Original Mandarin story series
Room 302
三零二房间
Room 302 (三零二房间, Sān líng èr fángjiān) is a SayMei Original, written in simple Mandarin as an 8-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 2 (Elementary).
A SayMei original cozy mystery: a new tenant in a Chinese apartment building finds a tiny key in a drawer, and every neighbor she meets has a small secret.
Meet the voices
- Fang Xiaoyu · 方小雨 — A curious young woman who has just moved into Room 302 and hopes to feel at home.
- Auntie Zhang · 张阿姨 — The building's landlady, a keeper of keys who is nervous whenever Mr. Gao is mentioned.
- Grandma Wu · 吴奶奶 — A cheerful grandmother in 301 who cooks the best food and has a very secret hobby.
- Old Chen · 老陈 — A grumpy neighbor in 304 who secretly feeds a stray cat.
- Doudou · 豆豆 — A clever nine-year-old in 303 who knows more than he should.
- Mr. Gao · 高老师 — The retired teacher who lived in Room 302 for twenty years and left a game behind.
8 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: The Key in the Drawer
抽屉里的钥匙
Xiaoyu moves into Room 302 and finds a tiny key with a note that says every neighbor has a secret.
Free to read
Chapter 2: Soup and a Secret
汤和秘密
Doudou sends Xiaoyu to Grandma Wu's kitchen for the second clue, and Grandma Wu has a secret of her own.
SayMei Stories
Chapter 3: The Cat on the Stairs
楼梯上的猫
At two in the morning Xiaoyu follows a strange noise and learns who Dawang is and what Old Chen hides.
SayMei Stories
Chapter 4: The Locked Door
锁着的门
Xiaoyu and Doudou try to reach the roof, but the door is locked and Auntie Zhang says she lost the key.
SayMei Stories
Chapter 5: Two Secrets
两个秘密
Grandma Wu and Old Chen bump into each other's secrets, and Xiaoyu has a plan to help Auntie Zhang.
SayMei Stories
Chapter 6: Doudou's Phone
豆豆的电话
Doudou has been secretly calling Mr. Gao every night, and now Xiaoyu finally hears his voice.
SayMei Stories
Chapter 7: The Little Red Box
红色的小盒子
Auntie Zhang finally talks to Mr. Gao, and the little red box on the roof has a promise inside.
SayMei Stories
Chapter 8: Lantern Night
元宵夜
On Lantern Festival night the whole building waits on the roof for one last guest.
SayMei Stories
Key words in Room 302
Behind the story
This is an original SayMei story set in an ordinary Chinese apartment building. Many older city blocks have around six floors and no elevator, so neighbors meet on the stairs every day. Small kindnesses, like a bowl of soup at the door, are a big part of how people get to know each other.
The story ends on the Lantern Festival (元宵节), the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, when the Spring Festival season comes to a close. Families eat sweet round rice balls called 汤圆, hang red lanterns, and solve lantern riddles (灯谜).
Did you know?
- 汤圆 are sticky rice balls with sweet fillings such as black sesame. Their round shape stands for a family being together.
- Solving lantern riddles (灯谜) is a classic Lantern Festival game. The riddles are written on slips of paper and hung from lanterns.
- Chinese speakers often call neighbors by family words even when they aren't related: 阿姨 (aunt) for a woman of your parents' age and 奶奶 (grandma) for an older woman.