LEARNING CHINESE PROVINCES: PART ONE (Latest version- 2025)

Описание: The names of a dozen Chinese provinces are based on their location. Once you learn a handful of words, including north, south, east, west, mountain, river, and lake, you will have the key. Then, knowing the names and locations of the provinces mentioned in this video is so easy you will wonder why anyone would find them difficult.
This video is primarily designed for students and travelers who want to learn about China.
This includes Pinyin with tone marks for students learning Chinese.
(The version available on YouTube was released in March 2019. A more recent version (November 2020) of this video is available on Vimeo at: https://vimeo.com/481463210 . It includes some improved graphics. And better yet, unlike YoutTube, Vimeo does not interrupt your viewing experience with advertisements! The most recent version is also posted at Pere-X.net)

Want more?
Watch LEARNING CHINESE PROVINCES: PART TWO and LEARNING CHINESE PROVINCES: PART THREE!

Subtitles are available! In YouTube, use your mouse-pointer to "hover" over the "CC" icon toward the bottom of the video screen.

(“Boiler plate” key to language issues in this video series)
To align with global usage, the language norms for these videos follow those most widely used both in and outside China.
Although “teaching Chinese” is not the primary goal of these videos, there are certain aspects of these videos that will help students of that language. (And there is no shortage of qualified teachers, courses etc. for people who want to learn Chinese!)

Chinese written characters:
Unless otherwise noted in a video, the modern “Simplified” Chinese characters are used.

Pinyin:
To assist anyone studying the Chinese language, many of the Chinese placenames are shown (usually in a red-bordered box in a lower corner) using standardized “pinyin” which includes “tone marks” to indicate a critical factor in true Chinese pronunciation.

“Romanization”:
In other places, the “Romanization” (Chinese as rendered into the Latin/Roman alphabet) used is equivalent to Pinyin without the tone marks. This corresponds to the current norm used globally on most maps, in travel guides, and in the press.
There are a few isolated cases such as “Shaanxi” where a divergence from Pinyin minus tones occurs.

Pronunciation:
To provide the richest learning experience, and to assist viewers who are leaning Chinese, for most place names you will hear authentic Chinese (Mandarin) pronunciation by a native speaker, as an initial example.
This will help ALL viewers understand the proper pronunciation of the names.
In many cases you will also hear placenames, as well as the names of dynasties etc., spoken by me. I am not a qualified speaker of Chinese. And the Chinese language has many sounds that do not exist in English. My voice becomes a reasonable “Western” rendition of the names/words.
These videos will NOT teach Chinese, but afterwards you should be able to effectively discuss Chinese place names with other English speakers.
“Accents” (Such as regional variations of pronunciation.):
Although “Mandarin” Chinese (called “Putonghua” in Chinese) is considered to be the “standard/common” pronunciation in China, there are many regional variations. And quite notably, many residents of southern China speak the “Cantonese” version of Chinese, which is significantly different than Mandarin.
In addition, non-native speakers of Chinese unavoidably inject their own linguistic flavor into their renditions of spoken Chinese words and names based their home language and accent.