A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
西安：城墙上面
Xi'an: A Ming Wall, a Tang Capital, and an Army Found by Accident
About this story
Ride a bike along Xi'an's old city wall, look down at the streets, then eat noodles in the Muslim Quarter. 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 城墙、骑、面 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 Xi'an.
Xi'an is a very old city.
Xi'an has a very big city wall.
The wall is very long, and very big.
The wall is in front of Xi'an, and behind Xi'an too.
If you keep walking and walking, you come back to this spot.
In the past, everyone lived inside the wall.
Now, a lot of people still live inside the wall.
I want to go up on the wall and have a look.
I walk up.
It's very wide up on the wall.
Up here you can walk, and you can ride a bike.
I ride a bike.
The bike goes along the top of the wall.
I look down.
There are a lot of houses below.
Some houses are very old.
Some houses are very new.
I see a lot of people.
Some are walking below.
Some are working below.
I ride for a long time.
The wall is too long.
A man says to me: this wall is fourteen kilometres.
I say: that's so long!
He says: yes. Riding takes a long time.
I say: in the past, what was this wall for?
He says: in the past, people stood up here and looked down.
Whatever was down there, the people up here knew about it.
I say: and now?
He says: now, inside the wall is city, and behind the wall is city too.
I say: so do we still need the wall now?
He says: we do.
Now a lot of people come here to ride, and a lot of people come here to walk.
I come down from the wall.
I really want something to eat.
He says: go to the Muslim Quarter.
I go to the Muslim Quarter.
There are a lot of people on the street.
There's a lot to eat on the street too.
There are noodles, vegetables, and fruit.
I see a man making noodles.
The noodles are very long.
He works very fast.
A lot of people watch him.
I buy noodles.
The noodles are very good, and very hot.
I sit down to eat.
An old man sits down here too.
He says: are you new here?
I say: yes.
He says: do you like Xi'an noodles?
I say: I like them a lot.
He says: Xi'an has a lot of noodles.
Today you ate one.
I say: then I'll come again tomorrow.
He's very pleased.
On the way back, I look at the wall.
There are a lot of people up on the wall.
I think: for many years, this wall has been here.
The people of the past were here.
The people of today are here too.
Tomorrow, more people will come.
Would you go up on the wall, or go and eat noodles?
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Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1. 看 is to look; 看见 is to actually catch sight of something.
HSK 1. The whole wall section is built on looking 下面.
HSK 1. What the people on the wall knew about everything below.
HSK 1. How the old man reacts at the noodle shop.
The fourteen-kilometre wall you can ride a bike around.
How you cover the wall: 骑车, riding a bike.
What Xi'an is famous for eating.
What you look down on from the top of the wall.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法可以 + verb
可以 says what is permitted or possible.
上面可以走，也可以骑车。
有的 … 有的 …
Divides a group: some are one way, some another.
有的房子很老。
太 + adjective + 了
Says something is excessive.
城墙太长了。
Proper Nouns
专有名词Free account
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