Have you ever wondered what Chinese students eat at the university canteen and where they go to buy their food and drink? Is it a mystery to you how a Chinese University could feed so many students in one sitting? On this page we answer some of these questions as we follow YouTube user Traveling-alone-in-China as he takes us to an authentic Chinese university canteen in Yunnan Province in the south of China. Please click on this link to view the video in full.
There are lots of helpful language points in this lesson for students at the intermediate level of mandarin and above. If you are a beginner mandarin student you can also use this lesson to pick up useful vocabulary. This lesson takes place in a city called Kunming in Yunnan, China.
Yunnan University HaiGeng Campus
The characters that are printed in gold on the sign above are 云南大学海埂校区。 云 (yún) is the character for cloud in Chinese, while 南 is the character for south. You were very close if you put two and two together and decided that together they mean clouds in the South. In fact they mean south of the cloudy mountains. Indeed Yunnan is just to the south of the YunLing （云岭） mountain range.
Next we see the characters 海埂 (hǎi gěng) HaiGeng is an area of Kunming, as well as the university campus in this video it has a big park, a dam and a stadium. Then we have the characters for campus 校区 （xiàoqū）。Therefore the whole sign reads Yunnan University Haigeng Campus.
Setting the scene
https://www.ixigua.com/6566179598638252551
The narrator starts by telling us where he is.
00.00 现在在云南昆明，这是云南大学海埂校区，云南大学好几个校区啊。
xiànzài zài Yúnnán Kūnmíng zhè shì yúnnándàxué hǎi gěng xiàoqū ， yúnnándàxué hǎojǐ gè xiàoqū
I am in Kunming, Yunnan Province. At Yunnan University’s Haigeng campus, which is of several campuses that make up the university.
The author then explains that he was actually at 滇池 (Diānchí), another of the university’s campuses, in the afternoon. This other campus is located near the harbour.
0.08 我下午刚逛完滇池，滇池校区, 这个也叫滇池校区. 哪个方向就是滇池。那个方向
wǒ xiàwǔ gāng guàng wán Diānchí Diānchí xiàoqū zhège yě jiào Diānchí xiàoqū
nàge fāngxiàng jiùshì Diānchi. nàge fāngxiàngJust this afternoon I was having a stroll around Dianchi，it is also called Dianchi campus. It is in that direction. Over in that direction.
It doesn’t take long for the narrator to get on to the topic of food. He starts by telling us that there aren’t many restaurants nearby.
The characters for nearby in Chinese are 附近 （fùjìn）。 When you are in China you can use this to enquire if there is a certain place nearby. For example if you are wondering if there is a library in the vicinity you can ask:
请问附近有没有图书馆？
qǐngwèn fùjìn yǒu méiyǒu túshūguǎn ma?
Excuse me is there a library nearby?
0.18 这附近餐馆不是很多. 我准备在学校里吃个饭。我找一下他们的学校的食堂啊. 因为这个是个分校所以这个学校不是很大。
zhè fùjìn cānguǎn bùshì hěnduō
wǒ zhǔnbèi zài xuéxiào lǐchí gè fàn wǒ zhǎo yīxià tāmende xuéxiào deshítáng. yīnwèi zhège shìgè fēnxiào suǒyǐ zhège xuéxiào bùshì hěndàThere aren’t many restaurants nearby. I plan to eat on campus. I’ve had a look at the canteen’s at this school. Because this is only a branch of the school the campus is not that big.
Chinese University top-up meal cards
Our narrator then goes on to tell us that he has been having a look round the Haigeng Campus. He has found a place to eat but he is not sure whether he will be able to use his money there.
This is because instead of money, most Chinese Universities operate a top-up meals card system. They issue students with top-up meal cards which they can then top-up as and when they need. These top-up meal cards can be used on campus to pay for food at the canteen and to pay for other amenities provided by the university. Without a top-up card it is usually not possible to buy food in a canteen at a Chinese university.
0.31 我转一圈儿，然后找一下食堂吃个饭。 呃，不知道能不能用钱，不能用钱的话就算了。
wǒ zhuǎn yījuàn ránhòu zhǎo yīxià shítáng chī gè fàn è ， bùzhīdào néngbùnéng yòngqian bùnéngyòng qián dehuà jiùsuàn le
I’ve been looking around and have found a canteen. I don’t know if I’ll be able to pay using money. If I can’t then I’ll have to forget it.
He then passes and points out the library – 图书馆 （túshūguǎn）。
0.40 呃，从这边儿走吧。这个好像是图书馆吧
è cōng zhèbiānr zǒu bā zhège hǎoxiàng shì túshūguǎn ba
It’s over this way. That looks like it could be the library.
The weather in Yunnan
Yunnan is known to be one of China’s rainiest provinces. In fact it even has a rainy season which starts in June and continues till August. The rain, however, is a small price to pay for the beautiful natural scenery to be found in the province of Yunnan.
Our narrator then goes on to speak about the weather in Kunming that day.
0.48 呃，云南经常下雨，刚才稍微有点儿晴天，现在又开始下雨了，我还打着伞哪。来云南两天了，我每天都带伞。因为他雨。。下一会儿停一会儿
è Yúnnán jīngcháng xiàyǔ ， gāngcái shāowēi yǒudiǎnr qíngtiān xiànzài yòu kāishǐ le wǒ hái dǎ zhé sǎn。。yīnwèi tā yǔ。。xià yīhuìr tíng yīhuìr
It often rains in Yunnan. Just now it was sunny but now it has started raining again. I’ve still got my umbrella up, I’ve had to use it on both of the days that I’ve been here in Yunnan because the rain stops and starts very often.
The Old School Campus – 老校区
The next sentence includes the following items:
食堂 （shítáng）- Canteen
从 （cóng） – follow
这 (zhè）- that
走 (zǒu) – route
ie. The canteen is that way.
Another interesting language point below is the use of the phrase 老校 （lǎoxiào). The first time you listen you could be forgiven for hearing 老小 which means old and young people, or you family. But actually the meaning of 老校 is old school, the shortened form of 老校区 meaning old school campus.
1.07 找下他们食堂啊从这走吧。从这走，这儿能看见大学生。云南大学，改天我会….呃……他们的老校改天我会去看一下。那个老校我听说里面有很多…就是…古建筑
zhǎo xià tāmen shítáng ā cóng zhè zǒu bā cóng zhè ， zhèr néng kànjiàn dàxuéshēng yúnnándàxué gǎitiān wǒ huì/kuài è tāmende lǎoxiào gǎitiān wǒ 。 qù kànyīxià nàge lǎo xiào wǒ tīngshuō lǐmiàn yǒu hěnduō jiùshì gǔ jiànzhù
I’m looking for the canteen I found earlier.. oh it’s in that direction. Yunnan University, in this direction you can see some university students. I’d like to go and see the old campus one day. The old campus has lots of old buildings.
Yunnan University Haigeng Campus Library
Next the narrator shows us the facade of the Yunnan University 云南大学 Haigeng Campus 还更校区 Library 图书馆。The narrator points out that it is not possible to enter the library without a students ID card. Although universities have a history of being fairly open places in China, security is getting tighter an there are fewer and fewer places on campus that an outsider can gain access to. In fact many universities in China will demand you show them some ID showing that you are a student or member of staff before you can enter.
1.33 啊这是图书馆这他们图书馆。图书馆一般都是他们一般都是刷学生证呢。外人进不去。
a zhè shì túshūguǎn zhè tāmen túshūguǎn. Túshūguǎn yìbāndōu shì ..tāmen yìbāndōu shuā xuéshengzhèng ne. Wàirén jìn bùqù
This is the library. In most libraries you have to swipe your student I.D. card before you can enter. Outsiders can’t enter.
Looking for the Canteen
The narrator is still looking for the canteen which is actually behind the library. He then re-iterates that student canteens in China do not take cash directly. Instead you need to pay using a university-issued student food top-up card.
He says: 大部分 （most) 食堂 (canteens) 不能用 (can’t use) 钱 money. Instead you have to 刷 (swipe) your 卡 (card) when purchasing your food. The cards that are used are called 饭卡， or food cards. Below is an example of what a Chinese University food card looks like:
There is also some more really useful language her for Mandarin learners concerning paying for things in China. He uses the phrase 零钱 （língqián）which means change. Then later he uses the phrase 正好 （zhènghǎo）This means exact amount. You may hear this in China when you are paying for something. If the cashier is counting the money you have given for a product and it is the exact amount they will may 正好 . Exact!
1.44 食堂应该是后便吧。看一下。。但愿能。。大部分食堂是不能用钱的都是刷卡。他们有饭卡. 不会有的也是可以。我前天。。昨天还是前天。。昨天晚上是在云南农业大学吃. 很便宜那个也是可以用钱不过不能找零钱就是你必须你给他钱的时候不能他找钱。 只能给他正好的。是那个意思。
shítáng yīnggāi yīng shì hòu biàn ba. Kànyīxià 。 Dànyuàn néng.. Dàbùfen shítáng shì bùnéngyòng qián de 。 shuākǎ tāmen yǒu fàn kǎ
bùhuì yǒude yěshì kěyǐ 。 Wǒ qiántiān zuótiān háishi 。 zuótiānwǎnshang shì zài Yúnnán nóngyè dàxué chī de
hěn piányi nàge yěshì kěyǐ yòngqian bùguò bùnéng zhǎolíng qián jiùshì nǐ bìxū nǐ gěi tā qián deshíhòu bùnéng zhǎoqián zhǐnéng gěi/jǐ tā zhènghǎo 。 shì nàge yìsiThe cafeteria should be behind here. Let’s take a look. You can’t use cash at most canteens (in China), you have to swipe your student card. A food card. But if you can’t use a card there is usually a way to eat. The day before yesterday, or was it yesterday? Yes, yesterday evening I ate a Yunnan Agricultural University. The food was very cheap. I was able to use cash but they weren’t able to gibe me change. When you give them cash you must give them the exact amount as they aren’t able to give change. That’s how it is.
2.28 这个商店。食堂是在这边儿我猜的。云南大学。。。
zhège shāngdiàn。 shítáng shì zàizhèbiānér 。 wǒ cāi de。 Yúnnándàxué。
That’s a shop. The canteen is over here, I guess. Yunnan University.
A Sports Car and a shop at Yunnan University
Our narrator next stops to admire a sports car on the grounds of Yunnan University. He uses the word 跑车 （pǎochē）sports car，and then the brand 宝马 （bǎomǎ）
2.46 哎呀这个跑车啊。厉害了。宝马的。
āiyā zhège pǎochē ā lìhai le。 bǎomǎ de。
Oh，this spots car. Incredible! A BMW.
He then passes a shop. Can you read the characters on the shop sign below? The first one is obscured it reads 滇
The characters read： 滇池学院购物中心
They are： 滇池 （Diānchí）； 学院 （xuéyuàn）College；购物 （gòuwù）shopping; 中心 （zhōngxīn）Centre。
This means the name of the shop is Dianchi College Shopping Centre.
2.57 这还有个滇池学院购物中心。这个。。这个有购物中心。滇池学院购物中心。这儿里边也有卖饭的吧。
Zhè háiyǒu gè Diānchí xuéyuàn gòuwùzhōngxīn zhège 。 Zhège yǒu 。 Diānchí xuéyuàn 。 zhèr lǐbian yě yǒu mài fàn de ba
There is also a shop here called Dianchi College Shopping Centre. It has… Dianchi College.. inside you can also buy food.
Yunnan University Haigeng Campus Canteen
After a good look round the Yunnan University Haigeng Campus our narrator finally arrives at the canteen.
3.10 这个是他们的食堂。这个外观一般是食堂。我拍个照，然后我进去吃啊。拍个照。
zhège shì tāmende shítáng zhège wàiguān yībān shì 。 Wǒ pāi gè zhào ránhòu wǒ jìnqù chī a。Pāi gè zhào
This is their canteen. It looks like a canteen from the exterior. I will take a photograph then I’ll go in to eat. I’ll take a photo.
He then mentions the 老校 （lǎo xiào）old school building that he referred to earlier in the video. This time he tells us where it is: on the edge of 翠湖 (cuì hú) or Green Lake.. He goes on to tell us again that the old campus has lots of ancient buildings.
3.30 那个老校是在翠湖公园边上，里面还…里面我听他们说有很多以前的建筑 有一点啊所以确实比较难懂
nàge lǎo xiào shì zài cuì hú gōngyuán biān shǎng lǐmiàn hái lǐmiàn wǒ tīngyǐ tāmen shuō yǒu hěnduō yǐqián de jiànzhù yǒuyīdiǎn a suǒyǐ quèshí bǐjiào nándǒng
The old college campus is on the edge of the Green lake Park. I’ve heard that this campus has lots of very buildings from the past which are mysterious.
Finally we have arrived at the student canteen at the Haigeng Campus of Yunnan University. You will notice the row after row, column after column of fixed tables and chairs; typical of the seating arrangements in a student canteen at a university in China. Students will typically live on campus throughout their three or four years at university. They live in dormitories which they share with between 4 and 10 other students. There are no cooking facilities in these dormitories, so they eat three meals a day in the canteens provided on-site. Often a canteen might cover two, three or even more floors. Each floor might provide a different type of food. Or one floor might provide food that is more expensive, and therefore be used by students with a larger budget.
3.39 这样是食堂， 没写名字. 现在是下午六七点种了吧可能吃的儿不多。Wow。拍一些他们食堂。我先把我的伞放下啊
zhèyàng shì shítáng méi xiě míngzi xiànzài shì xiàwǔ liù qīdiǎn zhǒng le bā kěnéng chēbùduō
。 pāi yīxiē tāmen 。 wǒ xiān bà wǒde sǎn fàngxià aThis is the canteen, it doesn’t have a name (there is no sign). It is around 6 or 7 o’clock in the evening right? I might not eat much. Wow. I’ll just take some photos. First I’m going to put down my umbrella.
4.06 我转一圈 转一下看一下有卖什么的
wǒ zhuàn yījuàn zhuàn yīxià kànyīxià yǒu mài shénmede
I’m going to look around to see what I want to buy.
The narrator now goes to look round the different dining options provided by this canteen. You will notice that around the side of the canteen there are a number of different windows, each offering different dining options.
At the first stall he goes to he notices that payment at this window has to be made online via WeChat 微信 (Wēixìn) Barcode 二维码 (èrwéimǎ) . Seeing our narrator prefers to pay by cash he decides to move on to another window.
4.22 我看见微信二维码了.可以扫微信，那应该是支持付款
Wǒ kànjiàn Wēixìn èrwéimǎle kěyǐ sǎo Wēixìn nǎ . Nà yīnggāi shì zhīchí fùkuǎn
I’ve seen a WeChat Barcode, payment here is made online by swiping WeChat Pay.
Next our narrator takes us around some of the windows on this floor of the canteen, showing us the different food options available.
Firstly, he introduces us to 冷米线 （lěng mǐxiàn）cold rice flour noodles, then 包子 （bāozi）steamed buns (usually filled with a filling such as mince or vegetables).
4.30 米线。。凉米线。。这是包子。他们。。他们这个这样买份的。 每个大学的买份不一样。
Mǐxiàn 。。Leng Mǐxiàn 。 。 zhè shì bāozi.. tāmen 。 zhège zhèyàng mǎi fèn de měigè dàxué de mǎi fèn bùyīyàng.
Rice-flour noodles. Cold rice-flour noodles. These are steamed buns. These have all been bought that way (through WeChat Pay), all University canteens in China have different payment methods.
4.58 可能是现在比较晚了,所以这个窗户都没开。这个那边窗户开的
kěnéng shì xiànzài bǐjiào wǎn le suǒyǐ zhège chuānghu dōu méikāi. Zhège nàbian chuānghu kāi de
Because it is quite late now these windows are all shut. Over there the windows are open.
Our narrator then finds a price list, on which everything seems to be listed as only 1.5 yuan. These seem to be ingredients which you can add to your meal. All the ingredients on the left hand side begin with the character 炒 (chǎo) meaning fried. First on the list is 炒豆腐菜 (chǎodòufu cài) Fried Tofu.
5.05 上边是价格表. Wow 好便宜啊，1块五。一块五一份的。看看这个，全都一块五。
Shàngbian shì jiàgébiǎo。 Wow. hǎo piányi a yī kuài wǔ yīkuài wǔyī fèn ， kànkan zhège quándōu yīkuài wǔ。
Up there is the price list. Wow, very cheap, 1.5 yuan for one serving. Look they are all 1.5 yuan.
Next we see the prices for steamed dishes, some of which include meat. These are more expensive.
5.15 这个是卤菜。卤菜是三块。这个三块五荤菜。荤菜四块。
Zhège shì lǔcài。 Lǔcài sān kuài。 zhège sān kuài cài。 hūncài sì 。
These are steamed dished. Steamed dishes are 4 yuan. These dishes with meat are 3.5 yuan. And these are 4 yuan.
The narrator then asks if he can pay for any items on this floor using cash but he is told that he will have to go upstairs to the 2nd or 3rd floor to do this. As a sign of respect he uses the title 师傅 (shīfu) , which is a respectful term we use when speaking to a person who has mastered a skill like driving or cooking. Therefore we could use it with a taxi driver as well as in this situation with a cook.
5.30 Narrator: 呃，师傅，我问一下可以用钱吗？
è shīfu ， wǒ wèn yīxià kěyǐ yòngqian ma ？
Oh, master, may I ask… Can I pay with money here?
5.31 Cook: 不可以。
bùkěyǐ
No, you can’t.
5.32 不可以啊.
bùkěyǐ ā
Oh, I can’t.
Next we come across a really interesting and useful word: 现金 (xiànjīn), which means cash.
5.53 这附近有没有收现金的？
zhè fùjìn yǒu méiyǒu shōu xiànjīn de?
Is there anywhere nearby that accepts cash as a payment method?
Next we get to learn the characters for floor. The narrator entered the building on the ground floor, in China this would by 一楼 （yīlóu）as in floor one. The cook tells the narrator that he needs to go to floor two 二楼 or floor three 三楼 to use cash.
5.37 二楼三楼？行，好了，谢谢啊。噢，我明白了，这一楼不可以收现金
èrlóu sānlóu? xíng hǎole. Xièxie a. Aō wǒmíngbáile zhèyī lóu bùkěyǐ shōu xiànjīn
Second, or third floor? OK thanks. Now I understand, on this floor you can’t pay with cash.
Chinese University Canteen 二楼 and 三楼
Our narrator now determines that he will move on to the second and third floors where he has been told that he can use cash.
5.45 行我现在上二楼三楼啊。其实不容现金没事我可以找一个同学就是拉他报刷卡我把钱给他。这样是可以的.
xíng wǒ xiànzài shàng èrlóu sānlóu a. Qíshí bùróng xiànjīn méishì wǒ kěyǐ zhǎo yīgè tóngxué jiùshì lā tā bào shuākǎ wǒ bǎ qián gěi tā. zhèyàng shì kěyǐ de。
Ok. Now I’m going to go to the second and third floors. Although, I can’t pay using money I can find a student to pay for me by swiping his card. Then I can give him the cash. This should be OK.
6.01 我就不麻烦了。我现在这之上二楼。不知上哪去，应该从这边吧。哎呀。。雨这么大啊。奥楼梯在这边儿， 哎呀雨还大啊。走快点。
wǒ jiù bùmáfan le， xiànzài zhè zhīshàng èrlóu bùzhī shàng nǎ qù yīnggāi cóng zhèbiān bā yǔzhème dà a. ào lóutī zàizhèbiānér. āiyā yǔ háidà。 zǒu kuàidiǎn
Not a problem. Now I’m going to go to the second floor.. other than up there, you can also go this way. Oh.. there’s the stairs, oh the rain is very heavy, must go quickly.
6.28 二楼。哎呀..差点绊倒
èrlóu.. āiyāchàdiǎn bàndǎo
Second floor… Oh.. Almost tripped.
6.37 二楼会一楼差不多啊。
èrlóu huì yīlóu chàbuduō a
The second floor is similiar to the first floor.
Our narrator then gives us the lowdown on the menu options available at the different stalls on the first floor of the Haigeng Campus university campus. Do you remember the characters 米线 from earlier in this article? Can you recognise the characters 清汤？
These characters are 清汤 （qīngtāng）清 means clear and 汤 means soup, so we have clear soup. Usually this soup will have bits of meat or tofu in it as well as noodles. The other characters, which we covered earlier in the article, are 米线。Together they make up 清汤米线 – clear soup and rice noodles.
6.39 清汤米线. 小锅米线。我吃什么呀？我楼的转一下然后。。然后看一下。今天不吃米线， 因为米线在外边也有。
Qīngtāng mǐxiàn xiǎo guō mǐxiàn wǒ chī shénme ya? 。 lóu de zhuǎn yīxià ránhòu kànyīxià. Jīntiān bù chī mǐxiàn yīnwèi … zài wàibiān yě yǒu.
Clear soup and rice noodles. What shall I eat? Let me turn this way and have a look. I don’t want to eat rice-noodles today because I can buy them outside.
Next we are introduced to a type of food called 中式面点 （Zhōngshì miàndiǎn）these are a type of pastry that are filled with different savoury or sweet fillings.
7.04 哎呀大部分买卖米线啊。这个中式面点， 这是买面是的。冷菜。这是菜。
āiyā dàbùfen mài mǐxiàn a. Zhège Zhōngshì miàndiǎn zhè shì mǎi miànshì de 。 lěngcài zhè 。Jiùshì cài.
Oh. Lots of places to buy noodles. These are oriental pastries. Cold vegetables. Those are Vegetables.
7.29 师傅我这可以用钱吗？可以. 啊。。行。。可以用钱。。可以用钱。买票?..好了好了。
shīfu wǒ zhè kěyǐ yòngqian ma?… kěyǐ
a xíng 。 kěyǐ 。 kěyǐ 。 mǎipiào..hǎole hǎoleCook, can I use money here? I can.. good. Oh.. buy a ticket.. ok..ok.
7.53 师傅我要买票在那呢？那边儿？好。。好。买票。。呃。买票在这儿吗？怎么个买票。 买菜。就我自己。十二。没有零钱。 给窗口就行了？
shīfu wǒyào mǎi piào。 Zài nǎbianér 。 hǎo。 。 è ？ zàizhèér mǎ zěnme gè 。 mǎicài jiù wǒzìjǐ shíèr méiyǒu língqián gěi chuāngkǒu jiù xíngle。
Sir, I want to buy a ticket. Where can I do it? I want to buy food..I’m here on my own… 12 yuan’s worth.. I don’t have any change. I need to hand it over at the window? That’s good, perfect.
The complicated story of buying food for our narrator is not over. He now has to swap his receipt for a ticket before he can get his food. Ho goes to the wrong window first before finally finding the correct one.
8.46 师傅这票是给你吗？我买的票是给谁啊？啊在这儿。给。。十二的。
Shīfu zhè piào shì gěi nǐ mǎ？ Wǒ mǎi de piào shì shéi gěi？ a zàizhèér 。 shíèr 。
Master， who should I give this ticket to? This ticket I bought.. who should I give it to? Oh.. over there. 12 yuan.
He exchanges part of his ticket for some rice at the first stall.
8.57 给十二的。少四加来了？
gěi shíèr de shǎo sì jia lai le
Ok 12 minus the four?
He is ten told to give four yuan by the waitress, which he hands over in the form of his receipt. but he can’t work out which part of his receipt, which he paid 12 yuan for represents 4 yuan!
9.06 都给你吧， 我不要了。怎么四？四哪一个？没我 第一次来吃。
Dōu gěi nǐ ba。Wǒ bùyào le。Zěnme sì ？ Sì Nǎyīge? Wǒ dìyīcì lái chī.
You can have the whole thing (the receipt), I don’t need it. Which 4? Which part is the 4 yuan?
9.17 Male waiting staff：几个人？
jǐge rén
How many of you are there?
9.18 就我自己。这个。这个票还给他们吧？行。这样的？ 好了谢谢。
Jiù wǒzìjǐ。 Zhège piào hái gěi tāmen ba 。Xíng。。 zhèyàng de hǎole xièxie
I’m here on my own. So I still need to show this ticket to the people at the other windows? OK, It’s like that, good. Thank you.
9.49 菜。打分菜. 这个票就可以打几个菜？
Cài。 Dǎfēn cài。Zhège piào jiùkěyǐ dǎ jǐge cài ？
Food。serving dishes… How many dishes can I get with this ticket?
10.01 Cook：这个可以打一个两个三个。可以打三个。
zhège kěyǐ dá yīgè liǎng ge sān gè. Kěyǐ dá sān gè。
With this you can have, one. two, three, servings. You can have three dishes.
10.04 三个啊。不辣的。花生。。行。那个不不辣的？行这个。。还可以打。。行这个吧。行这个吧。行好了。
Sān gè a bù là de 。 Huāshēng xíng nàge bù bù là de 。 Zhège háikěyǐ dǎ xíng ba。Xìng zhège 。 Xíng hǎole
Three non-spicy dishes. Ok… Peanuts… This one isn’t hot? Ok tha’s good. Ok Great.
After ordering his food the narrator walks away, pleased that he has so much food for only 12 yuan. Just goes to show that although students in China need to pay for three meals a day, the can still eat very cheaply at their university canteen. This is not just the case at Haigeng campus at Yunnan University, but is the same at universities across China.
10.44 十二。十二这么多啊。我找个地方就在这儿吧。筷子不知道在哪啊。
Shíèr 。 Zhèmeduō a wǒ zhǎo gè dìfāng jiù zàizhèér ba…。 Kuàizi bùzhīdào zài nǎa。
12. This is a lot (of food) for 12 yuan. The place I found earlier is here, but I don’t know where the chopsticks are located.
11.01 师傅筷子在什么地方，筷子。我找筷子在哪啊？好了好了谢谢。。。wow。。我找些筷子呀。。。好。在这儿。哎呀第一次来了吃，他不方便了。什么都不知道在哪。
Shīfu kuàizi zài shénme dìfang？ kuàizi wǒ zhǎo kuàizi zài nǎ le 。 Xièxie。。 wǒ zhǎo xiē ya hǎo zàizhèér. āiyā dìyīcì lái le chī 。Tā bùfāngbiàn 。 Shénmedōu bùzhīdào zài nǎ。
Master where are the chopsticks located? Chopsticks, I am looking for chopsticks. . Oh my.. This is my first time to eat here and it has not been easy to locate things. I don’t know where anything is.
After finally purchasing his food and finding his chopsticks our narrator sits down, ready to eat.
11.38 这个这么多菜之花了十二块钱。我给大家看一下。厉害了。
zhège zhèmeduō cài zhī huā le shíèr kuàiqián. Wǒ gěi dàjiā kànyīxià 。 Lìhai le。
That’s a lot of food for just 12 yuan. Let me show you all. Great!
We are not introduced to each item that makes up his 12 yuan meal. They are: 花生 (huāshēng) peanuts; 丸子 (wánzi) meatballs;苦瓜炒肉 (kǔguā chǎo ròu) bitter gourd fried pork.
11.57 这个是每样儿每样儿的价格我不清楚，反正总共价格是十二。 花生。丸子。嗯，这个是，这个叫四喜丸子吧，这叫。蛮好吃的，肉的。这个是苦瓜炒肉，这是苦瓜炒肉
zhege shi mei yangr mei yangr dejiage wo buqingchu fanzheng zonggong jiage ， shier huasheng wanzi en zhege ， ， jiao sixiwanzi ba 。 man haochi ， rou 。 zhege shi kugua chao ， zhe shi kugua chao rou
Although I’m not sure what the price of each item individually is, in total they came to 12 yuan. Peanuts. Meatballs… it’s actually called Sixi Maruko, it’s delicious and meaty. This is bitter gourd fried pork.
12.23 这个。。wow。。这个辣呀。早时不要这个了。这个土豆，这个是肉丁少一点辣。总共十二块钱。行。这pai wondered what Chinese students eat at the university canteen and where they go to buy their food and drink? Is it a mystery to you how a Chinese University could feed so many students in one sitting? On this page we answer some of these questions as we follow YouTube user Traveling-alone-in-China as he takes us to an authentic Chinese university canteen in Yunnan Province in the south of China.
There are lots of helpful language points in this lesson for students at the intermediate level of mandarin and above. If you are a beginner mandarin student you can also use this lesson to pick up useful vocabulary. This lesson takes place in a city called Kunming in Yunnan, China.

Kunming, Yunnan Province
Yunnan University HaiGeng Campus

Yunnan University HaiGeng Campus
The characters that are printed in gold on the sign above are 云南大学海埂校区。 云 (yún) is the character for cloud in Chinese, while 南 is the character for south. You were very close if you put two and two together and decided that together they mean clouds in the South. In fact they mean south of the cloudy mountains. Indeed Yunnan is just to the south of the YunLing （云岭） mountain range.
Next we see the characters 海埂 (hǎi gěng) HaiGeng is an area of Kunming, as well as the university campus in this video it has a big park, a dam and a stadium. Then we have the characters for campus 校区 （xiàoqū）。Therefore the whole sign reads Yunnan University Haigeng Campus.
Setting the scene

The narrator starts by telling us where he is.
00.00 现在在云南昆明，这是云南大学海埂校区，云南大学好几个校区啊。
xiànzài zài Yúnnán Kūnmíng zhè shì yúnnándàxué hǎi gěng xiàoqū ， yúnnándàxué hǎojǐ gè xiàoqū
I am in Kunming, Yunnan Province. At Yunnan University’s Haigeng campus, which is of several campuses that make up the university.
The author then explains that he was actually at 滇池 (Diānchí), another of the university’s campuses, in the afternoon. This other campus is located near the harbour.
0.08 我下午刚逛完滇池，滇池校区, 这个也叫滇池校区. 哪个方向就是滇池。那个方向
wǒ xiàwǔ gāng guàng wán Diānchí Diānchí xiàoqū zhège yě jiào Diānchí xiàoqū
nàge fāngxiàng jiùshì Diānchi. nàge fāngxiàng
Just this afternoon I was having a stroll around Dianchi，it is also called Dianchi campus. It is in that direction. Over in that direction.
It doesn’t take long for the narrator to get on to the topic of food. He starts by telling us that there aren’t many restaurants nearby.
The characters for nearby in Chinese are 附近 （fùjìn）。 When you are in China you can use this to enquire if there is a certain place nearby. For example if you are wondering if there is a library in the vicinity you can ask:
请问附近有没有图书馆？
qǐngwèn fùjìn yǒu méiyǒu túshūguǎn ma?
Excuse me is there a library nearby?
0.18 这附近餐馆不是很多. 我准备在学校里吃个饭。我找一下他们的学校的食堂啊. 因为这个是个分校所以这个学校不是很大。
zhè fùjìn cānguǎn bùshì hěnduō
wǒ zhǔnbèi zài xuéxiào lǐchí gè fàn wǒ zhǎo yīxià tāmende xuéxiào deshítáng. yīnwèi zhège shìgè fēnxiào suǒyǐ zhège xuéxiào bùshì hěndà
There aren’t many restaurants nearby. I plan to eat on campus. I’ve had a look at the canteen’s at this school. Because this is only a branch of the school the campus is not that big.
Chinese University top-up meal cards
Our narrator then goes on to tell us that he has been having a look round the Haigeng Campus. He has found a place to eat but he is not sure whether he will be able to use his money there.
This is because instead of money, most Chinese Universities operate a top-up meals card system. They issue students with top-up meal cards which they can then top-up as and when they need. These top-up meal cards can be used on campus to pay for food at the canteen and to pay for other amenities provided by the university. Without a top-up card it is usually not possible to buy food in a canteen at a Chinese university.
0.31 我转一圈儿，然后找一下食堂吃个饭。 呃，不知道能不能用钱，不能用钱的话就算了。
wǒ zhuǎn yījuàn ránhòu zhǎo yīxià shítáng chī gè fàn è ， bùzhīdào néngbùnéng yòngqian bùnéngyòng qián dehuà jiùsuàn le
I’ve been looking around and have found a canteen. I don’t know if I’ll be able to pay using money. If I can’t then I’ll have to forget it.
He then passes and points out the library – 图书馆 （túshūguǎn）。
0.40 呃，从这边儿走吧。这个好像是图书馆吧
è cōng zhèbiānr zǒu bā zhège hǎoxiàng shì túshūguǎn ba
It’s over this way. That looks like it could be the library.
The weather in Yunnan
Yunnan is known to be one of China’s rainiest provinces. In fact it even has a rainy season which starts in June and continues till August. The rain, however, is a small price to pay for the beautiful natural scenery to be found in the province of Yunnan.
Our narrator then goes on to speak about the weather in Kunming that day.
0.48 呃，云南经常下雨，刚才稍微有点儿晴天，现在又开始下雨了，我还打着伞哪。来云南两天了，我每天都带伞。因为他雨。。下一会儿停一会儿
è Yúnnán jīngcháng xiàyǔ ， gāngcái shāowēi yǒudiǎnr qíngtiān xiànzài yòu kāishǐ le wǒ hái dǎ zhé sǎn。。yīnwèi tā yǔ。。xià yīhuìr tíng yīhuìr
It often rains in Yunnan. Just now it was sunny but now it has started raining again. I’ve still got my umbrella up, I’ve had to use it on both of the days that I’ve been here in Yunnan because the rain stops and starts very often.
The Old School Campus – 老校区
The next sentence includes the following items:
食堂 （shítáng）- Canteen
从 （cóng） – follow
这 (zhè）- that
走 (zǒu) – route
ie. The canteen is that way.
Another interesting language point below is the use of the phrase 老校 （lǎoxiào). The first time you listen you could be forgiven for hearing 老小 which means old and young people, or you family. But actually the meaning of 老校 is old school, the shortened form of 老校区 meaning old school campus.
1.07 找下他们食堂啊从这走吧。从这走，这儿能看见大学生。云南大学，改天我会….呃……他们的老校改天我会去看一下。那个老校我听说里面有很多…就是…古建筑
zhǎo xià tāmen shítáng ā cóng zhè zǒu bā cóng zhè ， zhèr néng kànjiàn dàxuéshēng yúnnándàxué gǎitiān wǒ huì/kuài è tāmende lǎoxiào gǎitiān wǒ 。 qù kànyīxià nàge lǎo xiào wǒ tīngshuō lǐmiàn yǒu hěnduō jiùshì gǔ jiànzhù
I’m looking for the canteen I found earlier.. oh it’s in that direction. Yunnan University, in this direction you can see some university students. I’d like to go and see the old campus one day. The old campus has lots of old buildings.
Yunnan University Haigeng Campus Library
Next the narrator shows us the facade of the Yunnan University 云南大学 Haigeng Campus 还更校区 Library 图书馆。The narrator points out that it is not possible to enter the library without a students ID card. Although universities have a history of being fairly open places in China, security is getting tighter an there are fewer and fewer places on campus that an outsider can gain access to. In fact many universities in China will demand you show them some ID showing that you are a student or member of staff before you can enter.
1.33 啊这是图书馆这他们图书馆。图书馆一般都是他们一般都是刷学生证呢。外人进不去。
a zhè shì túshūguǎn zhè tāmen túshūguǎn. Túshūguǎn yìbāndōu shì ..tāmen yìbāndōu shuā xuéshengzhèng ne. Wàirén jìn bùqù
This is the library. In most libraries you have to swipe your student I.D. card before you can enter. Outsiders can’t enter.
Looking for the Canteen
The narrator is still looking for the canteen which is actually behind the library. He then re-iterates that student canteens in China do not take cash directly. Instead you need to pay using a university-issued student food top-up card.
He says: 大部分 （most) 食堂 (canteens) 不能用 (can’t use) 钱 money. Instead you have to 刷 (swipe) your 卡 (card) when purchasing your food. The cards that are used are called 饭卡， or food cards. Below is an example of what a Chinese University food card looks like:

There is also some more really useful language her for Mandarin learners concerning paying for things in China. He uses the phrase 零钱 （língqián）which means change. Then later he uses the phrase 正好 （zhènghǎo）This means exact amount. You may hear this in China when you are paying for something. If the cashier is counting the money you have given for a product and it is the exact amount they will may 正好 . Exact!
1.44 食堂应该是后便吧。看一下。。但愿能。。大部分食堂是不能用钱的都是刷卡。他们有饭卡. 不会有的也是可以。我前天。。昨天还是前天。。昨天晚上是在云南农业大学吃. 很便宜那个也是可以用钱不过不能找零钱就是你必须你给他钱的时候不能他找钱。 只能给他正好的。是那个意思。
shítáng yīnggāi yīng shì hòu biàn ba. Kànyīxià 。 Dànyuàn néng.. Dàbùfen shítáng shì bùnéngyòng qián de 。 shuākǎ tāmen yǒu fàn kǎ
bùhuì yǒude yěshì kěyǐ 。 Wǒ qiántiān zuótiān háishi 。 zuótiānwǎnshang shì zài Yúnnán nóngyè dàxué chī de
hěn piányi nàge yěshì kěyǐ yòngqian bùguò bùnéng zhǎolíng qián jiùshì nǐ bìxū nǐ gěi tā qián deshíhòu bùnéng zhǎoqián zhǐnéng gěi/jǐ tā zhènghǎo 。 shì nàge yìsi
The cafeteria should be behind here. Let’s take a look. You can’t use cash at most canteens (in China), you have to swipe your student card. A food card. But if you can’t use a card there is usually a way to eat. The day before yesterday, or was it yesterday? Yes, yesterday evening I ate a Yunnan Agricultural University. The food was very cheap. I was able to use cash but they weren’t able to gibe me change. When you give them cash you must give them the exact amount as they aren’t able to give change. That’s how it is.
2.28 这个商店。食堂是在这边儿我猜的。云南大学。。。
zhège shāngdiàn。 shítáng shì zàizhèbiānér 。 wǒ cāi de。 Yúnnándàxué。
That’s a shop. The canteen is over here, I guess. Yunnan University.
A Sports Car and a shop at Yunnan University
Our narrator next stops to admire a sports car on the grounds of Yunnan University. He uses the word 跑车 （pǎochē）sports car，and then the brand 宝马 （bǎomǎ）
2.46 哎呀这个跑车啊。厉害了。宝马的。
āiyā zhège pǎochē ā lìhai le。 bǎomǎ de。
Oh，this spots car. Incredible! A BMW.
He then passes a shop. Can you read the characters on the shop sign below? The first one is obscured it reads 滇

Shop at Yunnan University
The characters read： 滇池学院购物中心
They are： 滇池 （Diānchí）； 学院 （xuéyuàn）College；购物 （gòuwù）shopping; 中心 （zhōngxīn）Centre。
This means the name of the shop is Dianchi College Shopping Centre.
2.57 这还有个滇池学院购物中心。这个。。这个有购物中心。滇池学院购物中心。这儿里边也有卖饭的吧。
Zhè háiyǒu gè Diānchí xuéyuàn gòuwùzhōngxīn zhège 。 Zhège yǒu 。 Diānchí xuéyuàn 。 zhèr lǐbian yě yǒu mài fàn de ba
There is also a shop here called Dianchi College Shopping Centre. It has… Dianchi College.. inside you can also buy food.
Yunnan University Haigeng Campus Canteen
After a good look round the Yunnan University Haigeng Campus our narrator finally arrives at the canteen.
3.10 这个是他们的食堂。这个外观一般是食堂。我拍个照，然后我进去吃啊。拍个照。
zhège shì tāmende shítáng zhège wàiguān yībān shì 。 Wǒ pāi gè zhào ránhòu wǒ jìnqù chī a。Pāi gè zhào
This is their canteen. It looks like a canteen from the exterior. I will take a photograph then I’ll go in to eat. I’ll take a photo.
He then mentions the 老校 （lǎo xiào）old school building that he referred to earlier in the video. This time he tells us where it is: on the edge of 翠湖 (cuì hú) or Green Lake.. He goes on to tell us again that the old campus has lots of ancient buildings.
3.30 那个老校是在翠湖公园边上，里面还…里面我听他们说有很多以前的建筑 有一点啊所以确实比较难懂
nàge lǎo xiào shì zài cuì hú gōngyuán biān shǎng lǐmiàn hái lǐmiàn wǒ tīngyǐ tāmen shuō yǒu hěnduō yǐqián de jiànzhù yǒuyīdiǎn a suǒyǐ quèshí bǐjiào nándǒng
The old college campus is on the edge of the Green lake Park. I’ve heard that this campus has lots of very buildings from the past which are mysterious.
Finally we have arrived at the student canteen at the Haigeng Campus of Yunnan University. You will notice the row after row, column after column of fixed tables and chairs; typical of the seating arrangements in a student canteen at a university in China. Students will typically live on campus throughout their three or four years at university. They live in dormitories which they share with between 4 and 10 other students. There are no cooking facilities in these dormitories, so they eat three meals a day in the canteens provided on-site. Often a canteen might cover two, three or even more floors. Each floor might provide a different type of food. Or one floor might provide food that is more expensive, and therefore be used by students with a larger budget.
3.39 这样是食堂， 没写名字. 现在是下午六七点种了吧可能吃的儿不多。Wow。拍一些他们食堂。我先把我的伞放下啊
zhèyàng shì shítáng méi xiě míngzi xiànzài shì xiàwǔ liù qīdiǎn zhǒng le bā kěnéng chēbùduō
。 pāi yīxiē tāmen 。 wǒ xiān bà wǒde sǎn fàngxià a
This is the canteen, it doesn’t have a name (there is no sign). It is around 6 or 7 o’clock in the evening right? I might not eat much. Wow. I’ll just take some photos. First I’m going to put down my umbrella.
4.06 我转一圈 转一下看一下有卖什么的
wǒ zhuàn yījuàn zhuàn yīxià kànyīxià yǒu mài shénmede
I’m going to look around to see what I want to buy.
The narrator now goes to look round the different dining options provided by this canteen. You will notice that around the side of the canteen there are a number of different windows, each offering different dining options.
At the first stall he goes to he notices that payment at this window has to be made online via WeChat 微信 (Wēixìn) Barcode 二维码 (èrwéimǎ) . Seeing our narrator prefers to pay by cash he decides to move on to another window.
4.22 我看见微信二维码了.可以扫微信，那应该是支持付款
Wǒ kànjiàn Wēixìn èrwéimǎle kěyǐ sǎo Wēixìn nǎ . Nà yīnggāi shì zhīchí fùkuǎn
I’ve seen a WeChat Barcode, payment here is made online by swiping WeChat Pay.
Next our narrator takes us around some of the windows on this floor of the canteen, showing us the different food options available.

冷米线 – cold rice flour noodles
Firstly, he introduces us to 冷米线 （lěng mǐxiàn）cold rice flour noodles, then 包子 （bāozi）steamed buns (usually filled with a filling such as mince or vegetables).
4.30 米线。。凉米线。。这是包子。他们。。他们这个这样买份的。 每个大学的买份不一样。
Mǐxiàn 。。Leng Mǐxiàn 。 。 zhè shì bāozi.. tāmen 。 zhège zhèyàng mǎi fèn de měigè dàxué de mǎi fèn bùyīyàng.
Rice-flour noodles. Cold rice-flour noodles. These are steamed buns. These have all been bought that way (through WeChat Pay), all University canteens in China have different payment methods.
4.58 可能是现在比较晚了,所以这个窗户都没开。这个那边窗户开的
kěnéng shì xiànzài bǐjiào wǎn le suǒyǐ zhège chuānghu dōu méikāi. Zhège nàbian chuānghu kāi de
Because it is quite late now these windows are all shut. Over there the windows are open.
Our narrator then finds a price list, on which everything seems to be listed as only 1.5 yuan. These seem to be ingredients which you can add to your meal. All the ingredients on the left hand side begin with the character 炒 (chǎo) meaning fried. First on the list is 炒豆腐菜 (chǎodòufu cài) Fried Tofu.
5.05 上边是价格表. Wow 好便宜啊，1块五。一块五一份的。看看这个，全都一块五。
Shàngbian shì jiàgébiǎo。 Wow. hǎo piányi a yī kuài wǔ yīkuài wǔyī fèn ， kànkan zhège quándōu yīkuài wǔ。
Up there is the price list. Wow, very cheap, 1.5 yuan for one serving. Look they are all 1.5 yuan.
Next we see the prices for steamed dishes, some of which include meat. These are more expensive.
5.15 这个是卤菜。卤菜是三块。这个三块五荤菜。荤菜四块。
Zhège shì lǔcài。 Lǔcài sān kuài。 zhège sān kuài cài。 hūncài sì 。
These are steamed dished. Steamed dishes are 4 yuan. These dishes with meat are 3.5 yuan. And these are 4 yuan.
The narrator then asks if he can pay for any items on this floor using cash but he is told that he will have to go upstairs to the 2nd or 3rd floor to do this. As a sign of respect he uses the title 师傅 (shīfu) , which is a respectful term we use when speaking to a person who has mastered a skill like driving or cooking. Therefore we could use it with a taxi driver as well as in this situation with a cook.
5.30 Narrator: 呃，师傅，我问一下可以用钱吗？
è shīfu ， wǒ wèn yīxià kěyǐ yòngqian ma ？
Oh, master, may I ask… Can I pay with money here?
5.31 Cook: 不可以。
bùkěyǐ
No, you can’t.
5.32 不可以啊.
bùkěyǐ ā
Oh, I can’t.
Next we come across a really interesting and useful word: 现金 (xiànjīn), which means cash.
5.53 这附近有没有收现金的？
zhè fùjìn yǒu méiyǒu shōu xiànjīn de?
Is there anywhere nearby that accepts cash as a payment method?
Next we get to learn the characters for floor. The narrator entered the building on the ground floor, in China this would by 一楼 （yīlóu）as in floor one. The cook tells the narrator that he needs to go to floor two 二楼 or floor three 三楼 to use cash.
5.37 二楼三楼？行，好了，谢谢啊。噢，我明白了，这一楼不可以收现金
èrlóu sānlóu? xíng hǎole. Xièxie a. Aō wǒmíngbáile zhèyī lóu bùkěyǐ shōu xiànjīn
Second, or third floor? OK thanks. Now I understand, on this floor you can’t pay with cash.
Chinese University Canteen 二楼 and 三楼
Our narrator now determines that he will move on to the second and third floors where he has been told that he can use cash.
5.45 行我现在上二楼三楼啊。其实不容现金没事我可以找一个同学就是拉他报刷卡我把钱给他。这样是可以的.
xíng wǒ xiànzài shàng èrlóu sānlóu a. Qíshí bùróng xiànjīn méishì wǒ kěyǐ zhǎo yīgè tóngxué jiùshì lā tā bào shuākǎ wǒ bǎ qián gěi tā. zhèyàng shì kěyǐ de。
Ok. Now I’m going to go to the second and third floors. Although, I can’t pay using money I can find a student to pay for me by swiping his card. Then I can give him the cash. This should be OK.
6.01 我就不麻烦了。我现在这之上二楼。不知上哪去，应该从这边吧。哎呀。。雨这么大啊。奥楼梯在这边儿， 哎呀雨还大啊。走快点。
wǒ jiù bùmáfan le， xiànzài zhè zhīshàng èrlóu bùzhī shàng nǎ qù yīnggāi cóng zhèbiān bā yǔzhème dà a. ào lóutī zàizhèbiānér. āiyā yǔ háidà。 zǒu kuàidiǎn
Not a problem. Now I’m going to go to the second floor.. other than up there, you can also go this way. Oh.. there’s the stairs, oh the rain is very heavy, must go quickly.
6.28 二楼。哎呀..差点绊倒
èrlóu.. āiyāchàdiǎn bàndǎo
Second floor… Oh.. Almost tripped.
6.37 二楼会一楼差不多啊。
èrlóu huì yīlóu chàbuduō a
The second floor is similiar to the first floor.
Our narrator then gives us the lowdown on the menu options available at the different stalls on the first floor of the Haigeng Campus university campus. Do you remember the characters 米线 from earlier in this article? Can you recognise the characters 清汤？

These characters are 清汤 （qīngtāng）清 means clear and 汤 means soup, so we have clear soup. Usually this soup will have bits of meat or tofu in it as well as noodles. The other characters, which we covered earlier in the article, are 米线。Together they make up 清汤米线 – clear soup and rice noodles.

清汤米线 – clear soup and rice noodles
6.39 清汤米线. 小锅米线。我吃什么呀？我楼的转一下然后。。然后看一下。今天不吃米线， 因为米线在外边也有。
Qīngtāng mǐxiàn xiǎo guō mǐxiàn wǒ chī shénme ya? 。 lóu de zhuǎn yīxià ránhòu kànyīxià. Jīntiān bù chī mǐxiàn yīnwèi … zài wàibiān yě yǒu.
Clear soup and rice noodles. What shall I eat? Let me turn this way and have a look. I don’t want to eat rice-noodles today because I can buy them outside.
Next we are introduced to a type of food called 中式面点 （Zhōngshì miàndiǎn）these are a type of pastry that are filled with different savoury or sweet fillings.

中式面点
7.04 哎呀大部分买卖米线啊。这个中式面点， 这是买面是的。冷菜。这是菜。
āiyā dàbùfen mài mǐxiàn a. Zhège Zhōngshì miàndiǎn zhè shì mǎi miànshì de 。 lěngcài zhè 。Jiùshì cài.
Oh. Lots of places to buy noodles. These are oriental pastries. Cold vegetables. Those are Vegetables.
7.29 师傅我这可以用钱吗？可以. 啊。。行。。可以用钱。。可以用钱。买票?..好了好了。
shīfu wǒ zhè kěyǐ yòngqian ma?… kěyǐ
a xíng 。 kěyǐ 。 kěyǐ 。 mǎipiào..hǎole hǎole
Cook, can I use money here? I can.. good. Oh.. buy a ticket.. ok..ok.
7.53 师傅我要买票在那呢？那边儿？好。。好。买票。。呃。买票在这儿吗？怎么个买票。 买菜。就我自己。十二。没有零钱。 给窗口就行了？
shīfu wǒyào mǎi piào。 Zài nǎbianér 。 hǎo。 。 è ？ zàizhèér mǎ zěnme gè 。 mǎicài jiù wǒzìjǐ shíèr méiyǒu língqián gěi chuāngkǒu jiù xíngle。
Sir, I want to buy a ticket. Where can I do it? I want to buy food..I’m here on my own… 12 yuan’s worth.. I don’t have any change. I need to hand it over at the window? That’s good, perfect.
The complicated story of buying food for our narrator is not over. He now has to swap his receipt for a ticket before he can get his food. Ho goes to the wrong window first before finally finding the correct one.
8.46 师傅这票是给你吗？我买的票是给谁啊？啊在这儿。给。。十二的。
Shīfu zhè piào shì gěi nǐ mǎ？ Wǒ mǎi de piào shì shéi gěi？ a zàizhèér 。 shíèr 。
Master， who should I give this ticket to? This ticket I bought.. who should I give it to? Oh.. over there. 12 yuan.
He exchanges part of his ticket for some rice at the first stall.
8.57 给十二的。少四加来了？
gěi shíèr de shǎo sì jia lai le
Ok 12 minus the four?
He is ten told to give four yuan by the waitress, which he hands over in the form of his receipt. but he can’t work out which part of his receipt, which he paid 12 yuan for represents 4 yuan!
9.06 都给你吧， 我不要了。怎么四？四哪一个？没我 第一次来吃。
Dōu gěi nǐ ba。Wǒ bùyào le。Zěnme sì ？ Sì Nǎyīge? Wǒ dìyīcì lái chī.
You can have the whole thing (the receipt), I don’t need it. Which 4? Which part is the 4 yuan?
9.17 Male waiting staff：几个人？
jǐge rén
How many of you are there?
9.18 就我自己。这个。这个票还给他们吧？行。这样的？ 好了谢谢。
Jiù wǒzìjǐ。 Zhège piào hái gěi tāmen ba 。Xíng。。 zhèyàng de hǎole xièxie
I’m here on my own. So I still need to show this ticket to the people at the other windows? OK, It’s like that, good. Thank you.
9.49 菜。打分菜. 这个票就可以打几个菜？
Cài。 Dǎfēn cài。Zhège piào jiùkěyǐ dǎ jǐge cài ？
Food。serving dishes… How many dishes can I get with this ticket?
10.01 Cook：这个可以打一个两个三个。可以打三个。
zhège kěyǐ dá yīgè liǎng ge sān gè. Kěyǐ dá sān gè。
With this you can have, one. two, three, servings. You can have three dishes.
10.04 三个啊。不辣的。花生。。行。那个不不辣的？行这个。。还可以打。。行这个吧。行这个吧。行好了。
Sān gè a bù là de 。 Huāshēng xíng nàge bù bù là de 。 Zhège háikěyǐ dǎ xíng ba。Xìng zhège 。 Xíng hǎole
Three non-spicy dishes. Ok… Peanuts… This one isn’t hot? Ok tha’s good. Ok Great.
After ordering his food the narrator walks away, pleased that he has so much food for only 12 yuan. Just goes to show that although students in China need to pay for three meals a day, the can still eat very cheaply at their university canteen. This is not just the case at Haigeng campus at Yunnan University, but is the same at universities across China.
10.44 十二。十二这么多啊。我找个地方就在这儿吧。筷子不知道在哪啊。
Shíèr 。 Zhèmeduō a wǒ zhǎo gè dìfāng jiù zàizhèér ba…。 Kuàizi bùzhīdào zài nǎa。
12. This is a lot (of food) for 12 yuan. The place I found earlier is here, but I don’t know where the chopsticks are located.
11.01 师傅筷子在什么地方，筷子。我找筷子在哪啊？好了好了谢谢。。。wow。。我找些筷子呀。。。好。在这儿。哎呀第一次来了吃，他不方便了。什么都不知道在哪。
Shīfu kuàizi zài shénme dìfang？ kuàizi wǒ zhǎo kuàizi zài nǎ le 。 Xièxie。。 wǒ zhǎo xiē ya hǎo zàizhèér. āiyā dìyīcì lái le chī 。Tā bùfāngbiàn 。 Shénmedōu bùzhīdào zài nǎ。
Master where are the chopsticks located? Chopsticks, I am looking for chopsticks. . Oh my.. This is my first time to eat here and it has not been easy to locate things. I don’t know where anything is.
After finally purchasing his food and finding his chopsticks our narrator sits down, ready to eat.
11.38 这个这么多菜之花了十二块钱。我给大家看一下。厉害了。
zhège zhèmeduō cài zhī huā le shíèr kuàiqián. Wǒ gěi dàjiā kànyīxià 。 Lìhai le。
That’s a lot of food for just 12 yuan. Let me show you all. Great!
We are not introduced to each item that makes up his 12 yuan meal. They are: 花生 (huāshēng) peanuts; 丸子 (wánzi) meatballs;苦瓜炒肉 (kǔguā chǎo ròu) bitter gourd fried pork.
11.57 这个是每样儿每样儿的价格我不清楚，反正总共价格是十二。 花生。丸子。嗯，这个是，这个叫四喜丸子吧，这叫。蛮好吃的，肉的。这个是苦瓜炒肉，这是苦瓜炒肉
zhege shi mei yangr mei yangr dejiage wo buqingchu fanzheng zonggong jiage ， shier huasheng wanzi en zhege ， ， jiao sixiwanzi ba 。 man haochi ， rou 。 zhege shi kugua chao ， zhe shi kugua chao rou
Although I’m not sure what the price of each item individually is, in total they came to 12 yuan. Peanuts. Meatballs… it’s actually called Sixi Maruko, it’s delicious and meaty. This is bitter gourd fried pork.
12.23 这个。。wow。。这个辣呀。早时不要这个了。这个土豆，这个是肉丁少一点辣。总共十二块钱。行。这拍这里吧。解除了。
zhège。 。 。 là ya zǎo shí bùyào le. zhège tǔdòu zhège shì ròudīng shǎo yīdiǎn 。 zǒnggòng shíèr kuài qián .xíng zhè pāi zhèlǐ ba jiěchú 。
This is spicy… It’s too early for spicy food. These are potatoes, and this is diced meat. In total it came to 12 yuan. I’m going to take a photo. Over.
This is the end of the translation. I hope you learnt some new vocabulary and phrases.