China mainland has hundreds of counties, thousands of towns and even more villages. Almost every county or smaller community has its own spoken dialect. Ethnic minorities also have their own dialects, which can be the main spoken language in some areas, especially in the western and southern parts of the country. Let us not forget too, that Cantonese is still the predominant language of Guangdong province (and some border counties) as well as Hong Kong. In short, China is a huge linguistic patchwork, however it is a patchwork unified by the Mandarin language, called locally, Putonghua (literally the common language). Simplified Mandarin writing is used almost everywhere in the country, even to write local dialects; the only exceptions being Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, that still use traditional Chinese writing. Mandarin is also spoken almost everywhere in the country and is the official language on the mainland. Hence learning mandarin will allow you to communicate with people all over China.

Some considerations to help you choose your location

The size of China and the fact that it is a huge linguistic patchwork means that large cities such as provincial capitals, are often the most practical places to study and the one where you will hear Mandarin spoken with less regional accent. The most notable exception is Guangzhou, where Cantonese is still the main language. Mandarin is, however, increasingly widely spoken there. As soon as you leave the regional capitals (and majors cities) the local accent will get stronger. In the more remote countryside people are likely to speak Mandarin with a very strong local accent, or even just a local dialect.

A lot of foreigners choose a study place somewhere in the north because more people speak standard Mandarin there. Those northern cities include Harbin (famous for its winter sport), Shengyang, TianJing and Qingdao. It is also true that more people in the south speak a local dialect. However, there are some exceptions, like Kunming or Xiamen. Besides regional accents, most future students will base their choice of study location on the cost of living, study fees and the weather. Additionally, some students are influenced by the charm of the city. Qingdao, Chongqing and Kunming are often the cities considered to be the more charming ones. Of course one’s own taste can also influence one’s choice. There is always a city in China that will suit your own passion, you just have to find it.

China has a wide variety of weather. In north and central China, winter can be seriously cold while summers are hot. Minus 5º Celsius is common during winter in Beijing and temperature above 25º Celsius is normal for summer. The coastal regions tend to have a more temperate climate, however the south coast has a tropical climate. Some cities have a specific micro-climate link to their particular geography. Check out the BBC to see some general regional weather descriptions of China, or the “average condition” page to gain some idea of the climate of a specific city. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/country_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT002100

Cost of living changes greatly from one location to another and is also greatly influenced by your desired lifestyle. Large cities are always more expansive to live in, but easier and cheaper to access from abroad. Shanghai is the most expensive Chinese city and Beijing is slightly cheaper. In those two cities it would be reasonable to budget around RMB2000-2500/month for a basic flat (on the outskirts), and around RMB1000/month for a basic flat-share. In most other cities you should be able to find a basic flat around RMB1000-1500/month and shared accommodation at around RMB500-900/month. For people studying less than 6 months finding a share is always more economical. If you are used to a simple lifestyle the equivalent of the price of renting a flat in your chosen city should cover your everyday needs but if you are used to eating out regularly, it would be wiser to at least double that amount. Do not forget to include in your budget costs for any travel you plan to do in China, because it can be expensive compared to everyday expenditures. Lastly, consider the cost of your visa, especially if you enter China as a tourist and are planning to change status later.

Study fees will depend greatly upon your location. Private schools will be more expensive than universities in the biggest cities, like Beijing and Shanghai. There will, however, be very little difference in price between private schools and universities in most cities. Additionally, private schools might offer lighter study packages (less hours per week), which can be cheaper than the usual 18-20 hour package offered by local universities. Prices can go from one extreme to the other. For private schools in Beijing and Shanghai there is no limit to how much they can charge, so be cautious and use university prices as a reference. Universities in Beijing and Shanghai will charge roughly 11,000RMB for a semester of 20 hours per week. In the cheapest cities, such as Kunming, an 18-20 hour week package per semester will cost around 6,000RMB. Depending on the city and the school, you can find prices ranging anywhere between the ones cited above.

Review of some popular cities

This section will review what appear to be the most common location choices as well as some links to recommended universities and private schools.

Beijing is the capital of China and has a very specific atmosphere along with a large number of China’s most famous landmarks. The Great Wall is only a few hours away by bus. Beijing has several of the country’s top universities and thus tends to have the brightest student population. The Beijing art scene reflects this mix of intellect, rising affluence, political life, capital atmosphere and lively student life. District 798 is the most obvious incarnation of this intellectual life, however the city has very harsh winters and every year, for several weeks, suffers sandstorms coming from Inner Mongolia.

Universities and private schools in Beijing have a lot of experience and are pretty professional, which is why a lot of foreign students choose to study there. They also, however, tend to be the most costly to attend. While Beijing tends to be a bit cheaper than Shanghai for everyday life, it would be wise to keep an eye on your transportation costs as they can pile up very quickly.

• Peking University http://www.pku.edu.cn/
• Beijing Language and Culture University http://www.blcu.edu.cn/
• Academy of Chinese Language Study http://www.aclc-cn.com/
• iMandarin Language Training Institute http://www.imandarin.net/

Shanghai is the economic capital and the most expansive city in China in which to live, however It is also the city where you are more likely to find job opportunities, especially non-teaching jobs. As in Beijing, universities and private schools have a lot of experience and tuition tends to be more costly than elsewhere. Transportation costs can also pile up quickly. Shanghai has a more moderate climate than Beijing but winter can still be pretty cold. The city has the attraction of a bustling business center with a cosmopolitan tradition. Many people compare Shanghai to Hong Kong.

• Fudan University http://www.fudan.edu.cn/
• Academy of Chinese Language Study http://www.aclc-cn.com/
• Red Carpet Mandarin http://www.redcarpetmandarin.com
• iMandarin Language Training Institute http://www.imandarin.net/
• Mandarin Today http://www.mandarintoday.com/
• Mandarin City http://www.mandarincity.cn/
• Easy Mandarin http://www.easymandarin.cn/

Kunming is nicknamed the Spring City because of its very short winter – 3 months with temperatures between 5 to 15º Celsius. The rest of the year it has moderate weather with temperatures between 18-25º. Most of Kunming retains the charm of a smaller and fairly green city. It is the capital of Yunnan province in southwest China and is situated at 2000 meters above sea level. It is fairly close to Tibet, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar and only 2 hours flight from Bangkok. Kunming also has a long tradition of being a more relaxed and tolerant city, welcoming intellectuals and artists in search (or need) of a break from Beijing. Yunnan is also the province with the highest population of ethnic minorities; around 40% of the province. Most Kunming residents speak a very standard mandarin, with little accent. The city is also the teaching center for Chinese teachers of South East Asian countries, which means that the teaching level is pretty good. Tuition at Universities and schools is usually half the price of Beijing and the cost of living is much lower. Kunming is also one of the four “special cities” (see in the visa section) and should see the opening, in late 2009, of the fourth largest international airport in the country. All this explains why Kunming is increasingly the alternative choice to Beijing and Shanghai.

• Yunnan Normal University http://www.icis.cn/
• Kunming College of Eastern Language and Culture http://www.elcec.com
• Keats Language School http://www.cnlearnchinese.com/

Qingdao is a port. It is home to the famous Chinese beer “Tsingtao”. It has a long established expatriate community and the architecture of the old town has been strongly influenced by its German community established there during the 19th century. Qingdao has a unique charm and the sea moderates its weather. It is not too far from Shanghai or Beijing. The city also has some decent universities and most people speak a very standard Mandarin. All these reasons explain why there are always a number of foreigners who chose Qingdao has their study location.

• Qingdao University http://www.qdu.edu.cn/

Some recommended links to universities and private schools in other cities:

• ZheJiang University http://www.zju.edu.cn/ near Shanghai
• Nankai University http://www.nankai.edu.cn/ in Nanjing
• Xiamen University http://www.xmu.edu.cn/
• http://www.imandarin.net/ Dalian – Guangzhou
• http://www.tjut.edu.cn/gjjy Tianjin
• http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/education/university.htm List of more than 50 universities with Chinese class

What kind of curriculum is more adapted to your needs?

If Visa restrictions are not an issue because you are working, then look for a local Chinese tutor and obtain private tuition. One to one tuition allows you to progress more quickly if your tutor is skilled and has a love of teaching, then your progress will be much faster than in a school. In the less expensive cities like Kunming, you should expect to pay around 30RMB per hour for a regular tutor and up to 50RMB for a qualified teacher (not through a school). In the more expensive cities, like Beijing or Shanghai, it would be around 50RMB for local Chinese tutor and around 100RMB for a qualified teacher. So private study might be worth considering as it might speed up your learning and be less costly than a regular course.

For people who need a student visa, one-to-one has to be arranged through a school or university, because you need them to support your visa application. That will probably cost you twice as much as finding yourself a tutor. You still should consider this option, especially if your time in China is limited. Financially it might not be such a big difference with the usual 20 hours package. Typically, a 10 hour one-to-one package in a school costs around twice the price of a 20 hour package, but if you are staying a full semester you can bring down the price by taking a little break in the middle to travel. A 3 week break in the middle will save you 15%, and let you practice what you have learned. You will still be on the regular semester dates and thus have your visa running until the start of the next semester.

Most foreigners who need a visa will register for a “package”. The typical package in China is 18 or 20 hours per week. It is often offered on a 3 months basis (13 weeks) or a full semester (20 weeks). Unless you are very gifted at learning languages it is probably not the best package for you. Although most schools and universities will push you to take that package (for obvious financial reasons) we recommend that you take a lighter package whenever possible. Of course if you are already comfortable in another Asian language, especially Japanese, then things should be much easier for you and 20hrs/week might be a good idea.

Most people are only able to follow efficiently 10 hours a week of Chinese study. Keep also in mind that China has a strong focus on making you learn by rote. Although Chinese language naturally requires a lot of it, Chinese teachers will tend to over-estimate how much a student can assimilate in a week. Be aware that a lot of schools will not offer a lighter package of 10 hours per week but rather a bit more, like 14 hours.

In addition to the number of hours per week, you should check the content of the curriculum. Ask which books the school is using. The most common book used to teach Chinese in China is the one produced by Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). Frankly their books are ugly, the visual design is rather poor (it does not facilitate developing memorization automatisms) and the dialogues are a bit too artificial. The “Chinese Made Easier” books are a bit better, at least the dialogues are realistic. Do not expect color or fancy graphics in your text book but do check that the dialogue and the lesson progressions are realistic and coherent. Chinese teachers will stick religiously to the lesson plan of the book.

Another thing to be aware of in the curriculum is how the hours will be divided. Initially you might think that it is a good idea to have your classes divided into small sections. For example, an 18 hours package could have 6 hours of “comprehensive” class (zong he / 综), 4 hours of “speaking” (kou yu / 口语 ), 4 hours of “listening” (ting li / 听力) and 4 hours of “writing” (han zi / 汉字). We recommend that you take a more concentrated package, one with more hours allotted to the “comprehensive”, which is the core class. The synergy between the various sections is not usually very good and so each class tries to teach you its own set of vocabulary. You can end up being exposed to an overwhelming amount of new vocabulary each week with little time to practice it in class and no time to assimilate it before moving on to the next batch of vocabulary. In effect you will be expected to learn a set of 60 to 80 new words in week 1 and by the time you reached week 3 you will only have retained about 15 words of week 1. The comprehensive section already has a serious amount of writing, speaking and listening. This is why we recommend you to choose a curriculum with an overwhelming proportion of time devoted to comprehensive study. If your school offers a 14 hour package then ideally you will have 10-12 hours of comprehensive classes with the remaining as an optional writing, speaking or listening focus.

Keep in mind that 10 hours a week are usually enough to satisfy the student visa requirement and that schools push you to take more hours to get more money out of you. A good way to find out the local requirement for a student visa is to tell the school that you are thinking of taking one-on-one classes and enquire how many hours (and the price) you would need per week to be able to qualify for a student visa. With this information in hand you can decide what best suits your study and financial needs
Choosing between universities and private schools

If you need a visa you can choose between learning in a university or in a private language school. Public Universities in most of the large cities provide Mandarin courses for foreign students. This means that you can choose to study pretty much anywhere in the country. Private language schools are not as commonplace as universities and are more likely to be found in provincial capitals like Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjing, Kunming and Guangzhou, etc.

Universities have been running Mandarin courses for foreign students in China for much longer than have private schools. Still one has to remember that the university system started running normally again only in 1977-78 and prior to that time there was no particular interest in teaching or learning language. Consequently, the language teaching history of universities is fairly limited and private schools compensate for their lack of teaching history by poaching the brightest teachers out of the university system.

Universities offer courses with narrowly defined time-slot. Usually, courses are run on a semester basis to match up with the normal university schedule, so university courses might not suit everyone. That said, however, indication of a semester in a university will look better on your CV and be more recognized than would be a semester in a private school when you return home.

Private language schools are usually more flexible. If you want to study for a short-term or you just want to learn how to speak Mandarin (not read/write), a private language school is a better choice. They tend to satisfy people’s needs and make studying as flexible as they can. They also usually have a lighter study package on offer, even if they will push you to take the 20hr/week package.
Visa Issues

The type of visa you will need as a foreign student in China depends on how long you are planning to stay. It is different if you are staying more or less than 6 months. It is worth noting than a Chinese language course semester is considered by the authorities to be 6 months when in reality it is usually 20 weeks (6 months=26 weeks). Of course if you are entering China on a worker visa (Z) you are free to study Chinese as it pleases you. There is a grey area on how many hours per week are required to qualify for a student visa and it can change from one city to the other. It seems that the minimum number of hours is 10 per week.

The special cities

There are four cities in China with special provision for foreign students. They are Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Kunming. In those cities you can transform a tourist visa (L) into a student visa (X) fairly easily. You just have to register for the minimum number of teaching hours per week (currently 10 hours in Kunming) and for a minimum of 3 months. In those cities Universities and accredited private school will deal with the visa for you and you will be able to take your medical exam (for the visa) in an approved travel clinic. Some other major cities are student friendly but usually within only a few universities and schools. In those cities the visa situation can change without notice, so if you want to study in another city, sent an email to the schools that interest you and ask if they can arrange the visa for you, or at the very least, support your application. In the special cities it is also usually possible to extend a student visa into a 1 month tourist visa without first leaving the country. This is especially useful if you want to travel a bit more or are just wondering what your next move should be.

6 months/a semester or more

You have to obtain a student visa (X) if you have enrolled in a course for 6 months (a semester) or more. The visa you will get for those courses should start a week or two before the actual beginning of the semester and will end at the start of the next semester. It usually means that you will have around 6 weeks at the end of the course to go visit China on a proper visa! Only a university can support your student visa application, with the exception of the four special cities where a number of private schools are recognized by the local authority. Before enrolling in a private school, always first email to check that they can arrange the necessary visa for you.

Less than 6 months/semester

If you are studying for less than 6 months, or have not enrolled for 6 months yet, then you will be on a regular tourist visa (L). If you enrolled for 3 months or a bit more, then universities and some private schools (in the special cities) will help you obtain a business visa (F). Tourist visas can be easier to obtain in your home country than a student visa, but it varies greatly from country to country. The advantage of a tourist visa is that it gives you a chance to test your school before you start spending thousands of RMB. The problem with a tourist visa is that you are usually authorized to stay only 30 days, at which point you have to go out of the country to re-enter (if you have a multiple entry) or have a new visa issued, which can be a serious annoyance.

A note on the worker visa (Z).

Qualified language teachers should not have a problem obtaining a work visa (it can takes a bit of time) provided they have found a teaching position in a school that can support their application (legitimate private schools can). This is a great way for qualified teachers to enter China and study Chinese while making a living at the same time. The pay rates are not impressive compare to your home country but they are usually very adequate for a comfortable living in China. However for anyone who is not a qualified teacher, getting a Z visa can prove very difficult or even impossible, regardless of the school support. Expect a bit of flexibility on this rule for native English speakers who are not qualified teachers but who are ready to fill a teaching position in a university desperate for an English teacher. For anyone else, getting a worker visa in China is really difficult.

Visa summary for language study in China

L visa, tourist – Less than 3 months study – 30 days stay

F visa, business – 3-6 months study – not all schools delivered it

X visa, student – one semester or more – can be obtained in China in the special cities

Z visa, worker – Perfect for qualified teachers who want to work at the same time.