Travel in Chinese Lesson 68 Huaqing Pool

雪梅：兵马俑真是壮观，有那么的兵和马。

同事女：是啊，不单是数量很多，而且我觉得每个兵马俑的表情也各不相同，就好像真的一样。

同事男：怎么样，我昨天说的不错吧。真的兵马俑和小的复制品给人的感觉是完全不一样的。

雪梅：西安通，接下来我们去什么地方呢？西安还有像兵马俑历史这么长的文物可看吗？

同事男：西安，是中国六朝古都里历史最古老的一个，缺了什么也不会缺了文物啊，什么大雁塔啊、无字碑啊…….

同事女：你看，说的和自己就是西安人一样。

同事男：哎，不是告诉你我是半个西安人了吗？对了，要不我们去华清池看看吧，离这儿也不远。

同事女：啊，好啊！

雪梅：华清池，我好象听说过，但那是…….?

同事男：走吧，我们去看看就知道了。

（华清池）

雪梅：这里的水真清。哎，这些水是从那边的山上流下来的吗？

同事男：不是，华清池实际上是一个温泉，水都是从地下冒出来的，而且可以常年保持43摄氏度的水温。

同事女：我还听说有五、六千年前的历史了，

雪梅：五、六千年前，那历史可真是够长的，怪不得这里这么有名，到这儿来参观的人这么多。

同事男：华清池出名不仅仅是因为这里的历史长，更主要的原因是因为这儿曾经是杨贵妃洗澡的地方。

雪梅：杨贵妃？唐朝的那个吗？

同事女：对。当时的唐朝皇帝唐明皇和杨贵妃冬天就常常喜欢到这里来。

雪梅：那现在还有人到华清池去洗澡吗？

同事男：那当然是不可能的了。不过，我知道一个洗澡地方，在这儿附近，用的就是和华清池同一个温泉的水。

同事女：真的么？那快带我们去吧，让我们也体会一下儿当贵妃的感觉。
 

Translation:

Xuemei: The terracotta warriors are really spectacular, so many soldiers and horses.

Female Colleague: Yeah, not only the number is large, the facial expression of each warrior is unique and looks like they are real.

Male colleague: You see, I was right yesterday. The real terracotta warriors are quite different from those replicas.

Female colleague: Xi’ an expert, what’s our destination next? Are there any other places like the terracotta warriors in Xi’ an with such a long history?

Male colleague: Xi’an is the oldest among the six ancient capitals in China. Whatever it’s lacking, it’s certainly not lacking cultural artifacts. For example, the Big Goose Pagoda, the Stone Tablet with No Writing, the Forest of Steles etc.

Female colleague: You see, your description seems to show that you’re a Xi’an native.

Male colleague: Hey, did I tell you that I’m half of a Xi’an native? How about we go and see the Huanqing Pool? It’s not far from here.

Xuemei: OK.

Female colleague: Xuemei, Xiaozhang, here we are.

Xuemei: Huaqing Pool? It seemed familiar, but ----

Male colleague: Let’s go inside and have a look.

Xuemei: The water here is rather clear. Does it come from the mountain there?

Male colleague: No. Huanqing Pool is actually a hot spring. The water comes out from underground. The temperature can be retained around 43 degrees centigrade all year round.

Female colleague: I heard that it was discovered about five or six thousand years ago.

Xuemei: Five or six thousand years ago? That’s really a long history. No wonder it gets such a big name and so many visitors.

Male colleague: Huaqing Pool has a big name, not only because this place has a long history. More importantly, this is the place Yang Guifei used to bathe.

Xuemei: Yang Guifei? From Tang Dynasty?

Male colleague: Yes. She would often come here with the Tang Dynasty Emperor Tang Minghuang in winter.

Xuemei: Do people still come here to bathe now?

Male colleague: That’s impossible. But I know a nearby bath place. And the water there is from the same source as the Huaqing Pool.

Xuemei: Really? Let’s go now. We want to experience what it feels like to be a concubine.

Female colleague: That’s right.
 

Bookmarks

1、不单 not only

（例）他不单打篮球打得很好，游泳的技术也十分高超。

Not only does he play baketball very well, but his skill at swimming is also advanced.

（例）他不单去过上海，中国的城市大部分他都去过了。

He has not only been to Shanghai. He's been to most cities in China.

2、曾经 formerly, used to be

（例）他曾经是个百万富翁，不过现在已经变成个穷光蛋了。

He used to be a millionnaire. But now he has become a bum.

（例）我曾经在北京住过三年。

I used to live in Beijing for three years.

Sign Posts

Huaqing Pool

In Huaqing Pool, You can see reminders of this couple at many places in the hot spring grounds.

Inside the main gate of Huaqing Pool, you come first to the Nine-Dragon Lake and a white marble statue of Yang Guifei standing tall by the lake. She is considered to be one of the four most beautiful women in all of Chinese history. Mirrored in the lake you will see a surrounding complex of buildings interspersed with willows and rocks, including Frost Flying Hall 飞霜殿 to the north. The magnificent Frost Flying Hall used to be the bedroom of Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei, and features red supporting pillars and fine-patterned carving.

Walking southwards through the Dragon Marble Boat and several pavilions, you will find the site of the Imperial pools, the only one of its kind to be discovered in China. The five remaining pools here were wher the Emperor, his concubines and various high officials would bathe.

Huan Garden is the former garden of the Huaqing Palace grounds. The 五间亭Five-Room Hall here was built in the late Qing Dynasty. It was the shelter of Empress Dowager Cixi when she fled the foreign forces occupying Beijing after the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. And it was also the temporary residence of Chiang Kai-shek, the former leader of pre-liberation China during the famous Xian Incidence in 1936, wher Chiang Kai-shek was effectively imprisoned by one of his own generals.

Substitution and Extension

1、动词+什么也 no matter what, whatever

（例）他说什么也不去。

It didn't matter what he said. He just wouldn't go.