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从故宫走到景山
Beijing Forbidden City and Jingshan — Seeing the City’s Shape
HSK 2 Chinese listening practice. Walk through the Forbidden City, climb Jingshan and enter a lived-in Beijing hutong.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 4 minutes. The full Mandarin script is shown with tap-for-pinyin and a line-by-line English translation, so you can listen and read at once — comprehensible input in the sense of Stephen Krashen's i+1 theory. It teaches 8 key vocabulary words such as 参观、规则、公园 and walks through 3 grammar patterns, each explained in English with examples. The same news story is retold at 4 difficulty levels — use the level selector above to find the version that is challenging but still understandable for you.
今天，一位游客第一次来北京。
Today, a tourist came to Beijing for the first time.
他很高兴，也不知道今天去哪里。
He was very happy and didn't know where he was going today.
北京很大，可以看的东西很多。
Beijing is a big city and there are many things to see.
他想看以前的北京，也想看今天的北京。
He wanted to see the Beijing of the past and the Beijing of today.
他想：一个地方，可以让我都看见吗？
He thought: Can I see them all in one place?
他给北京朋友打电话。
He called a friend in Beijing.
朋友说：可以，上午我和你看一个很大的家，下午我们从上面看北京。
My friend said: Okay, in the morning you and I will look at a large home, and in the afternoon we will look at Beijing from above.
游客说：很大的家？
Tourist said: A big home?
谁的家？
Whose home?
朋友说：你来了就知道。
My friend said: You will know when you come.
北京很大，他只有一天，应该先去哪里？
Beijing is a big place and he only has one day. Where should he go first?
一个北京朋友带他来到故宫的午门前。
A Beijing friend took him to the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City.
午门很高，门后还有很多门和宫殿。
The Meridian Gate is very high, and there are many gates and palaces behind it.
故宫也叫 Forbidden City，是明朝和清朝皇帝生活、工作的皇宫。
The Forbidden City, also called Forbidden City, was the palace where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties lived and worked.
今天，这里是故宫博物院，每天都有很多人来参观。
Today, this is the Palace Museum, and many people visit it every day.
游客走进午门，看到一条向北的路。
Visitors walk into the Meridian Gate and see a road heading north.
路的中间有很大的宫殿，旁边是红墙和黄瓦。
There is a large palace in the middle of the road, with red walls and yellow tiles next to it.
他们走过一道门，前面又出现一道门。
They walked through a door, and another door appeared in front of them.
游客觉得很奇怪：故宫为什么需要这么多门？
Tourists find it strange: Why does the Forbidden City need so many doors?
朋友告诉他，过去的皇宫有很多规则。
Friends told him that there were many rules in the palace in the past.
什么人可以进，能走到哪里，都和他的身份有关。
Who can enter and where they can go are all related to their status.
外面的地方用来举行国家大事，里面的地方给皇帝和家人生活。
The outside area was used to hold state events, while the inside area was for the emperor and his family to live.
一道道门把这些地方分开，也让每个人知道自己应该站在哪里。
Doors separate these places and let everyone know where they should stand.
如果只记宫殿的名字，参观故宫很容易累。
If you only remember the name of the palace, it will be easy to get tired when visiting the Forbidden City.
跟着中间的路一直走，故宫就清楚多了。
If you follow the middle road, the Forbidden City will become clearer.
两个小时以后，游客从北面的神武门离开。
Two hours later, the tourists left from the Shenwu Gate in the north.
朋友带他穿过街道，走进对面的景山公园。
His friend took him across the street and into Jingshan Park opposite.
他们开始爬山。
They started climbing the mountain.
景山不算高，走了一天以后，游客还是有一点累。
Jingshan is not very high, so after a day of walking, tourists are still a little tired.
到了上面，他回头一看，整个故宫都在脚下。
When he reached the top, he looked back and saw that the entire Forbidden City was at his feet.
上午走过的门、院子和宫殿，现在排在一条直线上。
The gates, courtyards and palaces that we had walked through in the morning were now in a straight line.
这条线向南经过天安门，也向北走进北京老城。
This line goes south past Tiananmen Square and also goes north into the old city of Beijing.
它叫北京中轴线。
It's called the Beijing Central Axis.
游客不需要把中轴线当成另一个景点来记。
Visitors do not need to remember the central axis as another attraction.
站在景山上，他已经用眼睛看懂了：这条线让故宫有方向，也让北京老城有方向。
Standing on Jingshan Mountain, he could already understand with his eyes: This line gives the Forbidden City a direction and also gives the old city of Beijing a direction.
从高处往两边看，还能看到很多灰色的小房子。
Looking to both sides from a high place, you can still see many small gray houses.
这些房子中间的小路叫胡同。
The alley between these houses is called an alley.
朋友带游客走下景山，来到附近的一条胡同。
A friend took the tourists down Jingshan Mountain to a nearby alley.
故宫里有很大的宫殿，胡同里是普通北京人的家。
There are huge palaces in the Forbidden City, and the hutongs are the homes of ordinary Beijingers.
有人买早饭，有人送孩子上学，也有人骑自行车去地铁站。
Some people buy breakfast, some take their children to school, and some ride bicycles to the subway station.
老房子旁边还有咖啡店和拿着手机的年轻人。
There are coffee shops and young people holding mobile phones next to the old house.
历史没有停在博物馆里，它也在今天的生活中。
History does not stop in museums, it is also in today's life.
游客早上以为自己只会看一座有名的皇宫。
Tourists thought they would only see a famous palace in the morning.
下午，他从景山看见北京的形状，又在胡同里听见北京人的声音。
In the afternoon, he saw the shape of Beijing from Jingshan and heard the voices of Beijingers in the alley.
这一天，他参观了故宫，也开始认识北京这座城市。
On this day, he visited the Forbidden City and began to get to know the city of Beijing.
如果你来北京，你会先看故宫的大门，还是先吃一份胡同里的早饭？
If you came to Beijing, would you first look at the gate of the Forbidden City or have breakfast in an alley?
HSK 2. Used for museums and cultural sites.
The palace had rules about who could enter each space.
HSK 2. 景山公园 is Jingshan Park.
HSK 2. History continues to shape present life.
The imperial palace at the heart of this story.
The north-south line that organizes historic Beijing.
A lane where residents’ daily life continues.
The former home and workplace of emperors.
* beyond level超纲词
为什么 + verb
Use 为什么 to ask for a reason.
故宫为什么需要这么多门？
A + 也 + B
也 connects two related facts.
历史没有停在博物馆里，它也在今天的生活中。
从 + place + 到 + place
Shows a route or movement between places.
从故宫走到景山。
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