Tā cóng Jiāngnán láidào sàiběi, dìyī cì jiàndào le yíwàng-wújì de cǎoyuán.
He came from Jiangnan to the northern frontier, and for the first time saw grassland stretching as far as the eye could see.
Tips
usage
塞北, like 塞外, means the steppe north of the Great Wall, and it is often set against 江南, the green land south of the Yangtze. A Tang poem calls the orchards below the Helan Mountains in Ningxia 塞北江南, 'a Jiangnan north of the frontier'.
mistakes
塞 is sài here, as in other frontier words; it is sāi in 塞车 (traffic jam) and sè in 堵塞 (blocked).
