Are you wondering which Chinese city/province should you go to study Mandarin?
Let’s say you wish to learn Mandarin Chinese in China. You wish to relocate to China. Which province or city you will choose? What are the best cities to learn Chinese in the mainland China? What are the expat friendly cities for learning Mandarin Chinese in China?
First of all, I am glad you wish to move to China for learning Chinese. This is indeed a great decision for your Mandarin dream! The whole atmosphere in China is very conductive. You will encounter those Chinese characters all the time. You will learn Chinese very fast.
Let me give you some good suggestions for learning Chinese in China (This page/site contains affiliate links; see Affiliate disclosure).
Books for learning Mandarin Chinese (with pinyin, English)
- Books for Beginners to Learn Chinese Characters
- Remember & Recognize Chinese Characters
- Brain Games for Fast Reading Chinese Characters
- Pocket Chinese Character Puzzle Books for Beginners
So which province or city you should choose?
I have seen many expats promoting Kunming (云南昆明) as the best city for learning Chinese.
Well, Kunming is indeed a beautiful city. The weather is just great. However, your main motive is to learn Chinese, not just to enjoy cool weather or scenery? The main issue with Kunming or many cities in China is that a huge percentage of locals speak their own local dialects. Hence, your Chinese speaking/listening may not improve that quickly. Point being, Kunming is an awesome city for travelling and living, however, not necessarily the best city for learning Chinese. Partly because you will generally hear the locals speaking in their own dialects. The same logic applied to many other cities/provinces.
In particular, Guangdong province (capital Guangzhou 广东广州), Yunnan (capital Kunming 云南昆明), Guizhou (capital Guiyang 贵州贵阳), Tibet (capital Lasa/Lasha 西藏拉萨), etc. may not be the best places to learn standard Mandarin. For example, Guangdong province has its own language called Cantonese (粤语). Most locals would speak in Cantonese. Thankfully, the characters used are all simplified Chinese characters.
In Hong Kong (香港), the language is Cantonese, the characters used are the traditional Chinese characters. Same in Macau.
Even in Taiwan (台湾), the characters used are the traditional Chinese characters.
North East (东北) of China is too cold in the winter. Harbin (哈尔滨) often hits -30’C, stretching for over 4-5 months.
I don’t mean that these places are not good for travelling. However, for learning standard Mandarin, there are much better places worth knowing, and considering them as your next home.
Cities to Learn Mandarin Chinese in China
Here are some places I think you may want to choose.
Beijing (北京) – Standard Chinese is based on the Beijing dialect. Beijing is not just the political capital of China, but cultural capital as well.
Shanghai (上海) – a great city to learn Chinese. However, not as many historical/cultural sites (compared to Beijing)
What’s more, both Beijing and Shanghai are very expat friendly cities. However, the cost of living is high. In Beijing, air pollution could be an issue at times.
Suzhou (苏州) – a beautiful city in Jiangsu province. Just 30 minutes from Shanghai by High-speed trains. So many expats. Affordable cost of living. Four distinct seasons.
Hangzhou (杭州) – capital of Zhejiang province. A very beautiful city. Famous for the West Lake (Xi Hu, 西湖). Pleasant weather. Cost of living lower than Shanghai, but higher than Suzhou.
Nanjing (南京) – another great city. Capital of Jiangsu province.
Zhengzhou (郑州)– capital of Henan province. Cheaper cost of living city compared to Suzhou or Hangzhou.
Bonus Tips
- Cost of living in China:
- Zhengzhou (per person): RMB 4,000/month (US $1 = RMB 6.8)
- Shanghai (per person): 8,000/month
- Zhengzhou < Suzhou < Nanjing < Hangzhou < Beijing < Shanghai
- Chinese visa fee: RMB 400-800 (depends on the expected duration of your stay in China)
Age limit: From the Chinese government side, there is no official age limit for student visa to learn Chinese in China. However, some universities do have their own age limit requirements. I have known some university putting a cap at 45, some at 60. Do your research.
Language course fee: in government universities RMB 6,000-8,000 per semester. 12,000 to 16,000 per year.
Further, you should avoid joining private institutes. Private institutes would often charge you heavily. I don’t recommend joining private institutes.
You should look for language courses offered by the universities. You can search in Google something like “Hangzhou Normal University Chinese language programs”.
Let me know if you have any questions.
