- Mandarin Immersion (Part 1)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 2)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 3)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 4)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 5)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 6)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 7)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 8)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 9)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 10)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 11)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 12)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 13)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 14)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 15)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 16)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 17)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 18)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 19)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 20)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 21)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 22)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 23)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 24)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 25)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 26)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 27)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 28)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 29)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 30)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 31)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 32)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 33)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 34)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 35)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 36)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 37)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 38)
- Mandarin Immersion (Part 39)
May 22, 2023
Mandarin Immersion (Part 8)
By Simon J. Lau
I returned to Beijing for a night, as a transit stop before leaving for Wuhan tomorrow. One place that I’ve always liked is Beihai Park, which was once an imperial garden. I spent the evening photographing this park and portions of the outer wall of the Forbidden City.
When leaving Chengde this morning, I had my first experience riding a bullet train. 🚄 It was crazy efficient, organized, and fast! (Average speed was around 190 mph.) Also, this was my first time buying train tickets in Mandarin on my own. My Mandarin has really come a long way since I started learning it 5+ years ago.
For example, the last time I was in Beijing in 2010, I needed train tickets to Shanghai to attend the World Expo. The hostel would buy these tickets for me, for a fee, and I gladly paid. The thought of buying them myself then was just terrifying. Now, it’s a breeze for me.
Finally, I checked out a brewery in a hutong nearby. After speaking with my bartender, I discovered that the owner had studied in the US, and it was there that he learned to brew beer. It amused me to see American brewing techniques being brought to, and shared in, China.
Comments are closed.