A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
上海：两边不一样
Shanghai: A Two-Yuan Ferry Between Two Centuries
About this story
Cross the Huangpu River in Shanghai by boat, look up at the new towers, then walk into a quiet old lane. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 3 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 楼、江、船 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.
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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 I'm in Shanghai.
Shanghai is very big.
Shanghai has a lot of people.
Shanghai has a big river.
This river is called the Huangpu.
On this side of the river there are a lot of old houses.
On that side of the river there are a lot of new towers.
The new towers are very tall.
The old houses are not tall.
I want to go over there and have a look.
I can take a taxi.
I can also take a boat.
I take the boat.
The boat is small and there are a lot of people.
Some are going to work.
Some are going to school.
They don't look at the river.
They look at their phones.
I look at the river.
There are a lot of boats on the river.
Big boats move very slowly.
Small boats move very fast.
The boat ride isn't long.
I arrive on the other side.
I stand under a tower and look up.
The tower is too tall.
I can't see the top.
A man says: you're new here.
I say: yes.
He says: these towers are all new.
Before, there were no towers on this side.
I say: what was on this side before?
He says: before, there was water on this side, and small houses.
I say: and now?
He says: now there are a lot of towers on this side.
A lot of people work in these towers.
I look at the other side of the river.
The houses over there are not tall.
Those houses are very old.
He says: that side was already there a hundred years ago.
This side didn't exist thirty years ago.
I say: one Shanghai, two different times.
He says: right. Well put.
In the afternoon, I go back to the old side.
I walk into a small lane.
The lane is very narrow.
When two people walk, they both have to walk slowly.
On both sides of the lane there are old houses.
People live in the houses.
Someone is eating in front of a door.
An old man sits in front of a door reading a book.
Two students are running.
A cat watches them from above.
It's very quiet here.
On the big road there are a lot of people, and they move fast.
But once you walk in here, it's quiet.
I think: Shanghai has very tall new towers.
Shanghai also has lanes like this.
Both of them are Shanghai.
In the evening, I go back to the river.
The towers on that side have all turned their lights on.
The lights are beautiful.
A lot of people are here looking.
I don't look at the towers.
I want to sit down.
I think about the boat this morning.
The boat isn't fast, and the river isn't wide.
But this boat has been running for many years.
From the old Shanghai to the new Shanghai.
Would you rather see the tall towers first, or walk down a small lane first?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1. 坐船 and 坐出租车 both use it.
HSK 1. The verb the whole episode turns on.
HSK 1. What people cross the river to do.
HSK 1. Where some of the passengers are heading.
HSK 1. Used for the lights at night.
The new buildings on the east bank, repeated all through the episode.
The Huangpu, which splits the city in two.
The cheapest way to cross from the old side to the new side.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法有 X，也有 Y
有 states what a place contains; 也有 adds a second thing.
他说：以前这边有水，也有小房子。
verb + 得 + adverb
得 links a verb to a description of how it is done.
大船走得很慢。
太 + adjective + 了
Says something is too much of a quality.
楼太高了。
Proper Nouns
专有名词Free account
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