New Chinese Learning Platform, Amanda App, Brings You China’s Monthly Top 5 Trending Stories


China | Trending | Stories

Following Chinese news can be tough for a beginner, and even advanced Chinese learners may have some difficulty wading through so many posts on Weibo, Wechat, and numerous online forums (贴吧). Project Pengyou brings a new guest poster, Amanda App, a new Mandarin learning platform which collects and translates news stories from the Chinese web to help you practice your Chinese on the go!

Reading through Amanda’s top trending stories each month will not only help you keep your Chinese skills sharp, but also help you keep your finger on the pulse of what’s going on in Chinese pop-culture!

Read below to see what news stories were most popular in July, and be sure to download and test out Amanda App.


Screen Shot 2015-07-11 at 9.34.24 AM1. In China, #LoveWins #LoveWins在中国

Both Western and Chinese social media reacted strongly to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on gay marriage. You’ve seen all the Facebook profile photos change as a result, but did you know that DiDi DaChe (an Uber-like app in China) even paid tribute to the news? Their taxi icons were changed to rainbow icons.

西方和中国的社交媒体都对美国最高法院裁定同性婚姻合法化反应强烈。结果你已经看到Facebook上所有头像都换了,但你知道吗,滴滴打车(中国一个类似优步app)也对这一新闻致敬了?他们的出租车图标都换成了彩虹图标。

Source: Amanda contributor via Wechat moments 


2. Activists Spend 500,000 RMB Saving Dogs Ready For Slaughter | 志愿者花50万人民币买狗救狗

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11 volunteers descended on a slaughterhouse in Yulin, famous for its “Dog Meat Festival”, and rescued 1381 dogs with a cost of over 500,000 RMB. Throughout the night, the workers spent 30 hours transporting the animals to a protection center in Gaoyou, where the activists had heard that the 400 dogs accommodated there last year faired well with the help of a local temple and other volunteers.

玉林以“狗肉节”闻名,11个志愿者突然来到玉林一家屠宰场,花费了50多万人民币购买并救出了1381只狗。经过整夜工作,工作人员花了30个小时把这些狗转移到了高邮一个护生园。志愿者们听说去年安置在高邮的400只狗在当地寺庙和志愿者的帮助下活的不错。

Source: http://news.qq.com/a/20150705/009566.htm#p=1


Screen Shot 2015-07-16 at 12.22.38 PM3. Student Comes Out Of The Closet At Graduation Ceremony | 学生在毕业典礼出柜

A 22-year-old student of Sun Yat-sen University who came out during graduation has gained the support of the university’s president and her classmates. Wan Qing made the announcement during the ceremony while sporting a rainbow flag, which she said was an impromptu and natural expression. Although her Weibo account has since increased its fanbase by over 5000, Wan Qing still hasn’t informed her non-web-savvy parents.

一个22岁的中山大学学生在毕业典礼上宣布出柜,得到了学校校长和同学的支持。万青说她穿着彩虹旗宣布出柜的举动是没有任何准备的自然表达。虽然她的微博账户自那时候已经涨了5000多的粉丝,万青还是没有告诉她那不是很熟悉互联网的父母。

Source: http://3g.163.com/ntes/special/0034073A/wechat_article.html?docid=AU3P68U600014AED&from=wechat_article.topnews


 4. Jianbing Stand in America | 美国的煎饼果子摊

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jianbing in Portland!

Alisa Grandy, who first tried the Chinese Crepe, Jianbing, when she went to China last year, has brought the traditional snack food with her back to America. After returning home, she learned how to make them through videos online at the end of last year, and opened a Jianbing stand in Portland with her husband and another friend. The Jianbing have received a very positive response from customers, with many buying several at a time, and “Bing mi”, the cleverly named stand, has a 5-star rating on Yelp. Netizens were astonished that the Jianbing, which commonly sell for around 1 RMB in China were selling for $6 in America.

Alisa Grandy去年去中国的时候第一次尝到了煎饼果子,并把这种传统小吃带回了美国。回到家乡后,她去年年底通过网络视频学会了做煎饼果子,于是和老公,朋友在颇特兰开了一个煎饼果子摊。煎饼果子获得消费者的积极反应,很多人一次买好几个。这个摊位有一个绝妙的名字“剑兵”,在Yelp上有5星评价。在中国通常卖1块钱的煎饼在美国能卖到6美元震惊了网友。

Source: http://baozouribao.com/articles/6141772?utm_campaign=in_app_share&utm_medium=iOS&utm_source=sina


 5. Middle School Teacher’s Letter of Resignation Goes Viral | 辞职信走红

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A surprisingly short letter of resignation written by a middle school psychology teacher recently went viral. The letter, which was only 10 characters long, simply said “The world is big, I want to see it.” and nothing more. Despite the letter’s boldness, school leadership approved the teacher’s resignation, and she has already left the school. Online comments about the letter showed overwhelming support for the teacher, with many netizens wishing they were brave enough to do the same thing.

一位中学心理老师极其简短的辞职信最近很火。这封辞职信就写了“世界那么大,我想去看看”10个字,没有其他东西。虽然这封信很鲁莽,学校领导层已批准了这位老师的辞职,她已经离开学校了。网络上对于这封辞职信的评论一边倒地支持老师,很多网民希望自己也能这么勇敢地去做这件事。

Source: http://finance.ifeng.com/a/20150414/13633227_0.shtml


amanda app About Amanda App

Amanda Chinese learning app brings you a fun new way for Chinese learning through trending stories on the Chinese web – and it is FREE! With the new mobile app, you can keep updated with the most authentic, interesting and current trending stories happening right now in China, and easily pick up some Chinese vocabulary as you read. The app is available to download on Apple app store: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id979096843?mt=8