, 11:25 AMHaven'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
August 18, 2008, 06:55 PMI can recommend the English one, just listening to it makes you feel like your there, she describes it quite vividly.
bazza
August 22, 2008, 09:26 AMI 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.
bazza
August 18, 2008, 09:15 AMDidn'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.
eunica
August 17, 2008, 12:33 PMSuperb link, thanks a lot!
The pronunciation is really clear and easy to understand. Very entertaining. Have you found more gems like this?