Meaning:

“诗” means “poetry,” and “远方” refers to “faraway places.” This phrase, originating from a chicken-soup-for-the-soul style quote from Beijing-born musician and director Gao Xiaosong, is a metaphor for “ideal life.” The original saying goes like “Life is not just making a living from day to day; it’s also about poetry and faraway places.” Gao said this idea came from his mother, and he added, “For those who haven’t got the chance to travel to faraway places, poetry can serve as a substitute that rescues them temporarily from the boring daily life routines.”

Example:

A: 丽丽找到工作了吗？

Lìlì zhǎodào gōngzuò le ma？

Has Lili found a job?

B: 她不想找一份设计师的工作把自己束缚住，她立志要当一名画家，整天想着她的诗和远方。

Tā bù xiǎng zhǎo yīfèn shèjìshī de gōngzuò bǎ zìjǐ shùfù zhù，tā lìzhì yào dāng yīmíng huàjiā，zhěngtiān xiǎng zhe tā de shī hé yuǎnfāng。

She doesn’t want to be tied down by a designing job. She aspires to become a painter and thinks all day about her ideal life.