Podcast Maayot

In many cities in China, there are some large and small parks. These parks are not only part of the environmental protection, but also for the local residents to do some lesiure activites. Morning is usually the busiest time of day in these parks, and you'll find some people exercising and some people doing interesting leisure activities. In today’…

Blind dates may be something that many single people have experienced. For most of us, when we meet our blind date for the first time, and there is no special feelings between both of us, we may never see each other again. But our protagonists of today’s story are exceptional. Although there is no special attachment between them first time they met…

Many years ago, there was a popular book called “Men from Mars and women from Venus”. The book illustrates the differences between men and women in simple and funny ways. As for the reasons for the differences in mindset between men and women, some people think it is natural, while others think it is acquired. Today, let's discuss what are the reas…

When we are in our own country, we all have our favorite coffee brand or coffee shop. When we come to China, we can see some international coffee brands, such as Starbucks and Costa, but there may not have the brands that we prefer. If we can find our favorite brand, it will be a pleasant surprise. In today’s story, our protagonist recounted how ex…

In Chinese history, each dynasty generally only had one capital. However, there were a few of exceptional cases. During Ming Dynasty, there were two capitals, and they had the same function. The two capitals are Beijing and Nanjing. Today we are going to discuss why the Ming Dynasty had two capitals. Join other motivated learners on your Chinese le…

In Chinese, when we point out someone hold a post without qualifications or make up a number without active work, we use the idiom “làn yú chōng shù”. The direct meaning of this idiom is that pretend to play the Yu (a wind instrument) in order to make up the number for an orchestra. In today’s story, we are going to learn the original story behind …

When we travel to other places, accommodation is a very important issue. We always want to pick a comfortable, convenient hotel with an affordable price. In today’s story, our protagonist Xiao Li travelled to a city during the summer. He had picked up a hotel that has no air-con. The most unexpected thing is that he was asked to pay additional fees…

In ancient China, there were four famous beauties. Xi Shi was one of them. There are several legendary stories about Xi Shi, and some idioms are also related to her. In today’s story, we are going to look at how did Xi Shi become one of the most famous femal figure in ancient China, and also learn a few of idioms that related to her. Join other mot…

There are many famous mountains in China, such as the Five Sacred Mountains and the four Famous Buddhist mountains. They all have their unique landscape and historical stories. In today’s story, we are going to look at two of the most famous mountains in China--Mount Tai and Mount Huangshan. They all have been listed as World Cultural and Natural H…

With the development of social media, many people are willing to share what they see and hear during their daily life. Some people also like to post what do they have for meal. In today’s story, our protagonist recounted his experiences of having dinner with his college mates. We will see that his classmates have some habitual behavior before the d…

It's winter time, and it's relatively warm when there's no wind. The temperature drops a lot when the wind blows. The power of wind can benefit many things, but it can also damage buildings and crops etc. Since ancient times, people's feelings towards wind could be very contradictory, it is a mixture of respect and fears. So people deified the wind…

In Chinese, people using the word of “Bo Le”to describe the talent scout, and the word of “swift horse”to describe people who are talented and capable of doing things. In today’s story, we are going to look through an ancient Chinese story, it is where those two words are originated. The story also shows us how important it is to have a talent scou…

Today is the “Beginning of Winter”, which is one of the 24 solar terms in China. In each of the solar term, Chinese people have some traditional customs. Of course, these customs are differed in the north and south of China. In today’s story, we are going to look at a special custom for people from north China on the day of ”Beginning of Winter”. J…

Today is the “Beginning of Winter”, which is one of the twenty-four solar terms. It used to be an important festival for Chinese people because in the past, Chinese people believes that winter is the season of rest and recuperation, people who have been working hard all year need to have a good rest. In today’s story, we are going to look at the cl…

Today is the “Beginning of Winter”—one of the twenty-four solar terms in Chinese lunar calendar. In the north China, majority of the houses have turned on the heating because it is pretty cold already. In today’s story, we are going to walk into the most well-known palace in China—The Forbidden City, and take a look at how the heating system worked…

The climate of China differs greatly from that of the north to the south. For people living in the south, snow in the north is something they envy. For those who live in the north, they also admire the warm winter weather in the south. Of course, these perceptions are limited and can't match people's own experience. In today’s story, our protagonis…

Today is Halloween. For adults, the most interesting part of this festival is all kinds of costumes and theme parties. Attending these parties, having a unique makeup will make you the center of the party. However, there are also few things that we should be aware of before putting the Halloween makeup on, because improper use of makeup products ca…

Shopping is a very important activity in our life, and it also makes us feel happy when we bought something that we really like. A lot of people find it is difficult to control our enthusiasm towards shopping and ends up in buying many stuffs that we don’t really need. Everyone knows that we should be more rational towards shopping, but hard to do …

In our yesterday’s story, we knew that our protagonist lost his bank card and needs to go to the bank and get a new one. In today’s story, we are going to hear a conversation between David and a bank staff. David went to the bank and apply for a new card. Let’s take a look what does it require to get a new bank card. Join other motivated learners o…

Gift-giving is an important part of social interaction. In China, there is a trend in recent years that people tend to give money to others directly instead of choosing a gift for them. Now both Wechat and Alipay can directly send "red envelopes" to others, making the process easier and more simple. In today’s story, we are going to discuss why peo…

When it comes to name a child, most of the Chinese parents would take many factors into consideration, such as how the name sounds, does the name contain good meanings, does it in line with the eight characters of birth, etc. In today’s story, we are going to look at two parents who are having difficulties to come up with a name for their daughter.…

Chinese people are very hospitable, and like to invite friends for dinner. Nowadays, Chinese people have gradually accepted the idea of sharing the bill with others, but in many cases, we find that people are still willing to pay for the dinner for everyone. In today’s story, our protagonist thought that they have agreed to let him pay for the bill…

The topic of “should we follow our interest and make it as our profession” is a cliché that frequently been discussed as it is a question that almost all of us have faced. Without any doubt, with interests and passion, we surely can enjoy our work. However, the reality is not as simple as that. In today’s story, we are going to discuss why some peo…

Siheyuan is also known as Courtyard Houses, which is the traditional, typical residential building in Beijing. It is a tradition to plant trees in siheyuan, but not just any kind of tree can be planted, here is a certain exquisite. In today’s story, we are going to talk about what kind of trees people tend to plant in siheyuan, and the meaning behi…

Listening carefully to others is not a difficult thing to do, but many people tend to ignore the messages others send to us. In today’s story, our protagonists are two friends, one of them created a puzzle for the other. However, even the answer is quite obvious, the other person still didn’t get it. Let’s take a look now. Join other motivated lear…

Mapo tofu is a very famous and popular dish in Sichuan cuisine. The character “po”in Chinese refers old woman or mother in law. People may wonder why this dish was named after an old woman. In today’s story, let’s take a look of the origin of “Mapo totu”. Join other motivated learners on your Chinese learning journey with maayot. Receive a daily ch…

In some places of Fujian and Guangdong, there are many residential buildings with unique shapes. From the outside, they look like blockhouses. They are typical and unique residential buildings in China -- Earth Towers of the Hakkas. In today's story, we will discuss the history and architectural characteristics of this type of building. Join other …

The criteria to evaluate people is a very broad topic and difficult to come up with a conclusion. In today’s story, we are going to discuss the standard of a good man. We will see why it is difficult to have a general standard to evaluate people. Join other motivated learners on your Chinese learning journey with maayot. Receive a daily chinese rea…

Pagoda tree is also known as Chinese scholar tree. It is a very common tree species in China, especially in northern China. To Chinese people, the pagoda tree is a plant that has both practical and cultural values. In today’s story, we are going to look at why pagoda tree has significant meaning to Chinese people. It will help us to understand why …

In Chinese, people use Mr. Dongguo to describe people who are too kind and Zhongshan Wolf to describe people who are ungrateful. Those two terms are originated from a fable story of ancient China. Today, we are going to take a look at this fable story, let’s see what happened between Mr. Dongguo and the wolf. Join other motivated learners on your C…

In traditional Chinese values, it is the family concept that the man goes out to work while the woman looks after the house. But for Shanghai local people , it may be an exception. In today’s story, our protagonist shared her view of why she thinks that shanghai local men are good husband. Join other motivated learners on your Chinese learning jour…

In China, the tiger is known as the King of the forest, while the fox is known for its crafty. What happens when these two animals meet? In today’s story, we are going to learn a Chinese idiom, which originally associated with these two animals. Let’s take a look what happened between them. Join other motivated learners on your Chinese learning jou…

Golf has become synonymous with fashion and high-end activity. In fact, many sports activities have social attributes. In today’s story, we are going to look at n ancient Chinese sport activity-- Chui-Wan. We will see that this activity is quite similar to the golf in terms of venues, rules and equipment etc. Join other motivated learners on your C…

There is a Chinese saying goes "Seeing is believing." No matter how much we thought we know about a place without actually visiting there, as long as we arrive at the place, we could find some differences. In today’s story, our protagonist shared his view on some of the things that he found are different between China and his home country. Join oth…

Noodles are popular staple food for Chinese people no matter in the southern or northern regions of China. In each province, they have their own way cook noodles. In today’s story, we are going to look at various types of noodles in China. We will see that there are some knowledge of health maintenance involved when eating noodles. Join other motiv…

As many people know, Chinese people have two ages, one is nominal year of age and the other is called full year of age. Even for some Chinese people, they are not sure how to calculate the nominal year of age. In today’s story, we are going to discuss the calculation method of Chinese people’s nominal year of age. Join other motivated learners on y…

When our friends invite us coming over to their house for lunch or dinner, we often try to be as helpful as we can as a guest. In today’s story, our protagonist recounted her experiences of coming over to her friend’s house for lunch. We will see that she is a very helpful guest. Join other motivated learners on your Chinese learning journey with m…

Sima Guang was a famous historian in Chinese history. His major achievement was writing a history book of China called “History As A Mirror”. The book is an important reference for future generations to learn Chinese history. Apart from thisachievement, there is a well-known story about him that almost all Chinese people know. In today’s story, we …

The Chinese unicorn is a sacred animal and represent propitious in Chinese mythology. For thousands years, people have had various imaginations about what the unicorn looks like. According to a literature, people actually had see it in reality in Ming Dynasty. In today’s story, let’s take a look what did the “Chinese unicorn” look like. Join other …

Nowadays, e-payment has provided great convenience to us, and saves us a lot of time to withdraw money from the bank. But for some business, we still have to go to the bank. In today’s story, we are going to listen to a conversation between David and Xiao Hong regarding to the opening and closing time of bank. Join other motivated learners on your …

It may sounds very strange to link the word “quality” with human in Chinese. So when someone calls himself as a high quality male of human being, it would get people's attention. In today’s story, we are going to look at the origin of the term “high quality male of human being”. It started with a video posted by a guy, and most of the people watche…

In modern society, the tuition fees we paid for our schooling is accounted in currency. In ancient China, there are various form of “tuition fees” through different period of time. In today’s story, we are going to look at how did students pay tuition fees in ancient China. Join other motivated learners on your Chinese learning journey with maayot.…

Sun Wukong , also known as the Monkey King, is a key character of the famous Chinese novel “Journey to the West”. He has power of the almighty, and is perceived as an immortal figure in the eyes of Chinese people. In today’s story, we are going to discuss who is the original model of Sun Wukong. Join other motivated learners on your Chinese learnin…

Sometimes it happens to us, when we are in a public place, such as a restaurant, or a coffee shop, we may accidently left something there and realized later on. In today’s story, we are going to hear a conversation between David, Xiao Ming and a restaurant staff. David couldn’t find his bag after leaving the restaurant. Join other motivated learner…

Autumn is an ideal season for outdoor activities, such as hiking, and mountain climbing etc. In today’s story, we are going to climb up to Huong Son, which is the most famous mountain in Beijing. There are several things that we need to be aware of when conduct this outdoor activity. Join other motivated learners on your Chinese learning journey wi…

When we check into a hotel, we often tell the reception our preferences towards the room or make sure they arrange the room according to our request. In today’s story, we are going to hear a conversation between George and a hotel reception. George is about to check into the hotel he reserved early on. Join other motivated learners on your Chinese …

Going to bed early and getting up early is a widely accepted lifestyle that is beneficial to health and efficiency of work and study. However, it becomes more difficult for people to get to bed early nowadays due to varied reasons. In today’s story, we are going to discuss why we shouldn’t force ourselves to get up early when we slept late the nigh…

Today is the Ghost Festival in China, it is also known as Zhong Yuan Festival. The festival is used to memorize ancestors and family members who have passed away. Also people believe that after the mid-night, ghosts will come out from the underworld and cause trouble. In today’s story, we are going to talk about the meaning of Ghost Festival to Chi…

As we know, Chinese people always express their feelings implicitly. Especially in ancient times, when people met someone they like, they could not express their feelings directly, and couldn’t let others see it either. So they use objects that represent love to express their feelings, and let the other person know what they are thinking. In today’…

Nowadays, there are Chinese restaurants all over the world, and there is a wide variety of them, including Sichuan, Cantonese, Northeastern and Shanghai food etc. Having Chinese food abroad is a quite normal thing to do. In today’s story, we are going to hear a conversation between Ma Li, Xiao Hong and David. They are discussing the meal options, a…