深山老林

shēnshān-lǎolín
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 deep mountains and old forests
  2. 2 remote wilderness; the backwoods

Examples

Tā zhù zài shēnshānlǎolín lǐ, hěn shǎo jìnchéng.
He lives deep in the mountains and rarely comes to town.
Shēnshānlǎolín lǐ háiyǒu hěnduō zhēnxī dòngwù.
There are still many rare animals deep in the wilderness.
Tāmen jìnrù shēnshānlǎolín xúnzhǎo cǎoyào.
They went deep into the remote forests to search for medicinal herbs.

Tips

usage
Evokes untouched wilderness — old growth, no roads, no phone signal. Often paired with verbs of entering/hiding (钻进//). Compare with 穷乡僻壤 (poor remote area) which stresses poverty and distance from civilization rather than dense forest.
memory
Parallel structure: 深山 (deep mountains) + (old forests). and both signal 'untouched, primeval' — the in isn't 'old = elderly' but 'old growth, ancient.'

Stroke Order

shēn
shān
lǎo
lín