The Chairman's Bao vs Du Chinese

[EricJMa]

I'm about to subscribe to a graded reader app. I keep going between The Chairman's Bao and Du Chinese but I'm not sure which is better for my needs. I'm at a HSK 4-5 level and want to improve my reading.

 

Does anybody here have any experience with using both these apps? What are the weaknesses and strength of each of them? Thanks for your feedback.

[mungouk]

FYI: If you decide to go with TCB they have a 25% off "back to school" promotion that ends at midnight tonight.

 

[amytheorangutan]

I subscribe to Du Chinese. From my limited knowledge of Chairman Bao, I think they are more news related topics while Du Chinese is lighter, it has multiple series stories, jokes, culture and entertainment topics, dialogues. I personally not the type of person who likes reading news so I opted for Du Chinese. So I think it’s probably depend on your interest. Due to the nature of the topics maybe you will learn more formal/news type of vocabs through Chairman Bao? 

[Moshen]

At HSK 4-5, Chairman's Bao has lots of interesting material about the environment, unusual jobs in China, technology, adventure travel, etc. Next to no political news. I like the fact that the vocabulary is so up-to-date, so I can learn words for facial recognition, biodiversity, etc.

[EricJMa]

@Moshen and @amytheorangutan thanks for your reply and advice. I just now got a two year subscription to the Chairman's Bao at 25% off. It seems like a great deal. Maybe next year I will try Du Chinese as well. I really do enjoy their free content.

 

[德国人]

I have had subscribed both of them. DuChinese is good for learning to read and listen. Their cursor gliding from one character to the other while you hear the exact audio continuation is a great deal. However their stories are boring like hell. On the other side, they regularly stick to the HSK-level the stories are outlined.

 

Vice versa Chairman's Bao. They do have a whole team of natives editing original newspaper (and else's) articles. Breaking them down to the appropriate HSK-level. That however fails regularly when it comes to names, places or special activities. Of course it's nice if you see the word for "sky-diving" or "balloon riding", but that's not of any benefit in daily learning. On the other side their stories are regularly very interesting and entertaining. The audio is not that good as with DuChinese.

 

I used DuChinese for learning some characters. However I got distracted quite quickly by the uninteresting stories. And for a pure learning tool their curriculum is neither consistent nor explicitly given. I have not continued my subscription.

 

Chairman's Bao is something I here and there look into. But, as I learned Hanzi quite late, my reading is not that good compared to my listening. In TCB the speakers are close to synthetic voices. I will see whether I will continue my subscription. When my reading gets way better, I consider it as a very good opportunity to get some insights into China without hassling with regular Chinese newspapers.

[Jan Finster]

4 hours ago, Moshen said:

At HSK 4-5, Chairman's Bao has lots of interesting material about the environment, unusual jobs in China, technology, adventure travel, etc. Next to no political news.

 

I agree. In fact, so far, I have seen very little "news" related to politics. Maybe actually there is too little of that for a news site. Their "news" are typically stories you would read on the last pages of a classic newspaper headlined "curiosities from around the world".

 

Here are some examples I have read recently:

Elderly-Runner-Overcomes-Arthritis-to-Compete-in-National-Games-Marathon

Fierce-Competition-Leads-to-China-Eastern-Economy-Basic-Class

Football-Exhibition-Match-in-China-Broadcast-to-Glass-free-3D-Technology-Worldwide

Former-Polish-Ambassador-to-China-and-His-60-year-old-Transnational-Love

Goat-Milk-Infant-Formula-Rises-in-Popularity-in-China

Harbin-Ice-Sculptures-Exhibited-in-Moscow

Lunar-Rover-Sleeps-After-Mammoth-Journey

Mini-Home-Appliances-Boom-in-China

Netizens-Accuse-Medal-winning-Females-of-Being-Male

Number-of-Male-Nurses-Increases-in-China

Orienteering-Helps-Event-Participants-Navigate-Yangpu-History

Paris-Thief-Swipes-840000-USD-Watch-from-Japanese-Tourist‘s-Wrist

Shanghai-Aims-to-Promote-Fruit-from-Local-Countryside

Shanghai-Beijing-in-Worlds-Top-10-Wealthiest-Cities

Shanghai-Hosts-2019-World-AI-Conference-to-Boost-Innovation

Study-Finds-Optimistic-People-Have-Better-Sleep

Toy-Factory-Offers-Jobs-to-Women-from-Poverty-stricken-Households

Video-of-6-year-old-Chinese-Boy-Boxing-Goes-Viral-Online

11-year-old-Boy-Sells-Vegetables-to-Help-Fund-Brothers-Cancer-Treatment

Visitor-Numbers-Dwindle-at-Guizhous-Fake-Forbidden-City

Shanghai-Airport-Authority-Punishes-Staff-for-Ambulance-Taxi-Service

First-Catch-of-Winter-Fishing-Season-Sells-for-Record-2.96-Million-RMB

Cargo-Ship-Crashes-into-West-Bank-of-Huangpu-River-in-Shanghai

Seven-Year-Old-Becomes-Internet-Celebrity-With-Science-Experiment-Videos

Shanghai-Companies-Enter-Legal-Battle-Over-Xiaolongbao-Trademark

Shanghais-Zhuanghang-Town-Hosts-Goat-Mutton-Festival

Floating-Tent-Hospital-for-Emergencies-Trialled-in-Shanghai

Chinese-Farmer-Fulfils-Aviation-Passion-with-Home-made-Aircraft

Worlds-Longest-Cross-sea-Road-rail-Bridge-Completed-in-China

British-Bangers-Under-Threat-From-Chinese-Pork-Shortage

Chinas-Cinemas-Set-to-Reopen-After-Six-Months

Uzbekistan-Introduces-7-Day-Free-Visa-For-Chinese-Tourists

Floating-Cinema-Opens-in-Israel-to-Attract-Movie-goers-During-Pandemic

Everything-You-Need-to-Know-About-Chinas-Gaokao

Top-10-Countries-with-Mobile-Payment-Usage

Video-of-Students-Self-made-Rocket-Goes-Viral-in-China

Top-10-Safest-Cities-in-China

Experts-Warn-of-Harmful-Big-Snails-After-Rainfall-in-Guangdong

Return-to-School-Showcases-New-Consumer-Preferences

Scientists-in-Italy-Investigate-Mysterious-Pink-Snow

Poverty-Relief-Supermarket-Launches-in-Beijing

Virus-Protection-in-Place-for-Gaokao

People-In-Wuhan-Entertain-Themselves-During-Lockdown

Wenchuan-Earthquake-Orphan-Becomes-Professional-Chef

E-Commerce-Plays-Ever-important-Role-in-Poverty-Alleviation

Famous-Moutai-Brand-is-Chinas-Most-Valuable-Firm

Parents-Persuaded-to-Let-Daughter-Attend-School-Instead-of-Arranged-Marriage

Pit-Converted-into-Amusement-Park-in-Changsha

First-Outdoor-Smart-Gym-Wins-Praise

Apple-Reopens-Beijing-Store-to-Run-on-100-Percent-Renewable-Energy

Beijing-Hospitals-to-Launch-Online-Diagnosis-and-Treatment

Chinas-First-Courier-College-Established

Chinese-Researchers-Sight-11-Whale-Species

Elderly-Man-Pays-Grandfathers-Debt-from-Decades-Ago

 

 

[Moshen]

Quote

I agree. In fact, so far, I have seen very little "news" related to politics. Maybe actually there is too little of that for a news site. Their "news" are typically stories you would read on the last pages of a classic newspaper headlined "curiosities from around the world".

 

Right.  However, from what I can tell, the writing style is journalistic - with a few exceptions it's the kind of sentence structure and so on you'd find in Chinese news.  Some of the articles even have the kind of beat-around-the-bush vagueness that is characteristic of Chinese political news. 

 

I would guess the reason for so little political news is that they want to stay on good terms with authorities in China and their advocates in Chinese language education around the world, while still providing a solid educational resource.  If they said anything at all about Hong Kong demonstrations, for instance, they'd get on someone's bad side.