ChinesePod

1 rivers and lakes
2 all corners of the country
3 remote areas to which hermits retreat
4 section of society operating independently of mainstream society, out of reach of the law
5 the milieu in which wuxia tales play out (cf. 武俠|武侠[wǔ xiá])
6 (in late imperial times) world of traveling merchants, itinerant doctors, fortune tellers etc
7 demimonde
8 (in modern times) triads
9 secret gangster societies
10 underworld

湖

hú

1 lake
2 classifier: 个 gè
3 classifier: 片 piàn

湖南

Hú nán

1 Hunan province in south central China, abbr. 湘, capital Changsha 長沙|长沙[Cháng shā]

西

Xī

1 the West
2 abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xī bān yá]
3 Spanish

Idioms (20)

中西合璧

Zhōng Xī hé bì

1 harmonious combination of Chinese and Western elements (idiom)

人在江湖，身不由己

rén zài jiāng hú , shēn bù yóu jǐ

1 you can't always do as you like
2 one has to compromise in this world (idiom)

各奔东西

gè bèn dōng xī

1 to go separate ways (idiom)
2 to part ways with sb
3 Taiwan pr. [gè bēn dōng xī]

喝西北风

hē xī běi fēng

1 lit. drink the northwest wind (idiom); cold and hungry

夕阳西下

xī yáng xī xià

1 the sun sets in the west (idiom)

Sample Sentences

哦，您说的对，杭州真是美极了，第一次来就流连忘返，我印象最深的就是西湖十景了，这说起来也已经是十多年前了，如今杭州发展可真快，变化可真大。

ò ，nín shuō de duì ，Hángzhōu zhēn shì měi jí le ，dì yī cì lái jiù liúliánwàngfǎn ，wǒ yìnxiàng zuìshēn de jiùshì Xīhúshíjǐng le ，zhè shuō qǐlai yě yǐjīng shì shíduōnián qián le ，rújīn Hángzhōu fāzhǎn kě zhēn kuài ，biànhuà kě zhēn dà 。

Uh, you're right. Hangzhou is extremely beautiful. The first time I came I didn't want to leave. I remember my deepest impression being of the ten historic sites around the West Lake. Now that I think about it, it must have been over ten years ago. Now Hangzhou is developing very quickly, and the changes are really dramatic.

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最近新茶上市，我托朋友买了些上好的西湖龙井，要不要品尝一下？

zuìjìn xīn chá shàngshì ，wǒ tuō péngyou mǎi le xiē shànghǎo de xīhú Lóngjǐng ，yào bù yào pǐncháng yīxià ？

A new tea has just come on the market and I asked a friend to buy some top-grade West Lake Dragon Well tea, do you want to taste it?

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是啊，我去过杭州，我特别爱吃“西湖醋鱼”、“荷叶粉蒸肉”、“桂花藕片”，浙菜还有好多糕点，面点，味道真是好极了！

shì a ，wǒ qù guò Hángzhōu ，wǒ tèbié ài chī “xīhúcùyú ”、“héyè fěn zhēng ròu ”、“guìhuā ǒupiàn ”，zhècài háiyǒu hǎo duō gāodiǎn ，miàndiǎn ，wèidao zhēn shì hǎo jí le ！

Yeah, I've been to Hangzhou, I love eating West Lake Sweet and Sour Fish, pork steamed with ground rice flour wrapped in lotus leaves and lotus root candied with osmanthus. Zhejiang cuisine has so many cakes and pastries, they taste so good!

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很早以前就想到杭州来看看西湖，可惜一直没有成行，下周趁着去杭州出差，我们终于可以了了这个心愿了。

hěnzǎo yǐqián jiù xiǎng dào Hángzhōu lái kàn kan xīhú ，kěxī yīzhí méiyǒu chéngxíng ，xiàzhōu chèn zhe qù Hángzhōu chūchāi ，wǒmen zhōngyú kěyǐ liǎo le zhè ge xīnyuàn le 。

We've long wanted to go to Hangzhou to see the West Lake, but unfortunately we were never able to make it happen. Next week while on a work trip to Hangzhou, we'll finally be able to make this dream come true.

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说的是啊，我也一直想去西湖看看，《新白娘子传奇》台词都会背了，怎么也得去实地看看啊。不过在去之前，我们最好先做做功课。

shuōdeshì ā ，wǒ yě yīzhí xiǎngqù xīhú kàn kan ，《xīnbáiniángzichuánqí 》táicí dōuhuì bèi le ，zěnme yě děi qù shídì kàn kan ā 。bùguò zài qù zhīqián ，wǒmen zuì hǎo xiān zuòzuo gōngkè 。

You said it. I've always wanted to go to see the West Lake too. I can even recite the lines of "The Legend of White Snake", so I should really try to go to the actual place to have a look whatever I do. However, we should do a little homework before going.

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我听说西湖景区早几年就被列入了联合国非物质文化遗产，最著名的就是传说中的西湖十景。

wǒ tīngshuō xīhú jǐngqū zǎo jǐnián jiù bèi lièrù le Liánhéguó fēiwùzhì wénhuà yíchǎn ，zuì zhùmíng de jiùshì chuánshuō zhōng de xīhúshíjǐng 。

I hear the West Lake scenic area was listed as a UNESCO site of intangible cultural heritage, the most famous thing about the area is the ten legendary scenes around the West Lake.

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网上说的的西湖十景是苏堤春晓、曲院风荷、平湖秋月、断桥残雪、柳浪闻莺、花港观鱼、雷峰夕照、双峰插云、南屏晚钟、三潭印月。听起来好有文化的样子啊。

wǎngshàng shuōde de xīhúshíjǐng shì sūtí chūnxiǎo 、qǔyuàn fēnghé 、pínghú qiūyuè 、duànqiáo cánxuě 、liǔlàng wényīng 、huāgǎng guānyú 、léifēng xīzhào 、shuāngfēng chāyún 、nánpíng wǎnzhōng 、sāntán yìnyuè 。tīng qǐlai hǎo yǒu wénhuà de yàngzi ā 。

On the internet it says the ten legendary scenes are 'Dawn on the Su Causeway in Spring', 'Lotuses in the Breeze at the Winery Garden', 'Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake', 'Lingering Snow at Broken Bridge', 'Orioles Singing amid the Billowing Willows', 'Observing Fish at Flower Pond', 'Leifeng Pagoda at Sunset', 'Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds', 'Hearing the Temple's Evening Bell Below Nanping Mountain' and 'Three Pools Mirroring the Moon'. It sounds so cultural.

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你说的这是老西湖十景，现在还有新西湖十景，你听着啊，分别是：云栖竹径、满陇桂雨、虎跑梦泉、龙井问茶、九溪烟树、吴山天风、阮墩环碧、黄龙吐翠、玉皇飞云、宝石流霞。

nǐshuōde zhè shì lǎoxīhúshíjǐng ，xiànzài háiyǒu xīn xīhúshíjǐng ，nǐ tīng zhe ā ，fēnbié shì ：yúnqī zhújìng 、mǎnlǒng guìyǔ 、hǔ pǎo mèng 、Lóngjǐng wènchá 、jiǔxī yānshù 、Wúshān tiānfēng 、ruǎndūn huánbì 、huánglóng tùcuì 、yùhuáng fēiyún 、bǎoshí liúxiá 。

You're talking about the old ten scenes from the West Lake, now there are the new ten scenes from the West Lake, I'll tell you them, they are: 'The Bamboo-lined Path through the Nest of Clouds', 'Rain of Osmanthus petals in Manjuelong Village', 'Dreaming of the Tiger Spring', 'Dragon Well Tea Plantation', 'Nine Creeks among the Misty Trees', 'The Heavenly Breeze over Wu Mountain', 'Duke Ruan's Pier Encircled by Greenery', 'Yellow Dragon Cave Spewing Jade Green', 'Clouds Flying over Jade Emperor Hill' and 'Red Skies over Precious Stone Mountain'.

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哇，听得我云里雾里的，这西湖到底有多少景啊。

wā ，tīng de wǒ yúnlǐwùlǐ de ，zhè xīhú dàodǐ yǒu duōshao jǐng ā 。

Wow, it makes me feel muggy headed just hearing it, how many scenes are there in the West Lake?

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你还别说，这西湖的景啊，一共有一百多处呢。这可够我们逛好几天的了。西湖不但景色美，而且人文气息也十分浓厚，其中最著名的莫过于唐代的白居易和宋代的苏轼给西湖留下的诗句了。

nǐ hái bié shuō ，zhè xīhú de jǐng ā ，yīgòng yǒu yībǎiduō chù ne 。zhè kě gòu wǒmen guàng hǎo jǐ tiān de le 。xīhú bùdàn jǐngsè měi ，érqiě rénwén qìxī yě shífēn nónghòu ，qízhōng zuì zhùmíng de mòguòyú tángdài de báijūyì hé Sòng Dài de Sū Shì gěi xīhú liúxià de shījù le 。

Don't even start. There are over one hundred scenic spots at the West Lake. Enough for us to spend several days visiting. It's not just the scenery that is fantastic at West Lake though, the cultural milieu here is also quite rich. Among them the most famous are the lines of poetry on the West Lake left behind by Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi and Song Dynasty poet Su Shi.

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