Posted by Bethany from WrittenChinese.Com

During the month of January, I have the opportunity to do some traveling throughout China.  Even though most of the country is very cold right now, for some places, winter is the time to shine! This is especially true of Harbin.

Located roughly 500 km south of the Russian border, Harbin is well known for its enormous ice sculptures and yearly ice lantern festival.  Interested in going? Here are a few words related to Harbin for you to learn before you go:

1. 哈尔滨 ( hā ěr bīn) = Harbin

          ex. 下个月我想去哈尔滨. (xià gè yuè wǒ xiǎng qù hā’ěrbīn.) = Next month, I want to go to Harbin.

2. 冰灯 (bīng dēng) = ice lantern (an ice sculpture with a light or candle inside)

3. 冰雕 (bīng diāo) = ice sculpture

           ex. 你看到那个非常大的冰雕了吗? (nǐ kàn dào nàgè fēicháng dà de bīngdiāole ma?) = Do you see that enormous ice sculpture?!

4. 雪 (xuě) = snow

          ex. 现在下大雪了. (xiànzài xià dàxuěle.) = It is snowing heavily right now.

5. 冷 (lěng) = cold

          ex. 今天比昨天冷. (jīntiān bǐ zuótiān lěng.) = Today is colder than yesterday.

6. 俄国 (é guó) = Russia

          ex. 哪里是中俄边境? (nǎlǐ shì zhōng é biānjìng ?) = Where is the Russian border?

7. 呼出 (hū chū) = to breathe out

          ex. 我可以看到我呼出的气. (wǒ kěyǐ kàn dào wǒ hūchū de qì.) = I can see my breath.

8. 脚趾 (jiǎo zhǐ) = toe

          ex. 我感觉不到我的脚趾了. (wǒ gǎnjué bù dào wǒ de jiǎozhǐle.) = I can’t feel my toes.

Want more information?  Try looking these words up using our free Chinese dictionary .