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Hi, friends, when I was writing about the Chinese (Shānxi) Folk Song -- People Say That Shanxi Has Good Scenery, I realized that I should write some sentences to help you to distinguish between the names of two provinces -- Shǎnxi and Shānxi.


SENTENCES ABOUT SHANNXI AND SHANXI:

No. 083: -- 你去过山西吗？
            -- 没有，我没去过，但我去过陕西。
            -- Have you been to Shanxi?
            -- No, I haven't, but I have been to Shannxi.

No. 084: -- 山西省省会在哪里？
            -- 在太原。
            -- Where is the provincial capital of Shanxi province ?
            -- In Taiyuan.

No.085:   -- 陕西省的省会在西安，(不)是吗？
            -- 是的。
            -- The capital of Shannxi is Xian, isn't it?
            -- Yes.

No.086:   -- 听说西安是中国最著名的古城之一，对吗?
            -- 对，西安是有3600多年的历史。
            -- It is said that Xian is one of the most famous ancient cities in China, right?
            -- Right, its history goes back over 3600 years.      

No. 087: -- 最著名的西安古迹是什么？
                 -- 秦兵马俑。
                 -- What is the most famous historic site in Xian?
                 -- The Qin Dynasty terracotta warriors and horses.


NEW WORDS:

Please click on any Chinese character that you need help with to see its Chinese pinyin, pronunciation and meaning and then read it after me.

CHINESE PINYIN: HOW TO DISTINGUISH "SHANXI" AND "SHANXI" :

In Chinese pinyin, the names of the two places have the same form: Shanxi and Shanxi. However, they are two different provinces, one is pronounced with a tone 1, i.e. Shānxi; the other with a tone 3, i.e. Shǎnxi. When you write them in English they are exactly the same, so to distinguish between them the Chinese government ruled that Shānxi should keep its original form and that Shǎnxi should be written as Shannxi.

Their Chinese characters are:
山西： Shānxi -- Shanxi, its capital is Taiyuan
陕西： Shǎnxi -- Shannxi, its capital is Xian

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please write to shirley@ebridge.cn , or shirleyz004@yahoo.com, You are also welcome to publish your opinions in Forum For Friends. :-)   

--Shirley
Written and Recorded On Sat, Feb 18, 2006