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Aliens in Shanghai: Chinese Graded Readers with Audio Level 1, Simplified Chinese, NEW HSK Standard (Chinese Graded Readers with Audio
Chinese Graded Readers based on the NEW HSK Standard100% original stories written by native authorsAudio recording also by native speakersAliens in Shanghai (外星人在上海) Summary：
In the dead of night, two aliens touch down in Shanghai. Disguised as humans, they try to blend into society but quickly find themselves in a series of unexpected and comical situations. On top of that, they’re on a secret mission. What brought them to Earth? Will they complete their mission?
Get ready for an exciting mix of humor and suspense. Come join them on their extraordinary adventure!
In the dead of night, two aliens touch down in Shanghai. Disguised as humans, they try to blend into society but quickly find themselves in a series of unexpected and comical situations. On top of that, they’re on a secret mission. What brought them to Earth? Will they complete their mission?
Get ready for an exciting mix of humor and suspense. Come join them on their extraordinary adventure!
100 pages, Paperback
Published August 17, 2024
3 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 20, 2025
"Aliens in Shanghai" has been my graded reader white whale for a little while now. First off, it doesn't really compare to Mandarin Companion or Chinese Breeze level 1. Although the grammar isn't very advanced, the vocabulary is a lot larger than other readers I've seen. I started a level 3 Chinese Breeze reader after finishing this one and the level 3 CB vocab felt much more basic! So keep that in mind when choosing - I first purchased this when I was reading level 1 books in other readers, and quickly found that reading it was too much of a slog, so I put it on the back burner for another 6 months.
At this point, I was able to read it very well although the footnoted vocabulary is still extensive and mostly new to me. Still, it's a good book with an interesting and unique storyline. I really like this series so far. The teachers at my language school took a look at the other books in the series and seem to think the language use is much more authentic than other readers. So it's probably a worthwhile challenge!
As far as the story itself: some aliens travel to earth with a specific mission (that they by and large seem to ignore, TBH - this bugged me a bit) and have to settle and integrate into human society in order to work on that mission. It's got funny 'humans are weird' aspects to it but it's also a little relatable for people moving to a new culture and dealing with both the bureaucratic hurdles and the cultural differences. There were some unresolved issues and plot holes that I won't spoil, and I am ambivalent about the ending, but it was a fun book.
At this point, I was able to read it very well although the footnoted vocabulary is still extensive and mostly new to me. Still, it's a good book with an interesting and unique storyline. I really like this series so far. The teachers at my language school took a look at the other books in the series and seem to think the language use is much more authentic than other readers. So it's probably a worthwhile challenge!
As far as the story itself: some aliens travel to earth with a specific mission (that they by and large seem to ignore, TBH - this bugged me a bit) and have to settle and integrate into human society in order to work on that mission. It's got funny 'humans are weird' aspects to it but it's also a little relatable for people moving to a new culture and dealing with both the bureaucratic hurdles and the cultural differences. There were some unresolved issues and plot holes that I won't spoil, and I am ambivalent about the ending, but it was a fun book.
April 23, 2025
Aliens in Shanghai graded reader is a unique and entertaining introduction to Chinese reading. The story is fun, and the vocabulary is well-selected and smartly repeated. I look forward to reading more books from AL Language Cafe. I recommend them.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews