Today I would like to introduce one of the most popular audio platforms in China – Ximalaya ( in Chinese: 喜马拉雅）. It has tons of audio resources that you can listen to for free which is great for both children and adult Chinese language learners.
As I mentioned in another post, there are many great benefits of listening to audiobooks for kids. Especially it is a good way to switch kids off the screens.
Now, let’s quickly take a look at this great podcast platform Ximalaya.
Table of Contents:
- What is Ximalaya?
- Where can I download it?
- What are the key features of Ximalaya?
- Do I have to sign up for listening to it?
- My user Experience
What’s Ximalaya?
Ximalaya is one of the largest online audio platforms in China. According to its official data, it has an average of 268 million monthly active users across all scenes in 2021, and many audios have been listened for more than millions of times. It brings together hundreds of millions of audios such as stories, novels, books, children’s stories, courses, lectures, etc.
Not only does it have a large number of audio resources, but many of them are free to listen to. Listening to it anytime gives us the opportunity to create an immersion listening environment for both children and adults who are learning Chinese.
Where can I download it?
Ximalaya has both an official website and an App for different electronic devices. You can simply search ximalaya.com on Safari, Google, or other search engines to access its official website and listen to it directly.
However, for Ximalaya App, you may notice it does not appear on App Store if you are located outside China. So for Apple users, you will need to have a Chinese user ID and access to the Chinese App store to download. For Android users, you can access its official website of Ximalaya to get the download link by clicking download now (in Chinese: 立即下载）.
Ximalaya can be listened to directly on its website using a computer, cell phone, or pad. The content and features are the same as on the device. If you are an Apple user overseas and prefer to save time and trouble accessing to China App store, you can just access http://www.ximalaya.com and bookmark the website on your device for easy use.
Please be aware that Ximalaya is the Chinese version of the audio platform, it also has an international version called Himalaya. In this article, I am introducing Ximalaya China version as it has much more free resources than the international versions, especially for kids’ resources.
What are the key features of Ximalaya?
As with other podcasts, Ximalaya also has the features such as download, view history, search, follow, share, etc., in addition to the aforementioned, there are more amazing features offered by Ximalaya which are:
Speed it up / Slow it down: The playback feature allows users to choose the speed of what they listen to. It is essential for Chinese learners to choose a moderate speed for their Chinese level in order to achieve an effective listening result.
Audios with scripts: The scripts may not be useful for younger children as they do not know many Chinese characters, but it is a great feature for older children and adult learners who can read Chinese or even only some Chinese. This way, it allows learners to listen to some content that is a bit more advanced than the learners’ Chinese level, as reading (or in this situation, glancing at some words) could assist learners to listen to and understand the contents better.
Set a timer: A timer for bedtime stories can help you avoid the stories playing for too long for your child. Set a timer according to how long it normally takes your child to sleep.
Add to favorites: There are many times when I browse the content aimlessly, some good audiobooks would catch my eyes, not sure if my kids will like them or not, so I just add them to my favorites and play for my kids later on. It helps me collect many good audiobooks without effort.
Do I have to sign up for listening to it？
You can listen to loads of audio content on Ximalaya without signing up. You can also download the audio for offline listening. However, if you would like to subscribe, and bookmark your favorite content, you would need to sign up for a free membership.
I signed up for a free membership as I like using the favorite feature, so for me, the free membership is enough.
Ximalaya is quite easy to use, both in the app and on its website. If you want to use this Chinese audio platform but can not read Chinese, please follow me, I will write another post with a step-by-step guide for Ximalaya.
My user experience
Ximalaya is a fascinating storytelling platform for my kids. Whenever my kids are doing their chores, playing with toys, in the car, getting ready to sleep, etc., they always ask me to play them stories or songs on Ximalaya. It also frees me up some time to do my own things.
Moreover, it is a fantastic parenting and education platform for me, I listen to quite a lot of lectures, and speeches about parenting and teaching which brings me valuable ideas and thoughts.
It fosters a great Chinese audio environment for our family and brings convenience to our lives with its user-friendly features.
In my future posts, I will share with you my kids’ favorite audio stories, books, and songs from time to time along with our new discovery on Ximalaya. I hope there could be some good recommendations for your family.
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