地上 or 地下

[Koneko]

How would you say "There is a piece of paper on the ground" in Chinese?

地上有张纸。

or

地下有张纸。

[skylee]

This is a very good question, 小貓.

I would guess that in modern Putonghua 地上 should be used. Yet in the works of the famous writer 金庸 (Jin Yong aka Louis Cha), 地下 is used consistently. And in Cantonese, both are acceptable but 地下 is definitely much much more commonly used.

[zackzhou]

both are acceptable, just a little bit different , when people see it in the distance, they often say 地上有张纸

[in_lab]

There are Mainland, HK, and Taiwanese versions of 金庸's novels. Is there any difference in the text (other than simplified/traditional characters)?

[shichao]

i guess the diffrent is just simplified or traditional characters.