# 人山人海

rén shān rén hǎi

An enormous crowd of people

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** People like mountains and seas

**Register:** General · spoken & written

[People & connection](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/relationships)

## When to use it

Emphasize how crowded a public place is.

It is an image of abundance, not an exact count.

## The image & its use

Mountains rise high and seas stretch far, giving the expression two images of a crowd filling space. It commonly describes a festival, busy station, popular exhibition, or shopping street. The emphasis is the number of people visible to an observer. It does not say whether the gathering is organized or enjoyable. Adding a detail about movement, sound, or available room helps the reader understand what the crowd was like.

## Examples

周末的公园人山人海。

### Traditional Chinese

週末的公園人山人海。

zhōu mò de gōng yuán rén shān rén hǎi 。

The park was packed with people at the weekend.

展览开幕时人山人海。

### Traditional Chinese

展覽開幕時人山人海。

zhǎn lǎn kāi mù shí rén shān rén hǎi 。

A huge crowd attended the exhibition opening.

车站里人山人海，我们提前出发。

### Traditional Chinese

車站裡人山人海，我們提前出發。

chē zhàn lǐ rén shān rén hǎi ， wǒ men tí qián chū fā 。

The station was crowded, so we set out early.

广场虽然人山人海，大家仍有序排队。

### Traditional Chinese

廣場雖然人山人海，大家仍有序排隊。

guǎng chǎng suī rán rén shān rén hǎi ， dà jiā réng yǒu xù pái duì 。

Although the square was crowded, everyone queued in order.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 7, 2026.

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=1074&webMd=1&la=0)

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E4%BA%BA%E5%B1%B1%E4%BA%BA%E6%B5%B7)

## Keep exploring

- [仁至义尽 rén zhì yì jìn Have done everything one reasonably owes ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/ren-zhi-yi-jin)

- [如胶似漆 rú jiāo sì qī Be inseparably close ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/ru-jiao-si-qi)

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