As the capital of China, Beijing has more than 90 universities and colleges. For foreigners who want to learn Chinese, Beijing provides a good learning environment and opportunities to experience the traditional culture and history of China.
Here, we have listed the 11 best universities/schools to study Chinese in Beijing. They are all equipped with excellent teaching facilities, a professional faculty, and a beautiful school environment.
1. That's Mandarin
Study Chinese in That's MandarinThat's Mandarin Chinese language school has been delivering excellence in Chinese teaching for over 16 years to more than 50,000 students of different nationalities. Their spacious Beijing campus is located in Dongzhimen. The school offers 1-on-1 and group classes, as well as courses tailored to your learning goals.
That's Mandarin offers a truly modern and unique approach to Chinese learning. All the class content and notes are automatically saved to your personal account on their in-house developed online learning platform NihaoCafe. Therefore, you can access and review your class notes anytime and anywhere. Course materials are unique as they feature a newly produced HSK-graded TV series with rich learning resources including customized articles, videos, and comics. NihaoCafe also supports online classes, which allows you to have the same learning experience online.
You can experience both online and offline classes with a free trial.
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2. Beijing Language and Culture University
You can visit many places when you study Chinese in Beijing, such as the Great Wall.Beijing Language and Culture University is the only international university in China that focuses on Chinese language and cultural education for international students. It is the first choice for foreigners to learn Chinese.
Beijing Language and Culture University offers long-term courses, college preparatory courses, and short-term courses. There are three types of long-term course: elementary Chinese, intermediate Chinese, and advanced Chinese. Short-term courses include 4-week, 5-week, and 12-week courses available all year round, and 4-week, 5-week, 6-week, and 8-week courses during the summer vacation period. There are colorful language practice activities. Beijing Language and Culture University also offers online courses.
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3. Beijing Foreign Studies University
Library in the Beijing Foreign Studies UniversityThis is a key national university with a long history, known as the "cradle of diplomats" in China.
The Chinese Training Center at Beijing Foreign Studies University offers Chinese learning courses during the spring and autumn semesters every year, with 18-week courses in each semester. The courses are suitable for students of all levels. The courses feature an emphasis on listening, reading, speaking, and writing, and are held in small classes of about 15 students who are at the same level. In addition to these, there are also cultural knowledge experience courses on Chinese pop culture, food culture, Chinese tourism, and so on.
The study time includes one semester or one school year. Application deadline: January 10 for the spring semester and June 10 for the fall semester.
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4. Peking University
Peking UniversityPeking University is one of the best universities in China. It offers two kinds of courses to learn Chinese. The first one is a short-term course. The second one is a semester course. Short-term courses include a 4-week course in the spring term (February 25 – March 22 in 2019) and summer school (mainly suitable for those who have basic Chinese language skills). Applications for semester courses will begin in March and September.
Students will have a placement test on their Chinese language ability before admission. The school adopts the policy of teaching small classes of students. Classes are from Mondays to Fridays, with four periods per day. There will also be weekly lectures on Chinese culture, cross-cultural communication, and other topics.
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5. Tsinghua University
Tsinghua UniversityChinese learning courses in Tsinghua University are divided into eight levels from beginner courses to advanced courses. These offer more than 10 compulsory courses including speaking, listening, comprehensive Chinese, extensive reading, newspapers and periodicals, the ancient Chinese language, hot topics, writing, pronunciation, recitation, and discussion.
It has two semesters: the spring semester is from February to June and the autumn semester is from September to January. There are 18 weeks per semester and 20 periods per week. Nearly 200 students from more than 30 countries study there.
The application time for the spring semester is from October 15 to November 30 the previous year and the application time for the autumn semester is from March 15 to May 15.
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6. Beijing Normal University
Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing Normal University is one of the best normal universities in China. It has a good faculty. The duration of a course is one year and one semester. The curriculum is suitable for every student ranging from beginners to those at advanced levels.
Students will learn listening, speaking, reading, and writing as well as some Chinese history, Chinese literature, Chinese geography, and so on. It has richly colorful extracurricular activities to help students make better use of what they have learned. Students will take 20 hours of Chinese classes each week, which are taught in small groups of students.
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7. Beijing International Studies University
You can take one semester or opt to take more or less classes than a normal semester in Beijing International Studies University. The Chinese language teaching courses are mainly conducted by the Chinese Language Institute, which provides specialized teaching of Chinese for foreign students at the university. Courses include intensive reading, speaking, listening, conversation, reading newspapers and periodicals, audio-visual courses, and more. The Chinese Language Institute was one of the first batches of HSK test centers in Beijing and organizes HSK tests five times a year (April, May, June, October, and December).
If you don't have enough time for this amount of study, short-term courses are another option. These classes can be set up at different times according to students' different needs. In addition, the university regularly organizes classes during the summer vacation period every year.
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8. Renmin University of China
Renmin University of ChinaRenmin University of China is one of the most famous universities in the field of humanities and social sciences in China. Chinese language courses are generally divided into elementary, intermediate, and advanced courses. Students can have compulsory courses and optional courses.
The compulsory courses are 20 hours per week and are arranged in the mornings from Monday to Friday. They include speaking, listening, reading, writing, and more. Optional courses are arranged on Monday to Friday afternoons and include pronunciation, newspaper language, Chinese grammar, an introduction to Chinese culture, Chinese history, and Chinese literature, etc.
The application time for the spring semester is from October 1 to December 15, and the application time for the autumn semester is from March 1 to May 15.
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9. University of International Business and Economics
The University of International Business and Economics has a basic course, a training course, and a business course.
The basic Chinese course teaches comprehensive classes that include listening, speaking, and reading. Throughout the course, students can improve their listening, speaking, reading, writing, and Chinese communicative skills. Classes are held in the mornings from Monday to Friday for 20 hours per week and 16 weeks per semester.
The training course is mainly suited to diplomats and officials working in the consular field. There is also a business Chinese course. This course is designed to meet the needs of business and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. It is suitable for students who have a certain level of Chinese and are interested in business knowledge, hot topics about China, and international business.
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10. Beijing Jiaotong University
Beijing Jiaotong UniversityChinese courses at Beijing Jiaotong University are available for students at different levels, with 16 weeks per semester and 22 class hours per week. In the primary stage, courses including phonetics, listening, speaking, and reading are offered to cultivate students' language cognition and interests. Courses at the intermediate level are offered to further strengthen students' Chinese proficiency. In the advanced stage, courses are mainly offered to cultivate students' practical skills in Chinese.
Summer school, with short-term courses that last for 4 weeks, is also available. This includes Chinese language classes, lectures about Chinese culture, cultural experience classes, and more.
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11. Beijing Institute of Technology
Campus of Beijing Institute of TechnologyThere are two programs to learn Chinese: a Chinese language program and a short-term program.
Listening, speaking, reading, and HSK training are arranged for students at different levels in the Chinese language program. Students will have lessons from Mondays to Fridays in the spring semester or the autumn semester.
The short-term program starts in winter and lasts for 2 weeks or in summer for 4 weeks. The classes include oral Chinese, Chinese listening, and fundamental Chinese. Students can also learn about Chinese history and culture, Chinese calligraphy and painting, and more.
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