A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
小红书新流行：彩色散步
Color Walking Trend Hits 310M Views in China
About this story
A simple story about color walking — young people in China who go for a walk and look for just one color. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 7 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 20 key vocabulary words such as 朋友、今天、明天 and walks through 7 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.
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原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
Today we're talking about a new game.
This game is very simple.
You can do it too.
No money needed.
No need to buy anything.
No need for much time.
Let me first tell you a story.
I have a friend.
Her name is Xiaomei.
Xiaomei is eight years old.
She lives with her mom in the city.
Last weekend,
Xiaomei's good friend came to find her.
The friend's name is Xiaohong.
Xiaohong said:
"Xiaomei, let's go out and play."
"Let's play a new game."
Xiaomei asked:
"What game?"
Xiaohong said:
"Today we'll play with one color."
"You pick a color."
"Any color is fine."
Xiaomei thought for a moment.
She said:
"I pick yellow."
Xiaohong said:
"OK."
"Then we'll go out and walk."
"We'll only look at yellow things."
"When we see one,"
"we take a photo with the phone."
Xiaomei said:
"Oh!"
"This is fun."
They went out.
Walking on the road.
Xiaohong said:
"Look, what's that?"
Xiaomei looked:
"It's a car."
"A yellow one!"
She took out her mom's phone.
She took a photo.
After walking a while.
Xiaomei saw another thing.
"Look!"
"That's a little flower."
"A yellow flower."
She took another photo.
They kept walking.
Xiaohong said:
"There's someone ahead."
"She's holding an umbrella."
Xiaomei looked:
"Wow!"
"A yellow umbrella."
She took another photo.
Walking, walking.
They saw many yellow things:
A yellow kitten.
A yellow road sign.
A yellow balloon.
A child,
wearing yellow clothes.
And yellow leaves on a tree.
And inside a shop,
a yellow lamp.
And a bicycle,
with yellow handlebars.
A little shop by the road,
with yellow letters on the door.
The owner of the shop,
wearing yellow shoes.
So many.
Really many.
Xiaomei said:
"I never noticed before."
"Turns out the street has so much yellow."
Xiaohong said:
"Yes."
"Normally when we walk,"
"we look at our phones."
"We think about things."
"We don't look."
"Today we only look at yellow."
"And we saw it."
Xiaomei said:
"This is really fun."
They walked for an afternoon.
They took more than thirty photos.
All yellow.
Back home.
Xiaomei showed her mom.
Mom said:
"Wow!"
"You took all of these?"
"So beautiful."
Xiaomei said:
"Yes."
"Today Xiaohong and I"
"went out to find yellow all day."
Mom said:
"What's this called?"
Xiaohong said:
"Auntie, this is called 'Color Walking.'"
"Lots of people are playing now."
"On Xiaohongshu."
"My mom plays too."
Mom said:
"I see."
"How interesting."
"I want to try it too."
"Tomorrow I'll come with you."
"What color should I pick?"
"Let me think,"
"I'll pick pink."
"Pink flowers."
"Pink clothes."
"Pink little things."
Xiaomei asked:
"Why is everyone playing?"
Xiaohong said:
"Because we're usually too busy."
"School, homework, looking at phones."
"Our brains are tired."
"Going out to find colors,"
"you don't have to think much."
"Just look."
"Look at one color."
"Very simple."
"Also very relaxing."
"My mom said,"
"she used to come home from work"
"and her heart was all messed up."
"She tried 'Color Walking.'"
"Walked for an hour."
"Back home,"
"she said she felt much better."
Xiaomei said:
"Oh, I get it."
She asked again:
"So what shall we play tomorrow?"
"Should we play red?"
Xiaohong said:
"Sure."
"Or green."
"Or blue."
"Any is fine."
"One color each day."
"Look at the city,"
"look at small animals,"
"look at flowers and trees."
"You'll discover"
"that your city"
"is really beautiful."
Xiaomei nodded.
She said:
"I never looked before."
"Every day I go to school, come home."
"I didn't look at things on the road."
"Turns out there's so much."
"Tomorrow we'll play with red."
"Red flowers."
"Red cars."
"Red lights."
Xiaohong said:
"OK."
"See you tomorrow."
Xiaomei said:
"See you tomorrow."
The story ends here.
Today we learned a new word:
"Color Walking."
Very simple.
Pick a color.
Go out and walk.
Look at that color.
Take photos.
No money needed.
No need to buy anything.
Only your eyes.
Lots of young people are playing.
Especially on Xiaohongshu.
Why does everyone love it?
Because our brains
are usually too busy.
"Color Walking" is very simple.
It lets the brain rest.
You can try too.
Tomorrow pick a color.
Go out for a walk.
Look around.
Take some photos.
Maybe you'll discover too
that your world
is more beautiful
than you thought.
OK.
That's it for today.
Talk again tomorrow.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇Someone you like and spend time with. 我有一个朋友 = I have a friend.
今 (now) + 天 (day). 今天我们说一个新词 = today we're talking about a new word.
明 (bright/next) + 天 (day). 明天见 = see you tomorrow.
The everyday word for mother — same character repeated.
看 (look) + 见 (perceive). Used when you actually notice something — 我看见了 = I saw it.
To like or enjoy. 你喜欢什么颜色？= what color do you like?
Describes how something or someone looks beautiful. 真漂亮 = really beautiful.
Used for 'many' (很多 = very many) and 'how many' (多少). 这么多 = so many.
What you call something or someone. 她的名字叫小美 = her name is Xiaomei.
Money. 不用钱 = no money needed.
周 (week) + 末 (end). Saturday and Sunday. Beyond HSK 1 — typically HSK 2.
Red, blue, yellow — what things look like in different shades. HSK 2.
To select one option. 选一个颜色 = pick a color. HSK 3.
黄 (yellow) + 色 (color). The color of the sun. 黄 and 黄色 are HSK 2-3.
手 (hand) + 机 (machine). The phone you carry. HSK 2.
拍照 = take a photo. Used many times for taking pictures. HSK 4.
Feeling drained. 脑子很累 = the brain is tired. HSK 2.
A big urban place where many people live. 你的城市 = your city. HSK 3.
散 (scatter) + 步 (step). A leisurely walk. HSK 4 — and it's literally in the trend's name 彩色散步.
彩色 (colorful) + 散步 (take a walk). The name of the whole trend — pick a color, walk around, photograph only that color. Compound, well beyond HSK 1.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法什么...都...
'Any... whatever...' Used to mean every option works.
什么颜色都行。
都行。
只看...
'Only look at...' Limits attention to one thing.
我们只看黄色的东西。
今天我们只看黄色。
原来...
'It turns out...' / 'I had no idea...' Used to express a small discovery.
原来街上有这么多黄色。
原来你的城市，这么漂亮。
也可以...
'You can also...' / 'It's OK to also...' Used to extend options.
也可以。
或者绿色，或者蓝色，都行。
比你想的...
'More ... than you thought.' A common comparative phrase.
你的世界，比你想的，漂亮很多。
Proper nouns
专有名词Free account
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