The Virtual Picture Album -- China

The grid below is an annotated index to part of the Virtual Picture Album compiled and distributed by the Less Commonly Taught Languages Project at the University of Minnesota. The pictures in this section of the VPA are of people, places and objects in the People's Republic of China. Each of the pictures is represented by a thumbnail-sized image in the grid, and is accompanied by:

  • a list of vocabulary items corresponding to elements in the picture
  • some suggested lesson topics and grammar points for which the picture might be useful. (These categories are summarized at the bottom of the page.)

There are also suggestions for ways to use certain pairs or groups of pictures.

Due to the number of pictures in this section, the VPA index for China is divided into three parts.

Part 1 in English in Chinese (this page)
Part 2 in English in Chinese
Part 3 in English in Chinese
To view or download a full-sized picture from the VPA, click on its thumbnail representation below. Hit your browser's "back" button or click here to return to the page with vocabulary in English.

Photo (Thumbnail) Vocabulary Items Topics Grammar Points
egg.jpeg eggs (different types), food, markets shopping; food; everyday life measure words; comparatives
tofukid.jpeg tofu (different types), food, markets shopping; buying groceries measure words; comparatives
chillies.jpeg chillies, food, markets, agriculture, food distribution system shopping; selling; buying action verbs; comparatives
streetfood_1.jpeg street food eating " ba " construction; prepositions; relative pronouns
streetfood_2.jpeg street food eating "ba " construction; prepositions; relative pronouns
streetfood_3.jpeg street food eating "ba" construction; prepositions; relative pronouns
sanlunche_1.jpeg san-lun-che, bicycle, building materials transportation; construction; employment prepositions; direction; position
bikes_1.jpeg da-zi-bao, bicycle, poster, parking lot, sidewalk, wall advertising; transportation location; description
streetscene_1.jpeg bicycle, tree, oranges, parents, child, car, street vehicles; street-side activities location; description
hangzhou_zhan.jpeg train, luggage, relatives, station, platform, cloudy travel; transportation; greetings verbs of motion; prepositions; position; measure words
forbidden city palace, Qing dynasty, square history; buildings; monuments locatives/spatial relations;near/far
great wall Great Wall, hill, sky, tree, famous history; monuments plural;conditional
front door garlic, door, window, wall buildings; housing locatives/spatial relations
courtyard courtyard, street buildings; housing locatives/spatial relations; ordering of process/event
european architecture in Shanghai Republican period, laundry buildings; history; housing " ba " construction; conjunctions
lumber for sale in Shanghai building materials, economic boom construction; unemployment/employment progressive; ordering of process/event
teapots from Yixing teapots, tea, Yixing ceremonies; drink transitive/intransitive; measure words
crowds at Guangzhou train station, 1 crowds, station, "<i>lao-bai-xing</i>" population growth; travel motion verbs; directions
crowds at Guangzhou train station, 2 crowds, station, "<i>lao-bai-xing</i>" population growth; travel motion verbs; directions
interior of a sleeping car train, "hard-class","soft-class" population growth; travel locatives/spatial relations; motion verbs


TOPICS   GRAMMAR POINTS
advertising   "ba" construction
animals   comparatives
buildings   conditional
celebrations/ceremonies   contrast
children   directions
clothing   following a map
colors   locatives/spatial relations
construction/economic development   measure words
culture   near/far
direction signs   numbers (cardinal)
everyday life   ordering of process/event
family   particles
food   progressive
geography   reflexive
greetings   subordinate clause
historical/religious elements  
housing  
how-many?  
kitchen appliances/utensils  
landscape  
materials  
nature  
numbers  
occupations/professions  
pastimes  
politics  
school  
school activities  
seasons  
shapes  
shopping  
store interior  
traffic signs  
transportation  
travel  
unemployment/employment  
urban/rural  
weather  

Grouping Suggestions
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