Learning Chinese through Stories

Welcome to 听故事说中文, the podcast where stories come alive to help you improve your Chinese language proficiency and cultural competency. This week, we've got a powerful, satirical story about a young man who is, quite literally, a "testing genius." He did everything right: top student every single year, culminating in scoring the highest in the province on the college entrance exam—the Zhuangyuan. But his success came at a cost. His life was completely mapped out by his high-achieving parents, treating him more like a project than a person. The heart-wrenching twist comes after the final exam. When his mother finally offers him freedom—TV, games, going out—he can only stare blankly and reply: "没意思" (méi yìsi), "It's boring." Join us as we explore this story about an exam-obsessed culture and the devastating moment a mind brilliant at tests loses the ability to live. Comment below and share with us your thoughts. Btw, did you tell the difference on the sound quality ? 😊 Simeng ************************************************************ Support Our Podcast If our podcast brings value to your life and you'd like to help us continue creating great content, consider becoming a patron for as little as $7 a month. As a patron, you will enjoy: ✨ Ad-free episodes for an uninterrupted listening experience. 📜Access to all story and story walkthrough transcripts. 📚 Comprehensive vocabulary lists. 🎧 Exclusive patron-only episodes. 💬 The opportunity to join our member community for weekly online meetups. Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep delivering the content you love. Thank you for considering becoming a part of our community! 💖 - LCTS ************************************************************ Check out our playlists on Spotify  Chinese for Intermediate-Playlist  Chinese for Intermediate High-Playlist Chinese for Advanced-Playlist  Chinese for Superior- Playlist  Chinese for Beginners-Playlist

Welcome to 听故事说中文, the podcast where stories come alive to help you improve your Chinese language proficiency and cultural competency. In today's episode, we're sharing a deeply moving and personal account from a factory in Kunshan, Jiangsu in 2014, focusing on the lives of migrant women workers—who are also mothers. down her face as she writes. What she wrote was a heartbreaking, tightly-packed letter explaining one thing: "Why does mom have to go out to work?" And as always, we'd love to hear your thoughts! Share your comments, questions, or favorite parts of the episode with us. -LCTS ************************************************************ Support Our Podcast If our podcast brings value to your life and you'd like to help us continue creating great content, consider becoming a patron for as little as $7 a month. As a patron, you will enjoy: ✨ Ad-free episodes for an uninterrupted listening experience. 📜Access to all story and story walkthrough transcripts. 📚 Comprehensive vocabulary lists. 🎧 Exclusive patron-only episodes. 💬 The opportunity to join our member community for weekly online meetups. Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep delivering the content you love. Thank you for considering becoming a part of our community! 💖 - LCTS ************************************************************ Check out our playlists on Spotify  Chinese for Intermediate-Playlist  Chinese for Intermediate High-Playlist Chinese for Advanced-Playlist  Chinese for Superior- Playlist  Chinese for Beginners-Playlist

Welcome to 听故事说中文, the podcast where stories come alive to help you improve your Chinese language proficiency and cultural competency. In today's episode, we're sharing a deeply moving and personal account from a factory in Kunshan, Jiangsu in 2014, focusing on the lives of migrant women workers—who are also mothers. down her face as she writes. What she wrote was a heartbreaking, tightly-packed letter explaining one thing: "Why does mom have to go out to work?" And as always, we'd love to hear your thoughts! Share your comments, questions, or favorite parts of the episode with us. -LCTS ************************************************************ Support Our Podcast If our podcast brings value to your life and you'd like to help us continue creating great content, consider becoming a patron for as little as $7 a month. As a patron, you will enjoy: ✨ Ad-free episodes for an uninterrupted listening experience. 📜Access to all story and story walkthrough transcripts. 📚 Comprehensive vocabulary lists. 🎧 Exclusive patron-only episodes. 💬 The opportunity to join our member community for weekly online meetups. Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep delivering the content you love. Thank you for considering becoming a part of our community! 💖 - LCTS ************************************************************ Check out our playlists on Spotify  Chinese for Intermediate-Playlist  Chinese for Intermediate High-Playlist Chinese for Advanced-Playlist  Chinese for Superior- Playlist  Chinese for Beginners-Playlist

Welcome to 听故事说中文, the podcast where stories come alive to help you improve your Chinese language proficiency and cultural competency. Today, we're sharing the incredible true story of a young man named Tong Haoran. At just 24, he's a photographer who, along with his friends, customized a Ford Mustang race car from scratch and became the first team from mainland China to ever complete the world-famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. He even documented the entire journey in a film. But this isn't just a story about success. It's about a young man who, at 14, dropped out of middle school after a difficult period of feeling lost and isolated. He found his way back to himself through his passion for mechanics and photography, all with the unwavering support of his mother. Join us as we explore Tong Haoran's inspiring journey and learn some useful Chinese vocabulary along the way. -LCTS ************************************************************ Support Our Podcast If our podcast brings value to your life and you'd like to help us continue creating great content, consider becoming a patron for as little as $7 a month. As a patron, you will enjoy: ✨ Ad-free episodes for an uninterrupted listening experience. 📜Access to all story and story walkthrough transcripts. 📚 Comprehensive vocabulary lists. 🎧 Exclusive patron-only episodes. 💬 The opportunity to join our member community for weekly online meetups. Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep delivering the content you love. Thank you for considering becoming a part of our community! 💖 - LCTS ************************************************************ Check out our playlists on Spotify  Chinese for Intermediate-Playlist  Chinese for Intermediate High-Playlist Chinese for Advanced-Playlist  Chinese for Superior- Playlist  Chinese for Beginners-Playlist

Welcome to 听故事说中文, the podcast where stories come alive to help you improve your Chinese language proficiency and cultural competency. Today, we're sharing the incredible true story of a young man named Tong Haoran. At just 24, he's a photographer who, along with his friends, customized a Ford Mustang race car from scratch and became the first team from mainland China to ever complete the world-famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. He even documented the entire journey in a film. But this isn't just a story about success. It's about a young man who, at 14, dropped out of middle school after a difficult period of feeling lost and isolated. He found his way back to himself through his passion for mechanics and photography, all with the unwavering support of his mother. Join us as we explore Tong Haoran's inspiring journey and learn some useful Chinese vocabulary along the way. -LCTS ************************************************************ Support Our Podcast If our podcast brings value to your life and you'd like to help us continue creating great content, consider becoming a patron for as little as $7 a month. As a patron, you will enjoy: ✨ Ad-free episodes for an uninterrupted listening experience. 📜Access to all story and story walkthrough transcripts. 📚 Comprehensive vocabulary lists. 🎧 Exclusive patron-only episodes. 💬 The opportunity to join our member community for weekly online meetups. Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep delivering the content you love. Thank you for considering becoming a part of our community! 💖 - LCTS ************************************************************ Check out our playlists on Spotify  Chinese for Intermediate-Playlist  Chinese for Intermediate High-Playlist Chinese for Advanced-Playlist  Chinese for Superior- Playlist  Chinese for Beginners-Playlist