Intermediate - A Trip to Shanxi (C2036)

A: 你回来啦!去山西玩得怎么样?
nǐ huílai la! qù Shānxī wán de zěnmeyàng?
You're back! How was Shanxi?
B: 挺好的。山西的面食真好吃。
tǐng hǎo de. Shānxī de miànshí zhēn hǎochī.
Great. The noodles in Shanxi are really good.
A: 是吧?去了哪些地方?
shì ba? qù le nǎxiē dìfang?
Yeah? Which places did you visit?
B: 去了平遥古城。有很多古代的东西,还有很好吃的平遥牛肉。
qù le Píngyáo gǔchéng. yǒu hěn duō gǔdài de dōngxi, háiyǒu hěn hǎochī de Píngyáo niúròu.
We went to the Pingyao ancient town. There were many ancient things there and a lot of tasty Pingyao beef.
A: 有没有带点儿回来?
yǒumeiyǒu dài diǎnr huílai?
Did you bring any back?
B: 带了。一会儿给你吃。我还去了乔家大院。
dài le. yīhuǐr gěi nǐ chī. wǒ hái qù le Qiáojiādàyuàn.
I did. I'll give some to you to try in a moment. I also went to the Qiaojia compound.
A: 乔家大院怎么样?
Qiáojiādàyuàn zěnmeyàng?
How was that?
B: 很大,很有特色!
hěn dà, hěn yǒu tèsè!
It was very large and very distinctive!
A: 五台山去了吗?
Wǔtáishān qù le ma?
Did you go to Wutai mountain?
B: 去了,挺好玩的,有很多寺庙和和尚。
qù le, tǐng hǎowán de, yǒu hěn duō sìmiào hé héshang.
I did. It was quite fun. There were many temples and monks.
A: 呵呵,有意思。
hēhē, yǒu yìsi.
Heh heh, interesting.
B: 不过在山西不能穿白衣服。
bùguò zài Shānxī bùnéng chuān báiyīfu.
But in Shanxi you can't wear white clothing.
A: 为什么?
wèishénme?
Why not?
B: 山西煤太多了,白衣服很快就变黑了!
Shānxī méi tài duō le, báiyīfu hěnkuài jiù biàn hēi le!
There's too much coal in Shanxi. White clothes turn black quickly!

Key Vocabulary

山西 Shānxī Shanxi
挺……的 tǐng......de quite
面食 miànshí noodles
哪些 nǎxiē which
地方 dìfang place
平遥 Píngyáo Pingyao
古城 gǔchéng ancient town
古代 gǔdài ancient times
dài to bring
乔家大院 Qiáojiādàyuàn Qiaojia compound
特色 tèsè distinguishing feature
五台山 Wǔtáishān Wutai mountain
好玩 hǎowán fun
寺庙 sìmiào temple
和尚 héshang Buddhist monk
有意思 yǒu yìsi interesting
不过 bùguò but
白衣服 báiyīfu white clothing
méi coal
biàn to become

Supplementary Vocabulary

陕西 Shǎnxī Shaanxi
山东 Shāndōng Shandong
面条 miàntiáo noodles
面粉 miànfěn wheat flour
院子 yuànzi courtyard
特点 tèdiǎn distinguishing feature
佛教 Fójiào Buddhism
城隍庙 Chénghuángmiào Chenghuang Temple
静安寺 Jìng'ānsì Jing'an Temple
煤矿 méikuàng coal mine

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