2.6. Urban Transportation

<<< Home

Focus on navigating through Chinese cities using public transport – buses, subways, and local taxis. Includes purchasing tickets, asking for directions, and understanding transit schedules.

A. Basic Level

In Beijing’s busy financial district, two young men attempted to hail a 出租车 (taxi | chūzūchē).

“Maybe we should take the 地铁 (subway | dìtiě) instead?” one suggested, eyeing the nearby 车站 (station | chēzhàn).

“No, let’s stick to our 路线 (route | lùxiàn). The 地图 (map | dìtú) shows it’s faster,” the other replied.

As a taxi stopped, the first one asked the driver about the 时间表 (schedule | shíjiānbiǎo) to their destination.

Settling in, they checked their 票 (tickets | piào) for the 比赛 (match | bǐsài), excited to compete.

“北京 (Beijing | Běijīng) is always such a 繁忙 (busy | fánmáng) city,” mused the second, as they sped off.

Words

公交车 gōngjiāo chē bus
地铁 dìtiě subway
出租车 chūzū chē taxi
车站 chēzhàn station
piào ticket
乘坐 chéngzuò to take (a bus, train, etc.)
线路 xiànlù route
方向 fāngxiàng direction
站台 zhàntái platform
时间表 shíjiānbiǎo schedule
转车 zhuǎn chē to transfer
地图 dìtú map
单程 dānchéng one-way
往返 wǎngfǎn round trip
站点 zhàndiǎn stop
乘客 chéngkè passenger
出口 chūkǒu exit
进口 jìnkǒu entrance
购票 gòupiào to buy a ticket
询问 xúnwèn to ask
路线 lùxiàn route
公里 gōnglǐ kilometer
等候 děnghòu to wait

 

Sentences

公交车 我每天乘坐公交车上班。 Wǒ měitiān chéngzuò gōngjiāo chē shàngbān. I take the bus to work every day.
地铁 地铁是快速穿越城市的方式。 Dìtiě shì kuàisù chuānyuè chéngshì de fāngshì. The subway is a quick way to get across town.
出租车 我们打出租车去机场。 Wǒmen dǎ chūzū chē qù jīchǎng. We take a cab to the airport.
车站 这个车站非常繁忙。 Zhège chēzhàn fēicháng fánmáng. This station is very busy.
请给我买一张票。 Qǐng gěi wǒ mǎi yī zhāng piào. Please buy me a ticket.
乘坐 乘坐地铁比开车更方便。 Chéngzuò dìtiě bǐ kāichē gèng fāngbiàn. It’s easier to take the subway than to drive.
线路 这条线路直达市中心。 Zhè tiáo xiànlù zhídá shì zhōngxīn. This line goes straight to the city center.
方向 确保你的方向正确。 Quèbǎo nǐ de fāngxiàng zhèngquè. Make sure you’re going in the right direction.
站台 火车即将在二号站台到达。 Huǒchē jí jiàng zài èr hào zhàntái dàodá. The train is about to arrive at platform two.
时间表 请检查火车的时间表。 Qǐng jiǎnchá huǒchē de shíjiān biǎo. Please check the train’s timetable.
转车 我在下一站转车。 Wǒ zàixià yí zhàn zhuǎnchē. I’m changing trains at the next station.
地图 我用地图找到了目的地。 Wǒ yòng dìtú zhǎodàole mùdì de. I used the map to find my destination.
单程 我只需要买单程票。 Wǒ zhǐ xū yāo mǎidānchéng piào. I only need to buy a one-way ticket.
往返 往返票比两张单程票便宜。 Wǎngfǎn piào bǐ liǎng zhāng dān chéng piào piányí. A round-trip ticket is cheaper than two one-way tickets.
站点 下一个站点是我要下车的地方。 Xià yīgè zhàndiǎn shì wǒ yào xià chē dì dìfāng. The next stop is where I have to get off the bus.
乘客 这辆公交车的乘客很多。 Zhè liàng gōngjiāo chē de chéngkè hěnduō. This bus is full of passengers.
出口 找到最近的出口。 Zhǎodào zuìjìn de chūkǒu. Find the nearest exit.
进口 进口在哪里? Jìnkǒu zài nǎlǐ? Where’s the entrance?
购票 我在自动售票机上购票。 Wǒ zài zìdòng shòupiào jīshàng gòu piào. I buy a ticket at the vending machine.
询问 在信息台询问路线。 Zài xìnxī tái xúnwèn lùxiàn. Ask for directions at the information desk.
路线 这是去市中心的最快路线。 Zhè shì qù shì zhōngxīn de zuì kuài lùxiàn. This is the fastest route to the city center.
公里 这趟旅程大约十公里。 Zhè tàng lǚchéng dàyuē shí gōnglǐ. The journey is about ten kilometers.
等候 我们在站台等候公交车。 Wǒmen zài zhàntái děnghòu gōngjiāo chē. We wait for the bus at the station.

 

.