Chinese news podcasts for learners

[Luxi]

Ximalaya has several news podcasts with transcripts or enough information for advanced learners to use as study material. Having searched and listed some for my own use,  I might just as well share the list.  If  these prove too difficult, there are easier options to get a start, like iMandarinpod's 听新闻学习汉语, which also includes that rare thing: international news items. Also good for news vocabulary, Purple Culture's Chinese Reader tool with TTS readings. 

 

This is Xinhua's home page in Ximalaya 新华网媒体创意工场  
https://www.ximalaya.com/zhubo/1329228/
It includes news podacasts and some mixed stuff (including an explained reading of the 道德经 Dao De Jing and streams that haven´t started)

The news podcasts follow the official line but they are not the heavily political, slogans and officialese infested news of my student's dayst. Most of the articles are Chinese domestic news of general grassroots interest concerning daily life in China, which means they are absolutely wonderful for vocabulary. 

 

朝六晚五 | 和你有关的热门事件 (6 evenings at 5, hot news concerning you)
Most have transcripts. Earlier ones are very short (1 minute or less) but later ones are longer and contain several different news items. Speech is fast (normal for news) but clear.

 

In 新华网评|纷繁世界 为你正本清源 (Xinhua News Review) and 新华时评 (Xinhua Commentary) the text is generally only a headline or a summary of the news item, followed by a long commentary without transcript (spoken in fairly slow, simple speech and very clear putonghua). 

 

快听短资讯  Very short flashes of a news item. Some have a transcript, several have a related fuller article. Read at normal news speed (=fast!), clear pronunciation.

 

鲜快报 (Fresh Flash Reports)  Most podcasts have a full transcript, and there are thousands! Wide range of topics with a general grassroots slant, it even  includes some news that make one feel good about the world, like this one: 男子爬15米高树上救流浪猫 猫没救着自己也被困

一闻一见  A news talk stream with humour, long may it last. 最搞笑的新闻脱口秀节目《一闻一见》。新闻是严肃的，我们态度是认真的。评论是多样的，我们精神是搞笑的。听一闻长一见笑一下！No transcript, only the headline....but look here (on a Windows PC):

 

(...not sure why it's blurred here, Windows 10 may be up to mischief again.) Click!

 

 

Surprise! What is it? An AI transcript Ximalaya has been experimenting with in some of their streams. I haven't used it enough to tell how accurate it is, but worth a try. I haven't seen anything like it in my iOS Ximalaya app.

[agewisdom]

Is it available on Android based on International Version? Most of the time, these apps are only available on China based Android OS.

[Luxi]

44 minutes ago, agewisdom said:

Is it available on Android

 

I don't think so. It used to be available even in Google Play, but stopped about 2 years ago. The only way is to install it from Chinese OS and then you'll get no end of constant and very alarming security warnings - no security warnings at all in Windows or iOS. 

You can try using Ximalaya.com through your browser, have a look in Firefox or Opera or Edge. You'll still get warnings, I suppose, and a not very functional  browsing experience.

 

 

[agewisdom]

1 minute ago, Luxi said:

You can try using Ximalaya.com through your browser, have a look in Firefox or Opera or Edge. You'll still get warnings, I suppose, and a not very functional  browsing experience.

Many thanks for the information.

 

Yes, a lot of these apps aren't available on Google play, sigh.

[DonCachopo]

13 minutes ago, agewisdom said:

 

Yes, a lot of these apps aren't available on Google play, sigh.

Use podcast addict, the best podcast app

[DavyJonesLocker]

17 hours ago, agewisdom said:

Is it available on Android based on International Version? Most of the time, these apps are only available on China based Android OS.

 

 

you don't need a chinese phone. Most chinese apps I use don't come from play store, including wechat etc. Just use a chinese app store (豌豆荚，应用宝 etc ) or download the apps directly. Once you set android to allow external apps to install you are good to go. Lots of legitimate apps need to be downloaded like this

[mungouk]

Ximalaya APP is on the Google play store. 

 

I installed it on my Android phone a year or so ago, while I was in Singapore.

[Balthazar]

2 hours ago, DavyJonesLocker said:

or download the apps directly

 

This was my solution, about a year ago or so. No issues whatsoever.

[Luxi]

@mungouk thanks! I just checked, the app is also back in the UK Google Play Store. Good to know, I hope it stopped nagging about security concerns. I'm still happy with the iPad and I can make purchases in Ximalaya and other Chinese apps easily through the Apple store. 

However, there are some useful functions and possible combinations with a web browser that I can't see in the iPad, like the 0.75% speed and the AI box where it occurs in the PC browser.