The internet is an amazing thing, if I could I would never leave home without it, but it is most unfortunate that my phone does not bear the capabilities of surfing the internet. Hopefully that'll change in due time (I'm looking at you Iphone 4 and whoever is ready to grant me a very Merry Christmas!!).
Here are some of webpages that have:
1) Supplied priceless information
2) Helped me significantly in improving my mandarin
3) Kept me in touch with News
4) Made my stay here unique
Learning materials:
Translating Stuff
http://www.nciku.com/
Nciku is one of my favorite language tool because You can draw the characater out!! Too many websites do not have this feature because I am guessing that it is too expensive or difficult to implement, and even if they do, the suggestions for the mess you have drawn aren't very good or is sometimes completely wrong!
The Bad Stuff
Logging into nciku can be abit of a problem sometimes, and the thing that irks me the most is I don't know if its due to China's firewall or if the site is faulty, its so bad that I couldn't even get a screenshot of the website in the process of making this post.
http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php?page=translate
Very Handy translation tool and learning resource! This site helped me a whole bunch when negotiating with Taobao Sellers while learning during the process!
Too many translation sites like Babelfish focuses on translating text without helping you understand what the words.
On MDBG, not only do the characters get translated but they get explained as well.
Additionally, You can also learn new random characters by going to the stroke dictionary and practise by going through their flash card and quizes.
Very Recommended! 太建议！
Observe how I use mdbg to understand this Taobao Message while learning in the process.
The Bad Stuff
No real outstanding flaws,
as a matter of fact, you can download it for free! The only thing that stops its from being amazing is that it doesn't have a handwriting recognition program like nciku.
http://www.mandarintools.com/
Probably the least effective tool I have but I use it because its the simple and basic interface allows for quick translations for stray 1/2 words.
Bad Stuff
Nciku and MDGB is alot better than this, but it can be useful for solitary words without the need for a complicated interface.
Google Translate
This is a must have tool when navigating Chinese websites!
I have explained in my previous post that google translate can easily turn a block of Chinese text into comprehensible English at a stroke of a Hand on your Webpage.
GO GET GOOGLE TRANSLATE NOW!!
http://www.google.com/
Learning
http://www.chinesepod.com/
What good is knowing a word without knowing how to use it?
well if you are stumped and unsure on how how to use a word, go to this site and type in the search function for sample sentences of a word.
In addition to receiving examples, ChinesePod has plenty of good learning material. Lessons are made in PodCasts and often topics revolve around useful situations.
Bad Stuff
Access to some materials requires payment which goes as high as $14 per month. A little bit pricey but the free material is good enough for me, so no need for me to go down that road.
http://www.cctv.com/program/learnchinese/01/index.shtml
CCTV, China's biggest television network has many programmes to learn mandarin from, so hope over to the site, and you'll easily find plenty of videos to learn from! I'm currently following Growing Up With Chinese!
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/
I used to subscribe to Shanghai Daily but I eventually stuck with China Daily because its news tends to be more international related, has a larger readership base, more relevant financial news, and they featured my photos and gave me a lovely mouse as a present. =D
Viral Videos And Music
http://www.tudou.com/
http://www.youku.com/
The Two are chinese alternatives to YouTube since Youtube is BANNED with a capital B in China for the fear Westerners would constantly publish stuff that would make any Commie party member blush. Because no the internet world would be so empty without viral videos, Tudou and Youku stepped in to fill in the void Youtube left behind.
Prime location to go if you need to watch or listen to some music videos to crank up your karaoke Skillzzz or for some crazy Fun Chinese viral video, Just got to get past the language barrier.
http://www.baidu.com/
What to download music? Head over to baidu and get some! Click on mp3, then search for the song you want. Right click and Save as and ka-boom baby, you have the song in your hard drive
Useful Information from Communities/Blogs
www.smartshanghai.com
If you are a tourist/clubber/shopping/activity person, do not look further than smartshanghai! This website is such a vital source of information to so many stuff its amazing! This beats wasting time in forums as contributors to the site would review and provide vital information to events such as cover charges, phone numbers, time of event.
www.diningsecretary.com
This website is a must have for people who are crazy over food! Not only do you get reviews for food, but they can help book tables for you! No need to call the restaurant and hassle with language difficulty to make a booking when all can be done with a few clicks!
Word of warning though, the bookings sometimes do not go through. And it is sometimes better to just call them. Better yet, go up to the restaurant and make the booking there.
The Author is a guy named Mike from America who decided to make a change in his life by moving to Shanghai after deciding that he wanted something different in life.
Mike offers some pretty good information eg. a list of prices at the fake markets, how to get an internship in Shanghai, how to get started living in Shanghai.
Good read, the list of prices of the fake market alone makes it a must go to site for all Shanghai bound travellers!
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/
The Lord Almighty Google failed you? Thats all right, when that happens, hop over to ShanghaiExpat and simply ask your question. Most users are not trolls with no life and would more often than not politely answer your question. Even if you run into a few trolls, don't take it personal and simply ignore them. Your frustration simply adds to their joy and purpose in life.
This site is also a good way to start a friendship base as events such as pub crawls and etc are often organized!
Looking for apartments, 2nd hand stuff, jobs and love even? Check out Craiglists classifieds for anything you are after. You might just find it here.
Shopping
http://www.taobao.com/
Taobao is Awesome. Period.
Relatively Safe, Cheap, Huge Variety, and Fast Delivery makes Taobao a pleasure to buy stuff, from jeans, jacket to quilts and bedsheets and camera equipment.
Branded stuff like Spirit Hoods will cost a bomb, but when it comes to shopping for relatively unknown clothes, you can find alot of bargains, just be sure to read my previous post for tips and insights! You can also get started by clicking on "What's Hot" at the bottom most section of the Taobao main page.
If you need an agent, you can contact me ;)
http://www.taobaofieldguide.com/
This site is for Chinese Dummies who still wanna have a crack at Taobao. Very Useful Information!! I would have not have start using Taobao If it wasn't for this site. Do yourself a favor and go to this site for an indepth guide to using taobao.
http://www.eachnet.com/
Taobao's biggest rival Ebay owned by Eachnet. I have not used it yet, so I can't quite comment on that.
ETC Stuff
Getting Around
http://www.exploreshanghai.com/
Use ExploreShanghai to get around the City!
Free Proxy
Freegate - This Proxy allows access to Facebook, Youtube and all the other good stuff that China wishes its Commie citizens not to access for the fear of political unrest as well as to downplay the efforts of resistance movement. Alot of stuff does get censored on the internet in China, which I wouldn't really mind except when it distrupts my internet speed.
PhotoHosting
http://www.photobucket.com/
Have a blog and you want to post photos up? Use photobucket to store all your pictures! Once you have done that, all necessary HTML tags are prepared next to the photos. This helps cut down on typing up code.
I Do hope these Websites comes in handy for you as it did for me!
Come again for more updates on how to Live a Better Life in Shanghai!
Jian
Thumbs up!
ReplyDeleteLIke this post, jian.
ReplyDelete