• Start Here!
  • Latest Articles
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Write For Us
  • In the Media
  • Español
  • Italiano

Sapore di Cina

Learn Chinese, Travel or Work in China

  • Travel to China
    • Tips and Resources
    • Health Insurance for Travelers
    • How to Book an Hotel in China
    • Book a train ticket
    • Destinations
  • China Tours
    • China Tours: Tips and Agencies
    • Beijing Tours
    • Tibet Tours
    • Shaolin Temple Tours
    • Transsiberian Tours
  • Visa for China
    • Online Visa for China
    • Tourist Visa
    • Business Visa
    • Student Visa
    • Other Chinese Visa
  • Live in China
    • Health Insurance for Expats in China
    • Moving Companies from/to China
    • Cost of Living in China
    • Open a company in Hong Kong
    • Resources
  • Learn Chinese
    • Chinese Courses
    • Learn Chinese with Videos
    • How to Write in Chinese
    • Study Chinese in China
    • Free HSK Test
  • VPN / Internet in China
    • Best Working VPN for China
    • How to Use WhatsApp in China
    • How to Use Facebook in China
    • How to Watch Youtube in China
    • VPN for iPhone and Android
    • Internet in China
We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

Where to Study Chinese in Beijing – Best Private Schools and Universities

November 15, 2018 by Sapore di Cina 13 Comments

Study Chinese in BeijingPeking University (Beida)

Before you begin

If you are planning to study Mandarin Chinese in China, you probably thought about coming to Beijing. The goal of this article is to help you to understand whether Beijing is the right destination for you or not. You’ll find out:

  • The pros and cons of studying Chinese in Beijing.
  • The best universities for studying Chinese in Beijing.
  • A short list of well-known agencies and private schools for studying Chinese in Beijing (under construction).

If you’re interested in a more general overview, you can read Studying Chinese in China: What’s the best choice for you?

Click here to get up to 5 free quotations to study Chinese in Beijing!

Study Chinese in Beijing – Index

  1. The pros of studying Mandarin Chinese in Beijing
  2. The cons of studying Mandarin Chinese in Beijing
  3. Private Schools in Beijing
  4. Universities for studying Chinese in Beijing
  5. Free quotation request

The pros of studying Mandarin Chinese in Beijing

  • Beijing is the capital of China: Even though China isn’t a centralized country, after living in Beijing for many years, I’ve realized that the Chinese government is investing a huge amount of resources in order to develop the capital’s education system and cultural scene. In Beijing, you can find hundreds of universities, including the two top Chinese universities, Beida and Tsinghua. This is probably the main reason why most foreign students choose Beijing as their destination.
  • Mandarin is based on the dialect of Beijing: The Mandarin language (also known as putonghua and the official spoken language in China) is heavily based on the dialects of northeastern China and, in particular, the dialect of the capital. If you go to Shanghai, Guangzhou or other southern cities, you’ll realize that local people speak, among themselves, a dialect that is completely different from standard Chinese Mandarin. On the other hand, in Beijing, you’ll live in an environment where everybody speaks a language pretty similar to the one you’re studying.Let’s put it this way: do you think it’s a wise decision to study English in Scotland where, even though everybody is a native English speaker, people talk with an accent and slang that is very different from the “standard” English that you find in movies and textbooks? If you head to the South of China (Guangzhou or Shenzhen, for instance), things get even worse, because over there, the main language is Cantonese. This is a bit like heading to Quebec to study English or to Barcelona (where local people speak Catalan) to study Spanish.
  • In Beijing, you’ll feel the history of China: Beijing is a vibrant city where history and tradition still compete with modern China. In Beijing, every day you’ll stumble upon a monument, temple or gate that was build hundreds (or thousands) of years ago. The only place you can find something similar to this, albeit with different features, is in Rome, Italy. In my opinion, Beijing is a unique place to learn about Chinese culture while you study the language.

The cons of studying Mandarin Chinese in Beijing

  • Full immersion is hard to achieve: If you want to improve your Chinese level fast, then full immersion is definitely the best way. The problem is that nowadays, Beijing is home to a huge expat community, especially in the Chaoyang and Haidian districts. This means that many Chinese people are able to speak fluent English (although not as much as in Shanghai or Shenzhen). Therefore, you won’t be forced to speak Chinese all the time (in fact, you can survive without knowing a word of Chinese if you stay in an international neighborhood such as San Li Tun).
  • The climate situation: Even though the weather isn’t directly related to your studies, I think it’s a variable that you should take into account. Beijing’s weather can be a nightmare: you’ll have to face freezing and ultra-dry winters, stuffy and terribly hot summers and sand storms in the spring. If that’s not enough, you’ll also have to deal with one of the most polluted areas of China.
  • The size of the city: Beijing is huge and crowded. Even though the public transportation system is modern and efficient, you’ll spend a lot of time traveling around (with several other millions of Beijingers). One way to minimize this problem is to live near your school, which is definitely possible.

Private Schools in Beijing

Note: Although we only accept schools that have a good reputation, this list of private schools is a sponsored listing:

That’s Mandarin

That’s Mandarin, founded in 2005, is one of the oldest Chinese language and technology schools in China. The school now has campuses in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. With a unique approach to language learning and in-house teaching methodologies, the school aims to be not only the most experienced, but also one of the best Mandarin schools in China.

They focus on providing the smoothest service and the best teaching experience to all students; no matter whether they are studying Chinese online with their innovative online language learning system, or at one of their Chinese language schools in China.

Beside this, they offer: Intensive Group Program, Part-time Group Program, Private Lessons, Chinese Visa Program and HSK Preparation Courses.

LTL Mandarin School

LTL-school LTL Mandarin School is a Chinese school for foreigners, with schools in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengde, Taipei, Beihai and now Xi’an. LTL was created to ensure students a completely immersive experience into the Chinese language and culture. With a wide range of study programs, the school offers each student the opportunity to achieve their goals through lessons in small groups, individual, business Chinese lessons, internships, school trips, high school programs, preparation courses for HSK and more. LTL is also one of the centers authorized by HSK and monthly offers the possibility to take the exams from the 1st to the 6th level.

Hutong School

Hutong School Hutong School is a Chinese language school that was founded in 2005 by a group of foreign China enthusiasts. Today the school has branches in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Chengdu and a further 7 worldwide. Through offering a wide range of programs and a unique in-house teaching methodology, Hutong School aims to help students of all ages improve their Mandarin skills and understanding of China. Courses can be customized to suit individual needs and include Intensive Chinese, HSK Preparation, Business Chinese, Youth Summer Camps, and Internships.

Universities for studying Chinese in Beijing

Beijing Language and Culture University, 北京语言大学

Beijing Language and Culture universityBeijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) is a multidisciplinary university that focuses on language studies. Its main purpose is to teach Chinese language and culture to foreigners. For this reason, BLCU is the most popular University for studying Chinese in Beijing. BLCU likes to define itself as the “Little United Nations,” as it attracts students from all over the world.

Given its privileged location in the Wudaokou area (one of the most active areas in Beijing, especially when it comes down to cultural events and night life), you should consider BLCU if you’re thinking about attending a university.

Beijing Foreign Studies University, 北京外国语大学

Beijing Foreign Studies UniversityWith its tiny campus located in the heart of the student district of Haidian, Beijing Foreign Studies University (Beiwai) is considered the most prestigious university to study foreign languages in China. Beiwai also has a Mandarin language department whose goal is to train Chinese students who are going to teach Mandarin all over the world. Even though it isn’t as popular as BLCU, Beiwai also attracts a large number of foreign students whose goal is to master the Chinese language.

Besides its high quality of teaching (I studied there for six months), in my opinion, the strongest point in this university’s favor is its students. Beiwai is the perfect place to meet Chinese people with a strong background in Chinese language teaching who, at the same time, are interested in your language and culture, whatever it is. The reason behind this interest is that many of Beiwai’s Chinese students study both Mandarin (in order to teach it) and other two foreign languages.

Peking University, 北京大学

PeKing UniversityPeking University (Beida) is considered one of the two best universities in China, and is definitely the best university for social science programs. Its beautiful campus, which is located near Wudaokou, is the home of some of the brightest Chinese students, who come to study from all over the country.

Although Beida isn’t particularly known for its Chinese language courses, it’s one of the most prestigious Universities in China and features joint study programs with several universities around the world (especially American universities), including Chinese learning programs. Given its reputation, you should at least consider this option.

Tsinghua University, 清华大学

Tsinghua UniversityTsinghua University, which is located close to Beida, is especially strong in science programs and competes with Beida for the title of the “best Chinese university.” Historically, Tsinghua has been the university where the state recruits the most brilliant Chinese students for their Masters and Ph.D programs. Furthermore, it attracts enormous investments from the Chinese government, private Chinese companies and foreign partners and is probably the place where most of the future leaders of China are studying (both the current Chinese president, Xi Jingping, and the former president, Hu Jintao, hold engineering degrees from Tsinghua University).

Tsinghua brings together many foreign masters students, especially in technology and hard science-related majors. Even though the courses are in English, the university has established high-quality Chinese language courses for exchange students. You should consider this option!

Beijing Film Academy, 北京电影学院

Beijing Film AcademyThe Beijing Film Academy, which is also located in Haidian just like all the previous mentioned universities, is rather unknown among the expat community. However, I decided to include it in the list because it offers something quite unique, in particular, courses for intermediate and advanced foreign students that make use of Chinese movies as their main teaching material.

Even though the course is still in its experimental stage, in my opinion, it represents an interesting alternative to studying Chinese language and culture, as it offers a way to learn everyday spoken Mandarin instead of the literary language that you may find in a textbook written twenty years ago.

If you find this interesting, you can also read our interview with Luna, who studied at Beiwai and now teaches Chinese at the Beijing Film Academy.

Get a free quote to study Chinese in Beijing

Do you want to study Mandarin in Beijing? Request a free quotation using the form below.

We will send your request to up to five reputable schools that offer courses in Beijing.

    Name

    Your Email

    Phone number (optional)

    Where do you want to study Chinese?

    Select your approximate Chinese level

    Type of Chinese course

    Additional services
    Student VisaAccommodationCultural Activities

    Do you live in China?

    When do you want to start your course?

    Additional information

    This form collects your name, email and other information, so that we can send your inquiry to a maximum of 5 schools located in the city where you wish to study. For more information on where, how and why we store your data (and how you can access them), you can read our Privacy Policy

    I accept that this form collects my name, email and other information.

    I accept the Terms & Conditions of this website.

    Filed Under: Learn Chinese Tagged With: Beijing, Learn Chinese

    About Sapore di Cina

    Sapore di Cina is a website that provides first-hand information about living and traveling in Asia. You can check our About Us page to learn more.

    Comments

    1. Maximilian says

      November 20, 2018 at 1:10 am

      Surprised LTL haven’t been mentioned. I was recommended them by three friends after studying at BLCU (studying at Uni for me is not the best way to learn Chinese).

      LTL have a great Immersion program where you build up a basis in Beijing and then go to Chengde in Hebei. You talk of Immersion, that’s how to achieve Immersion.

      Universities are classes of 50+ and you don’t learn – just have a lot of fun. LTL Beijing was great for me and I know it was for my friends also.

      Reply
    2. Eric says

      June 5, 2018 at 5:54 am

      What is the “reliable agency that specializes in helping people who are planning to move to China for study purposes” that you suggest?

      Thank you so much for such great information.

      Reply
      • Sborto Zhou says

        June 5, 2018 at 8:54 am

        There are several agencies with good reviews, but at the moment we can’t suggest any of them as we don’t have first hand information about their service

        Reply
    3. Myles MacVane says

      June 14, 2017 at 5:07 am

      I’m way past 60, and I just received a very curt reply to my longer email enquiry to the admissions office at the Ocean University of China in Qingdao. They made it very clear that people over 60 are not accepted. I find the age discrimination somewhat ironic in the Peoples Republic. Most private alternatives appear to be over my budget range for anything other than short term study. Does anyone know of good alternatives for dedicated study by older individuals?

      Reply
      • Sborto Zhou says

        June 14, 2017 at 7:33 pm

        Sorry no clue if there’re universities that accept senior students. Some private schools are cheaper than universities

        Reply
      • Ruud says

        January 31, 2019 at 4:22 pm

        Quite late to the party considering your question is almost 18 months old, but for others reading this: at BLCU there were definitely a number of more senior students studying Mandarin when I was there. In my class there was also a person nearing his 70’s that was just as much part of the group as the younger students were. It’s all about mentality in that regard. And in terms of admittance, age shouldn’t be a problem there at all.

        Best of luck!

        Reply
    4. Meghan Schwanke says

      May 29, 2017 at 3:09 pm

      Hello- I follow saporedicina avidly! For the last few years I’ve been teaching at Xi’an International Studies University (a language-based university) after having lived and worked at a university on the coast.
      The difference here in Xi’an is that fewer people speak English and it is very diverse. On the “old” campus students from the “Stans”, Africa, Europe and North America come to study Chinese.
      On the new campus, my students are from Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia,Qinghai, Fujian, Yunnan,Sichuan and more.
      I will check on the visa requirements; I’m sixty and am studying Chinese too. Meghan

      Reply
      • Furio Fu says

        May 29, 2017 at 4:10 pm

        Hello Meghan,

        thank you for the info (and for message!)

        Cheers

        F

        Reply
    5. Vince Fulco, CFA, CAIA says

      June 2, 2016 at 11:48 am

      Great article. Would love to see a similar column on Shanghai at your convenience. Particularly for someone with a busy schedule running a fledgling career services business. Thanks very much.

      Reply
      • Furio Fu says

        June 2, 2016 at 4:43 pm

        Hi, we already published an article link this one for Shanghai! You find it here in the site

        Reply
    6. deezer says

      May 27, 2016 at 3:29 pm

      Apparently it is very difficult for people over age 60 to enroll in Chinese language programmes. I’m about to retire. Living in Beijing for six to 12 months while studying Chinese–and paying full freight tuition, accommodation etc–would be a lot of fun.
      I have no interest in working on the side.

      If anyone can recommend a legitimate school which can DIRECTLY issue X1 or X2 paperwork please let us know.

      Otherwise I’ll be spending quite a tidy sum in less restrictive Taiwan.

      Reply
      • Furio Fu says

        May 30, 2016 at 4:25 pm

        Good luck with it Deezer : )

        Reply
    7. Tom says

      February 8, 2016 at 9:49 pm

      Hi Sborto,

      A real helpful page you created here! I’m currently struggling about the question which might be the right university for me to choose in Beijing to learn mandarin.

      My current knowledge of mandarin is little, I had a few evening classes to learn some basics. I would like to choose a university with a good reputation (maybe an advantage job wise afterwards) and with a good learning to be able to make fast progress. I thought about blcu… Maybe University of beijing is also an option, also I heard it’s hard for a beginner like me. Im willing to learn a year or more, it’s also the question if its wise to first apply for a semester, to check first what the university is like to have the possibility to switch.

      If you could help me with some thoughts which might be the best option for me. That would be really great.

      Many thanks in advance,

      Tom

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Do you want to study Chinese in China?

    If you are interested in studying Mandarin in China, you can request a free quotation using the form below.We will send your request to up to five reputable schools that offer courses in the city of your choice.

      Name

      Your Email

      Phone number (optional)

      Where do you want to study Chinese?

      Select your approximate Chinese level

      Type of Chinese course

      Additional services
      Student VisaAccommodationCultural Activities

      Do you live in China?

      When do you want to start your course?

      Additional information

      This form collects your name, email and other information, so that we can send your inquiry to a maximum of 5 schools located in the city where you wish to study. For more information on where, how and why we store your data (and how you can access them), you can read our Privacy Policy

      I accept that this form collects my name, email and other information.

      I accept the Terms & Conditions of this website.

      Our Recommended Resources to Learn Chinese

      Chinese VideosLearn Mandarin With Videos: FluentU


      Yoyo ChineseLearn Chinese Interactively: Yoyo Chinese


      Chinese LessonsLessons to Learn Mandarin: ChineseClass 101


      Chinese CoursesReview of The Best Chinese Courses

      dcma-logo Copyright Sapore di Cina | Disclosure | Privacy & Cookies Policy | Terms and Conditions

      • Travel to China
      • Live in China
      • Learn Chinese
      • VPN for China
      • Hong Kong SAR
      • Singapore
      • Taiwan ROC
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
      • Latest Articles
      • Contact Us
      We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkRead more