To help my fellow viewers, here are translations of some of the Mandarin spoken in the episode as well as background info:
1. The English name for the river is "Yangtze". That name, phonetically translated (which is how nearly all Chinese names are translated into English) back into Chinese, is the ancient name of the river. In fact, most Chinese people are not familiar with that name. Instead, the much more common name for the river is "Chong Jiong" (literally, "long river"). Therefore, as Louis walked around Beijing looking for "Yangtze", is it any wonder no one knew what he was asking for?
2. Asking for Yangtze in Beijing is like asking for the Mississippi in Manhattan, geographically. The Yangtze is at the opposite end of China from Beijing. In fact, "Beijing" literally means "northern capital"; and Yangtze, an east-west river, passes through "Nanjing", which literally means "southern capital".......
3. The duck farmer thought Louis wanted to see a "creek" and brought him to see a "creek".
4. Man One asked Louis what was his nationality. Man Two asked him what country he was from; America, England, or France.
5. Man Two told Louis to visit Beijing often and to come to his home as a guest.
6. Louis' tone when repeating that Mandarin phrase was nearly perfect!
1. The English name for the river is "Yangtze". That name, phonetically translated (which is how nearly all Chinese names are translated into English) back into Chinese, is the ancient name of the river. In fact, most Chinese people are not familiar with that name. Instead, the much more common name for the river is "Chong Jiong" (literally, "long river"). Therefore, as Louis walked around Beijing looking for "Yangtze", is it any wonder no one knew what he was asking for?
2. Asking for Yangtze in Beijing is like asking for the Mississippi in Manhattan, geographically. The Yangtze is at the opposite end of China from Beijing. In fact, "Beijing" literally means "northern capital"; and Yangtze, an east-west river, passes through "Nanjing", which literally means "southern capital".......
3. The duck farmer thought Louis wanted to see a "creek" and brought him to see a "creek".
4. Man One asked Louis what was his nationality. Man Two asked him what country he was from; America, England, or France.
5. Man Two told Louis to visit Beijing often and to come to his home as a guest.
6. Louis' tone when repeating that Mandarin phrase was nearly perfect!