Original Mandarin story series
The Red Bag at Platform Three
三号站台的红色包
The Red Bag at Platform Three (三号站台的红色包, Sān hào zhàntái de hóngsè bāo) is a SayMei Original, written in simple Mandarin as a 3-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 1 (Beginner).
An original three-chapter Mandarin race against the clock. Fang Lei has one train left to make his daughter's birthday. Then a red bag turns up on platform three with someone else's name on it.
Meet the voices
- Fang Lei · 方磊 — A dad on his way home late from work. He promised his daughter he'd be home for her birthday, and he has exactly one train left to keep that promise.
- Older Passenger · 阿姨 — A passenger waiting for the earlier train on platform three, with a red bag at her feet.
- Station Worker · 工作人员 — Calm, quick, and responsible for anything left behind on the platforms.
- Lin Yue · 林月 — A traveler in a white coat, rushing for train 208 with her phone to her ear.
3 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: Two Red Bags
两个红色的包
Fang Lei has one train left to make his daughter's birthday. Then a red bag is left behind on platform three — and it isn't who he thinks it belongs to.
Free to read
Chapter 2: The Name on the Tag
纸条上的名字
Five minutes, two platforms, and only one person who knows what Lin Yue looks like. Fang Lei has to decide which train matters more.
SayMei Stories
Chapter 3: The Last Train Home
回家的末班车
Lin Yue's bag holds something no shop could replace. Fang Lei's own train won't wait — and at home, someone is trying hard to stay awake.
SayMei Stories
Key words in The Red Bag at Platform Three
Behind the story
An original SayMei story, told almost entirely in Fang Lei's own voice, in beginner Mandarin.
China's railways carry billions of passengers a year, and big stations are run on a tight clock: ticket gates close a few minutes before departure, and platform staff look after anything left behind.
Did you know?
- 检票 (jiǎnpiào) is the ticket check. When the board says 停止检票, the gate has closed.
- Train numbers tell you the type: G trains are high-speed, D trains are fast, and K or T trains are older, slower services.
- A bowl of long noodles (长寿面) is a Chinese birthday tradition. The long noodles stand for a long life.