Chinese vocabulary notes (September 2026)

In this edition: 50 useful Chengyu, Mandarin learning routines, focus training, escaping poverty, the Fermi Paradox, farewell to the Gobi Desert, the mystery of Lop Nur, ten years hiking across China and the reality of war in Odesa.

This article is part of my Chinese Vocabulary Notes series – learning Chinese through authentic YouTube content.

This edition of Chinese Vocabulary Notes once again brings together a rather peculiar selection of videos, covering everything from language learning and personal development to poverty, physics, exploration, and war. As always, the aim is not only to pick up new vocabulary, but also to encounter Chinese in a variety of contexts and registers.

We begin with Mandarin Corner’s collection of 50 commonly used chengyu, each illustrated with examples drawn from natural Chinese conversations. From there, we turn to Will Hart’s detailed Mandarin-learning routine, followed by a video on training the brain and improving focus. We then move into (even) more serious territory with a discussion of poverty and the research behind efforts to combat it, before taking a detour into one of the great questions of modern physics: why, if the universe is so vast, have we yet to see evidence of alien civilisations?

The second half of this edition takes us into some of China’s more remote landscapes. We say farewell to the Gobi Desert before venturing into the mysterious Lop Nur, where the tragic story of adventurer Yu Chunshun provides a darker counterpoint to the “romance” of desert exploration. We then hear from long-distance hiker Lei Diansheng, who spent ten years crossing China on foot, before ending with a very different kind of journey: a look at the reality on the ground in war-torn Odesa, Ukraine.

50 Chengyu commonly used in Chinese conversations (Mandarin Corner)

For this video, Mandarin Corner has dug into its archives to highlight a collection of chengyu or idioms. Do you know all 50 of them? I certainly don’t. Personally, I find 50 to be quite a lot to memorize. Incidentally, this is primarily an instructional video – much like the HSK videos from this popular Mandarin learning channel – so it lacks a natural conversational flow, but we do get to see each chengyu ‘live in action’ so to speak.

Each idiom is broken down character by character and then the fragment is being replayed. If you’re keen to dive into chengyu or want to test your knowledge, this is a video you won’t want to miss.

My tip: don’t try to memorise all 50, but pick your favorites. Here’s mine:

• 因人而异
  yīn rén ér yì
  Vary from person to person
• 说来话长
  shuō lái huà cháng
  It’s a long story
• 无理取闹
  wú lǐ qǔ nào
  Make trouble unreasonably

Difficulty level: HSK 5-6

Chinese summary: Mandarin Corner 发了一个帮助你学习常用成语的视频，一共有五十个成语。这些成语都是从 MC 的采访中整理出来的，所以每个成语都有自然语言环境中的例子。视频里的解释方法是先逐字介绍每个字的含义，再把这些字的意思结合起来，解释整个成语的意思。

How I actually learn Mandarin (Will Hart – full Mandarin learning routine)

For those who don’t know him yet: Will Hart is a second-year PhD student and a Chinese language-learning prodigy. In this video, he describes how he manages to keep improving his Chinese despite a busy schedule. As always, very inspiring and eloquent, with plenty of Chinese expressions to jot down immediately, which is exactly what I did.

Difficulty level: HSK 4, 5

Chinese summary: 这个视频里，Will 分享了他是怎么分配学习中文的时间的。每天再忙，他都会努力完成一些学习任务。但是，他的秘诀不只是自律，更重要的是他真的喜欢学习中文，比如听中文播客、学习 Flashcards 等。

How to train your brain to boost focus!

I was tipped off about this channel (shuaisoserious) by Will Hart from the previous video. It tackles a highly relevant topic: the struggle to maintain focus in our modern internet age. The content documents the creator’s own journey of discovery, starting with a diagnosis of (what I would call) “smartphone addiction”, characterized by symptoms like unconsciously reaching for one’s phone and automatically opening apps while actually doing (or intending to do) something else.

He explains this common behavior, such as the urge to escape negative feelings like loneliness, boredom, or emptiness, from a semi-scientific perspective and offers practical strategies for dealing with it.

Things get even more interesting when he spends a month exploring meditation and building mental resilience. Cultivating a daily meditation habit turns out to be far from easy, but, as the saying goes, practice makes perfect, he gradually gets the hang of it.

Although I’m generally a bit wary of, or even allergic to, this type of “self-optimization” video, I believe the methods suggested here can certainly make a positive difference and serve as a source of inspiration. If this subject matter and his approach appeal to you, there is plenty more to explore on his channel.

Difficulty level: HSK 5

Chinese summary: 这个视频探讨了现代人为什么很难集中注意力，以及如何提高专注力。作者介绍了减少多任务、远离手机等方法，并通过冥想练习来训练自己。经过一个月的实践 (shíjiàn)，他发现自己更容易控制注意力，也更能应对无聊、压力和各种分心的冲动。

How can one escape poverty?

Even in 2026, Teacher Li Yongle continues to enlighten us. With his distinctive persona, that of the quintessential Chinese schoolteacher, he breaks down even the most complex topics, giving attentive viewers the opportunity to broaden their knowledge.

This time, he turns his attention to poverty and the fight against it, drawing on Nobel Prize-winning research published in 2019. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, but I really enjoy listening to Li laoshi. He has a remarkable gift for explaining almost any subject clearly and spontaneously, speaking seemingly off the cuff without ever losing the thread.

Of course, you have to stay focused: this isn’t exactly “easy listening.” But if you give him your full attention, there is always something to learn.

Difficulty level：HSK 5-6

Chinese summary: 李永乐老师这次讨论的是贫困问题，具体是人们应该如何应对贫困。他结合2019年诺贝尔经济学奖相关的研究，用通俗易懂(tōngsú yì dǒng – easy to grasp)的方式解释一个复杂的社会问题。李老师很擅长把复杂的知识讲得清楚，而且讲得自然流畅 (zìrán liúchàng – “natural and fluid”)，让人很容易听进去。

Why can’t we see alien civilizations? (The Fermi Paradox)

And from poverty alleviation, we jump to extraterrestrial life. In this video, Li Laoshi discusses the Fermi Paradox, a concept well-known among UFO enthusiasts. The paradox seeks to answer why we have not yet found extraterrestrial life, even though the vastness of the universe leads us to assume it must exist. A few other hypotheses are also covered at the end of the lesson.

Difficulty level: HSK 5 / 6

Chinese summary: 这个视频讨论了著名的“费米悖论”：宇宙这么大，应该有很多外星文明，可是我们为什么从来没有发现它们？

Farewell from the Gobi Desert

It seems our cycling adventurer Liuyuan is calling it a day for the time being. Seven years of traveling through China and other parts of Asia have taken their toll. It is also possible he’s been cycling too long through the Gobi Desert, a place on this planet that is sparsely populated for good reason. Here’s hoping he gets some well-deserved rest. In the meantime, we can look back at his past adventures. For now, this is his final travel film.

Difficulty level: HSK 4

Chinese summary: 自行车旅行者刘伟元在这个视频中暂时和观众告别了。他骑自行车在中国和亚洲其他地方旅行了七年，这段经历让他感到很累。他决定休息一段时间。视频中，我们可以看到他骑车穿过炎热的戈壁沙漠。

The tragedy of Yu Chunshun in Lop Nur

We are staying in the desert for a little longer, albeit in a slightly different location: the vast cauldron known as Lop Nur. This remote area is known, among other things, for the nuclear tests conducted there, but it boasts a much older history stretching back thousands of years to a time when a lake still existed. This video, however, focuses on the tragedy of the Chinese adventurer 余纯顺 (Yu Chunshun) who attempted to cross this part of the desert on foot; he apparently strayed from his route and perished from the heat. A later hiker visited the site and reported a mysterious apparition in the night.

Difficulty level: HSK 5-6

Chinese summary: 这个视频讲述了中国探险家余纯顺的悲剧。他曾经试图徒步穿越这片沙漠，但后来好像走错了路线，最后因为炎热的天气而去世。后来，一位徒步旅行者来到这里，并说自己在夜里看到了一个神秘的身影。

Ten Years of Hiking Across China (Lei Diansheng)

Here, we continue the conversation with the famous long-distance hiker 雷殿生 (Lei Diansheng) who encountered the ghostly apparition from the previous video and, fortunately, lived to tell the tale. Contrary to what the clickbait video title suggests, he touches only briefly on the paranormal phenomena and mysteries of Lop Nur. Instead, he shares a wealth of experiences and insights from his years of trekking across China. He speaks in the company of highly cultivated individuals, making for a fascinating listen.

Difficulty level: HSK 5

Chinese summary: 在这个访谈节目中，长期徒步旅行者雷殿生分享了自己多年来旅行中的经历和感受。他讲述了在漫长的旅途中遇到的各种困难和挑战，也分享了旅途中令人难忘的乐趣和收获。通过他的故事，我们可以了解到长期徒步不仅需要良好的体力，也需要很强的意志力和坚持下去的决心。

War-torn Ukraine – the reality on the ground in Odesa

A young Chinese man visits the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, which presents a bewildering mix of summer holiday vibes, air raids, and local tourism. He meets a maimed war veteran, loses his credit card, and strikes up a conversation with a barefoot grandmother. From the waterfront, he also watches the local youth swimming and fishing in the clear water. He clearly does not come across as a seasoned war correspondent, but to me looks more like a low-key travel vlogger entering a war zone.

What struck me most was his walk along the boulevard where fallen soldiers are commemorated, mostly young men in their early twenties. I share his sentiment – for whatever it’s worth – expressed at the end of the video, that this war must be brought to an end as soon as possible, and I hope the proverbial “adults in the room” find the wisdom to make that happen.

Difficulty level: HSK 4-5 (Unfortunately, he doesn’t speak very clearly)

Chinese summary: 在这个视频中一个年轻的中国人来到乌克兰的港口城市敖德萨。这里的气氛很特别，一边是夏天度假的感觉和旅游活动，一边是空袭警报(kōngxí jǐngbào – air raid siren)和战争。他遇到了一位受伤的老兵，丢了信用卡，还和一位光脚的奶奶聊天。他也在海边看到当地年轻人在清澈的海水里游泳、钓鱼。他看起来不像一个有经验的战地记者，更像一个普通的旅行博主，来到这个正在打仗的地方拍视频。

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