In this first edition of 2025: Tiktok refugees, being rich in Shanghai, cycling in Tibet, “letting it rot”, discussing China’s economy, dealing with hate comments, ideological flexibility for the sake of collective wealth and Chinese stereotypes about foreign countries.
Cycling in Tibet in the snow at minus 22 degrees
I didn’t know this guy or his YouTube channel, but this is really authentic Chinese travel content: his name is Liu Weiyuan (36 years old) and he’s traveling through China by bike. In this episode, he’s biking in some remote area of Tibet under extreme weather conditions, suffering from snow blizzards and lack of food, without complaining though. I’m not sure what kind of Chinese dialect he speaks.
Difficulty level: HSK 5
ChinesePinyinEnglish Translation马路上飘着雪mǎlù shàng piāo zhe xuěSnow is drifting on the road昨天那十多公里骑的我挺崩溃的zuótiān nà shí duō gōnglǐ qí de wǒ tǐng bēngkuì deThe more than ten kilometers I rode yesterday made me feel totally broken呼吸感觉随时呼吸不上来hūxī gǎnjué suíshí hūxī bù shàngláiIt feels like I can’t breathe at any moment手冻麻了shǒu dòng má leMy hands are frozen numb这是我来西藏遇到最冷的一次zhè shì wǒ lái Xīzàng yùdào zuì lěng de yí cìThis is the coldest time I’ve experienced in Tibet贼冷zéi lěngExtremely cold累惨lèi cǎnTotally exhausted下不完的雪xià bù wán de xuěEndless snow世界末日shìjiè mòrìThe end of the world我现在身体浑身发抖wǒ xiànzài shēntǐ húnshēn fādǒuMy whole body is trembling right now
Interview: Why did the Communist Party tolerate the emergence of private ownership?
Did you ever wonder why the Soviet Union collapsed, while China successfully opened up and became one of the (if not the) largest economies in the world? Usually Deng Xiaoping is credited for setting this in motion, but renowned economist Professor Xu Chenggang reveals that there’s more to this story. He argues that if it wasn’t for party officials “looking the other way” as capitalism reemerged, no economic miracle would have happened. In other words, no brilliant strategy was implemented, but some basic economic freedoms were restored, allowing farmers to grow their own crops again and starting small businesses. Doing so was in the CCP’s self-interest as it couldn’t afford a collapsing economy, let alone more people starving. Furthermore, Xu mentions that China – compared to the Soviets – profited from more decentral and regional structures, which lead to more independent and flexible decision making. The Communist Party than improvised new slogans along the way to fit this new situation and stay in power. Listen to the interview to understand Xu’s arguments in full detail.
Difficulty level: HSK 6
ChinesePinyinEnglish Translation长期衰退chángqī shuāituìLong-term decline集权统治jíquán tǒngzhìAuthoritarian rule, centralized rule中央计划zhōngyāng jìhuàCentral planning私有企业sīyǒu qǐyèPrivate enterprise国有企业guóyǒu qǐyèState-owned enterprise苏联SūliánSoviet Union是为了维持共产党的政权shì wèile wéichí Gòngchǎndǎng de zhèngquánIt is to maintain the Communist Party’s regime阶段性的成功jiēduànxìng de chénggōngTemporary success不允许私有化bù yǔnxǔ sīyǒuhuàPrivatization is not allowed那时候是共产党的意识形态和共产党的制度完全一致的nà shíhou shì Gòngchǎndǎng de yìshítài hé Gòngchǎndǎng de zhìdù wánquán yízhì deAt that time, the Communist Party’s ideology and system were completely aligned在抽象层面排斥私有制zài chōuxiàng céngmiàn páichì sīyǒuzhìRejected private ownership on an abstract level阶级斗争jiējí dòuzhēngClass struggle睁一眼闭一眼zhēng yī yǎn bì yī yǎnTurn a blind eye
How bad Is China’s economy right now? | Street Interview
Is the Chinese economy as bad they say? Asian Boss conducted a street interview how Chinese people deal with the current economic situation. It seems people feel less optimistic about the future and their employment situation.
Difficulty level: HSK 5-6
ChinesePinyinEnglish Translation大环境没有以前好dà huánjìng méiyǒu yǐqián hǎoThe overall environment is not as good as before低投入dī tóurùLow investment比价bǐ jiàPrice comparison生不下去shēng bù xiàqùUnable to survive, can’t keep going主理人zhǔlǐ rénFounder, principal, curator (of a brand or project)加班是常态jiābān shì chángtàiOvertime is the norm还满卷的hái mǎn juǎn deStill quite competitive/intense减少成本jiǎnshǎo chéngběnReduce costs学历背景xuélì bèijǐngEducational background个人转变gèrén zhuǎnbiànPersonal transformation/change职业路zhíyè lùCareer path汇报huìbàoReport (to a superior)
Why are young Chinese letting it rot? – China’s Bai Lan Phenomenon – Chinese Street Interview
What is 摆烂 and why has this become such a big thing in China? And are Chinese really ‘letting things rot’ or would they like to, yet can’t for various reasons? Eileen interviews random people on the streets of her city to find where this desire to give up on everything comes from.
Needless to say it’s another great interview with lots of raw and authentic Chinese input on a highly interesting topic. From what I understand it’s not clear to what extent 摆烂 is a social media hype (with people claiming they’re fed up and they’re not doing ‘it’ anymore) or it’s a real thing in society and people are really changing their behavior? Could it be it becomes more culturally acceptable to demand for work-life-balance in China? At least people seem to be thinking in this direction and that’s a healthy development.
Difficulty level: HSK 5-6
ChinesePinyinEnglish Translation摆烂bǎi lànGive up on trying, let things fall apart摸摸鱼mō mō yúSlack off, take it easy at work佛系fó xìZen-like, indifferent, go-with-the-flow attitude大手大脚地花dà shǒu dà jiǎo de huāSpend money extravagantly对社会一种反抗duì shèhuì yì zhǒng fǎnkàngA form of resistance against society裁员cáiyuánLayoffs, downsizingAI代替了人工AI dàitì le réngōngAI has replaced human labor贫富差距pín fù chājùWealth gap, disparity between rich and poor相对来说xiāngduì lái shuōRelatively speaking找到自己想要的工作难zhǎodào zìjǐ xiǎng yào de gōngzuò nánIt’s hard to find the job one truly wants摆烂的心理bǎi làn de xīnlǐMindset of giving up摆烂的情绪bǎi làn de qíngxùEmotion of giving up高等教育gāoděng jiàoyùHigher education我感觉男的有一定的惰性wǒ gǎnjué nán de yǒu yídìng de duòxìngI feel that men have a certain laziness天生就懒tiānshēng jiù lǎnNaturally lazy吨感力dūn gǎn lì(Internet slang) The ability to remain unaffected by criticism or negativity心态上想摆烂，但实际上他并没有xīntài shàng xiǎng bǎi làn, dàn shíjì shàng tā bìng méiyǒuHe wants to give up mentally, but in reality, he hasn’t
Reading hate comments, hilarious! | Comprehensible input | High intermediat
Two Chinese YouTube teachers discuss their experiences with 黑粉 or haters commenting negatively on their videos, while expanding their Chinese teaching channel called Lazy Chinese – Comprehensible Input. This seems a inevitable phenomenon in the world of social media – as your visibility increases, you get hate comments about the weirdest things, mostly completely off-topic, that waste your time and energy. Or could it be that some YouTubers are overly sensitive to critical feedback? I at least have to agree with one 黑粉 that explaining Chinese vocabulary with English translations hasn’t much to do with comprehensible input.
Difficulty level: HSK 4
ChinesePinyinEnglish Translation黑粉hēi fěnAnti-fan, hater你不喜欢不看就好了nǐ bù xǐhuān bù kàn jiù hǎo leIf you don’t like it, just don’t watch it花时间留言huā shíjiān liúyánSpend time leaving comments我们被别人知道了wǒmen bèi biérén zhīdào leWe have been noticed by others摸索mōsuǒExplore, grope (for a solution)你不要因为你是对的而骂人nǐ bù yào yīnwèi nǐ shì duì de ér mà rénDon’t scold others just because you’re right学生没有得到中文的输入xuéshēng méiyǒu dédào zhōngwén de shūrùStudents did not receive Chinese input浪费精力làngfèi jīnglìWaste energy看不习惯kàn bù xíguànNot used to watching
What’s considered rich in Shanghai, China? | Street Interview
Shanghainese are a special breed. It makes a big difference whether you are a local (本地人) or an outsider (外地人) in Shanghai. I don’t know if it’s true, but I feel like the people who have lived in Shanghai for generations and have acquired a lot of real estate over the years are considered the elite of the country. These wealthy people also tend to look down on the common people who have to work really hard to pay the rent for their miserable apartments. But what exactly is considered ‘rich’ in Shanghai and how can you reach that level? Asian Boss talks to people on the street to find out. Some of them have well-paid jobs and really feel at home in Shanghai.
Difficulty level: HSK 5
ChinesePinyinEnglish Translation富有的城市fùyǒu de chéngshìWealthy city国际大都市guójì dà dūshìInternational metropolis富裕fùyùWealthy, affluent消费不起xiāofèi bù qǐCannot afford to consume/spend收入shōurùIncome良好的生活liánghǎo de shēnghuóA good life我不属于很富有的阶层wǒ bù shǔyú hěn fùyǒu de jiēcéngI do not belong to a very wealthy class上海人的消费力Shànghǎi rén de xiāofèilìThe spending power of Shanghainese people打工人dǎgōngrénWorking-class people, wage earners有本事的人yǒu běnshì de rénCapable people百万富bǎiwàn fùMillionaire多元duōyuánDiverse紧张的节奏jǐnzhāng de jiézòuFast-paced rhythm文化和经济差距wénhuà hé jīngjì chājùCultural and economic gap丰富多彩fēngfù duōcǎiRich and colorful, diverse and vibrant
The Chinese React to TikTok ‘Refugees’ Migrating to Rednote | Street Interview
Last month something highly unusual happened: In anticipation of a potential TikTok ban in the United States, many users migrated to alternative platforms, notably RedNote (known as Xiaohongshu in China). All of a sudden Chinese users of 小红书 were confronted with American netizens, seeking a new (Chinese) platform for their online interactions. Asian Boss hit the streets to find out what Chinese internet users think about all this.
Difficulty level: HSK 5-6
ChinesePinyinEnglish Translation相对来说xiāngduì lái shuōRelatively speaking当地媒体dāngdì méitǐLocal media不太合理bù tài hélǐNot very reasonable日常的生活方式rìcháng de shēnghuó fāngshìDaily lifestyle国家安全方面guójiā ānquán fāngmiànIn terms of national security大数据dà shùjùBig dataTiktok难民Tiktok nánmín“TikTok refugees” (people seeking alternatives after restrictions)小红书Xiǎo Hóng ShūXiaohongshu (Little Red Book, a Chinese social media platform)短视频duǎn shìpínShort videos文字性的内容wénzìxìng de nèiróngText-based content翻墙fānqiángBypassing internet restrictions (VPN use)中体来说zhōngtǐ lái shuōGenerally speaking丢流量diū liúliàngLosing internet traffic (sudden drop, unexpected loss)审查制度shěnchá zhìdùCensorship system政治相关的话题zhèngzhì xiāngguān de huàtíPolitically related topics价值观jiàzhíguānValues, worldview账号被封掉zhànghào bèi fēngdiàoAccount got banned跨文化交流的机会kuà wénhuà jiāoliú de jīhuìOpportunities for cross-cultural exchange
Which country are Chinese LEAST interested in visiting? Most interested? – Intermediate Chinese
Sorry, but this is yet another great video from Mandarin Corner. Once again, Eileen conducts a street interview and asks only two questions: which country would you most like to visit, and which country would you absolutely not want to visit?
The result is not a 100 percent balanced reflection of what the Chinese population thinks about foreign countries, but it is certainly an interesting cross-section. The complex relationship with Japan is mentioned repeatedly (people even use the same phrase to describe their hatred). India is also not a top destination. Southeast Asia does not fare well either.
Yet, for almost every opinion expressed, you hear the opposite as well. There are also Chinese people who feel satisfied enough with their own country and are not particularly curious about foreign places. The level of information varies greatly. Prejudices are not always based on personal experiences or even those of one’s own social circle, that’s for sure.
Difficulty level: HSK 5
ChinesePinyinEnglish Translation罗马的古建筑Luómǎ de gǔ jiànzhùAncient architecture of Rome核污染hé wūrǎnNuclear pollution对他们的影响比较肤浅duì tāmen de yǐngxiǎng bǐjiào fūqiǎnThe impact on them is rather superficial穿搭chuāndāOutfit styling, fashion coordination下蛊xià gǔCasting a voodoo curse (folk sorcery)电信诈骗diànxìn zhàpiànTelecom fraud, phone scam露天监狱lùtiān jiānyùOpen-air prison这是刻在中国人骨子里面的基因的仇恨zhè shì kè zài Zhōngguó rén gǔzi lǐmiàn de jīyīn de chóuhènThis is hatred engraved in the genes of Chinese people和善héshànKind and gentle刻本印象kèběn yìnxiàngStereotypical impression
I hope you enjoyed this first edition of 2025. I’ll be back with more Chinese vocabulary notes soon!
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