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A crucial trait for any pilot is constant situational awareness, or keeping watch for small problems which might signify larger ones to come. And while James Washburn was an excellent pilot in this regard, nothing in his career could have prepared the seasoned captain for the events which were to unfold this particular evening, on what was otherwise a perfectly routine flight from New York to Boston.... Learning Chinese? We haven't been treating you with kiddie gloves at our Absolute Beginner and Elementary levels, but where we really shine is the Intermediate level, which will put you on the fast track to fluency with complex dialogues that feature advanced speaking patterns and lots of emotional nuance. So if you're learning Chinese with the goal of professional fluency, be sure to listen in: you won't regret it.

One of the benefits China offers as an expat destination is the refreshing lack of streetside vendors hawking power crystals and comfort necklaces. Unfortunately, while the Orient is insulated from the prevailing trends on late-night American television, if you live here you will have to deal with a whole new category of mystical concepts that have seized the local imagination. Except for acupuncture, which we're willing to admit might have some merits.... Learning Chinese? Our Elementary lesson for today is a bit faster and more complex than most of our podcasts at this level, but still consists of fairly simple sentences and high-frequency vocabulary. So if you already know some Chinese but are looking to push yourself closer to fluency, give us a shot and experience Chinese the way it's actually spoken in mainland China. And if you have any questions or thoughts, consider yourself warmly invited to let us know in the discussion section below.

So it turns out that not everything in Beijing is really in "walking distance" from your hotel as your tour guide promised. Or that's how it feels now that you're halfway between Xizhimen and Sanlitun with only twenty minutes left before the show. Suffice it to say that the maze of hutongs in which you are lost no longer seem as charming as they did from the outside.... Learning Chinese? Our podcast for today is designed for absolute beginners to the Chinese language. This means that even if you don't have any background in mandarin, you should be able to follow along and pick up some of the basics of this fascinating language. So give us a listen and be sure to signup for access to our premium features like transcripts, tests and extra audio recordings.

A mere two hours after he had ordered the mission, the President read his security briefing with a seething fury, his thoughts as stormy as the clouds darkening the skies above Washington. His administration could deal with a partisan Congress. And no-one expected a free ride from the media on issues of national security. But to face what must either be gross incompetence or deliberate obstruction from his own military advisers? He reached for the phone.... Learning Chinese? Today's lesson is an intermediate listening test filled with drama. This is Chinese the way you'll hear it on television or in the theaters. So if you have a few years of mandarin under your belt take a listen to our dialogue and then click through to our quiz section to gauge your comprehension. And if you have any questions? Feel free to leave questions in our discussion section below, or check out our online popup Chinese transcript and see what you missed.

We have enormous respect for Mark Rowswell, but there's still something unsettling about the constant cheer his alter ego Dashan manages to project on state television. It's almost as if Mark's creation lives in a different China than us, one where bureaucratic corruption and intransigence don't exist and the food companies aren't constantly trying to poison one with new and inventive nutritional supplements. In any event, while we suspect Mark has his ups-and-downs like the rest of us, we actually wonder what if anything he can do about it. Because how exactly can you have a bad China day when you're supposed to be the most upbeat foreigner in China. And given his reputation for impeccable mandarin, will his friends and family even notice?

Much later in life, Qin would still wake from terrible nightmares of his college days. Yet unlike his many classmates who struggled with the math, his decision to major in physics was not the trigger for these episodes so much as his choice of studying in Urumchi, where the finest minds in the province would lecture on the most pressing scientific questions in whatever language and accent seemed most convenient at the time.

Today we're pleased to present another HSK listening test for beginner students preparing to take the HSK test. As unlike more advanced levels, at Level 1 on the New HSK exam, you should be allowed to listen to each passage twice during the course of the exam. So take a listen and see how you do. And if you have any questions contact us anytime at service@popupchinese.com.

As the southern Yangtze region struggles with its worst drought in a century, China's grand plans for water diversion projects and its Three Gorges Dam have come under renewed scrutiny, as have expectations Beijing can maintain economic stability. For beyond the environmental disaster wracking southern China, questions are growing of whether Beijing is veering towards a similar fate itself, with city planners expecting a thirty percent increase in the capital's population in a region that's already far beyond its carrying capacity. Joining Sinica host Kaiser Kuo to discuss this year's China drought are Sinica stalwarts Jeremy Goldkorn of Danwei and Gady Epstein of Forbes magazine. China entrepreneur and frequent guest Bill Bishop also joins to share his thoughts on a situation that "is a game changer". Join us for a podcast that talks about China's ongoing water problems, and then moves on to other flashpoint issues: environmental unrest in Inner Mongolia, and a tragic bombing in Fuzhou. We've reminded you countless times that you can signup for an account and get Sinica to download automatically to your computer every time it's release. So let's do something different today. If you use Twitter and want to join the constant stream of discussion about China news, we cordially invite you to follow Kaiser Kuo at @KaiserKuo, Jeremy at @danwei, Gady Epstein at @gadyepstein and Bill Bishop at @niubi. Oh yes, and @relevantorgans. And here is the standalone MP3 file.

At the Silk Market in Beijing, Robert had been the center of attention, with polo shirts and Timberland jackets thrust at him blindly from all sides. And now, after a brief respite at his hotel, the frenzy had begun again. Barely had the poor man cleared his plate, when a fresh serving of mutton, beef or fish would be spooned onto it by one or sometimes several of his Chinese colleagues simultaneously. Want to learn Chinese? We love China most of the time, but admit to find it grating when Chinese people assume that foreigners are incapable of putting food on their own plates. And while we usually grin and bear it, sometimes enough is enough. Which is what this lesson is about. Join us for an introductory walk through the Chinese language in which we learn a few ways to assert yourself in mandarin with varying degrees of forcefulness.

"And then there was the time a fight almost broke out in our studio over the Tokyo metro...." Our advanced Chinese podcast for today another merciless onslaught of full-speed, native-level Chinese. Hosted by Nicole who you might know from our site for learning Cantonese, it showcases a mix of both northern and southern accents, and covers a topic is dear to the hearts of everyone struggling to get by in Beijing: commuting and the toll it takes on your work-life balance. Listen in and then let us know how you're coping too.

The first time the Communist Youth League suggested a cosplay outing to Beihai park, Xiao Wang was taken aback by the idea. She had always thought joining the Communist Party would be a romantic, intellectual journey filled with serious discussions about the fate of the nation and her responsibilities as a prospective Party member. And yet if costume play was what they wanted... let no-one say she wasn't willing to play the part. Learning Chinese and dismayed by the general lack of lessons about cosplay and senior Party leadership? Let our Intermediate Chinese podcast for today fill this critical gap as we cover both topics in a single podcast. And we welcome lesson suggestions for other topics you feel are equally underrepresented: send us your suggestions at service@popupchinese.com or leave a note in our comment section below.

We took Squeak in after a friend found him huddling in the bushes of her apartment complex. As he's grown up, our once-tiny kitten has developed a fondness for gnawing on things as a general solution to any problem, along with a voracious appetite for lychee and fondness for fetching paper balls. Given that our last non-Chinese cat spent most of its time sleeping, our conclusion is that Chinese cats are pretty cool. Learning Chinese? At the elementary level our dialogues start moving away from simple words to more complex sentences. And while our dialogue for today is still not that complex, it moves as quickly as the language you'll hear on the streets of Beijing. So if you're pushing ahead with your mandarin or are an animal lover looking to pick up some pet-related vocabulary, join us for a lesson that will set you on the right track.

It may be because we've yet to finish Kissinger's latest book on the subject, but we'll admit to having found life in China a bit more inscrutable than normal these past few weeks, and all evidence suggests we're not alone. Seen through the prism of Yahoo's mounting frustration with Alibaba's financial contortions or own own escalating difficulty accessing Gmail, we now wonder if - as Vice-Premier Wang Qishan commented in a recent interview on Charlie Rose - our Western perspective is too simple-minded to understand the strategic complexity of life in the Orient. Feel the same way? Then why not join host Kaiser Kuo this week for a baffled look at the latest China news. Joining Kaiser to talk about these issues are regular Sinica stalwarts Jeremy Goldkorn from danwei.org and Gady Epstein, whom we officially congratulate for his upcoming shift from Forbes to the Economist. Way to go, Gady! On a final note, are you tired of constantly refreshing Popup Chinese to see when Sinica is released? For a more convenient way to listen, create an account on Popup Chinese and subscribe to the Sinica show in your list of podcasts, or subscribe to the Sinica show on iTunes using our standalone RSS feed: http://popupchinese.com/feeds/custom/sinica. We also still have the show available from our site as a standalone mp3 file.

He had heard that the Owl of Minerva flies only at twilight, and yet the old man had dismissed such philosophy when young. As a boy, enlightenment had raced before his grasping fingers. It was only now as he lay on his deathbed that the old man knew the cruel truth in the form of a pained regret for a lifetime of deeds left undone....

"It says that Chinese people really care about family," Larry Page leafed through the consulting report. For the last few months, impassioned youth from all over the country had been flooding the Internet with impassioned pleas filled with references to their grandmothers. From its headquarters tracking online sentiment, Google was sure somewhat strange was happening in the country, but what exactly? Learning Chinese? This lesson is for Absolute Beginners to the Chinese language. Even if you don't know any mandarin this lesson should be simple enough to get you started. So join us as we cover two essentials: how to ask questions about time, and when and where to invoke the names of close friends and relatives. We thrive on your comments and suggestions, so if you have any, please feel free to leave a comment in the discussion space below or send us an email at service@popupchinese.com.