城堡 (chéng bǎo) means 'castle' — a large, fortified building or complex, typically from medieval Europe or East Asia, used for defense and residence by nobility. The character 城 (chéng) means 'city wall' or 'walled city', emphasizing enclosure and protection; 堡 (bǎo) means 'fortress' or 'stronghold', highlighting military function and structural strength. Together, they form a compound noun that evokes imagery of stone towers, moats, drawbridges, and historical grandeur.

In modern Chinese, 城堡 is used both literally (e.g., visiting European castles or historic Chinese fortresses like parts of the Great Wall system) and figuratively — in literature, branding (e.g., Disneyland’s 'Sleeping Beauty Castle'), or metaphorically to describe something imposing and majestic. It carries a neutral-to-formal register and is common in travel writing, history lessons, and children’s stories about royalty and knights.