千里江陵一日还

千里江陵一日還
qiānlǐ Jiānglíng yī rì huán
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 a thousand li to Jiangling, returned in a single day
  2. 2 covering a vast distance to Jiangling in one day
  3. 3 (lit.) thousand-li Jiangling, one-day return

Examples

HSK 6
Gāotiě kāitōng hòu, liǎngdì wǎnglái zhēn yǒu qiānlǐ Jiānglíng yī rì huán de gǎnjué.
Since the high-speed rail opened, traveling between the cities really does feel like 'a thousand li to Jiangling in a single day.'
HSK 7-9
Lǐ Bái bǐxià qiānlǐ Jiānglíng yī rì huán, xiě chū le shùnliú ér xià de chàngkuài.
Li Bai's line about Jiangling in a day captures the exhilaration of going downstream.

Tips

history
From Li Bai's (李白) Tang-dynasty quatrain 《早发白帝城》 (Departing Early from Baidicheng). Full quatrain: 朝辞白帝彩云间,千里江陵一日还。两岸猿声啼不住,轻舟已过万重山 - 'at dawn I took leave of Baidi amid colored clouds; a thousand li to Jiangling, back in a day. The gibbons on both banks cry without pause; my light boat has already passed ten thousand peaks.' Li wrote it around 759 on hearing his exile had been lifted.
usage
Jiangling (江陵) is modern Jingzhou in Hubei; Baidicheng is in eastern Chongqing. The 1,200-li downstream stretch through the Three Gorges normally took many days - one day was astonishing speed. Often quoted when praising modern fast travel.

Stroke Order

qiān
jiāng
líng
hái