Learn Chinese in China with LTL

Learn Chinese in China in up to six different cities, combining rapid language progress with experiencing Chinese culture.

China is a vast country and the local culture in a modern and international city like Shanghai is very different to a small historic town like Chengde.

With the LTL Multi City program you get to learn Mandarin in different parts of China within the same program.

Study Chinese and explore China
Study at two or three different LTL language schools
Rapid language progress
Includes all transport, 24/7 support and full organisation
Flexible durations and course options

You will start at our Shanghai language school in the Old French Concession and then either move on to continue your studies in the Central Business District of Beijing, or move to China’s old summer capital Chengde (not Chengdu) in Hebei province for a taste of rural China and a complete immersion experience.

Or alternatively you can combine all three cities into an epic journey from Shanghai, to Beijing and finally to Chengde.

Learn Chinese in China

Intensive: Study Mandarin intensively in a continuous program

Great teachers: Learn Chinese with certified LTL teachers

Personal Curriculum: Follow our study plan while exploring China

Small groups: Average of 3 and max 6 students per class
Experience China

Explore: Study in different Chinese cities during your language course
North vs. South: Experience both Northern and Southern Chinese culture
Small vs. Big: Live both in a large and a smaller Chinese city
Traditional vs. Modern: From ultra-modern to traditional China
Meet people quickly

Community: Join the local LTL community and meet other students
Events: School dinners, city tours & after-class drinks every week
Trips: Explore other parts of China with LTL weekend trips
Join the family: The LTL family extends through all three schools
Smooth organisation

All inclusive: Transport, pick ups, accommodation, textbooks all organised
Visa: Full student visa invitation documents from LTL Mandarin School
Accommodation: Choose between homestay or shared apartment
Support: Student advisors and 24/7 emergency support in each city

Learn Chinese in China with LTL

Shanghai

With 25 million inhabitants, Shanghai is not only China’s most dynamic and international city, but has today become one of world’s most important financial and business centres. With its mix of buzzing rooftop nightlife and quiet shikumen backstreets, breathtaking modern architecture and old colonial heritage, living in Shanghai will be an unforgettable cultural experience.

Beijing

China’s capital is the cultural heart of the country. The city is home to 56 different universities, Tiananmen Square and the ancient Forbidden City, as well as countless smaller temples and pagodas and an ancient network ofhutongs (narrow streets) waiting to be explored. At the same time the skyscrapers of Beijing’s Central Business District are a monument to China’s recent economic miracle. For foodies Beijing offers an amazing choice of different specialist cuisines from across China and the world.

Chengde (not Chengdu)

The old imperial Qing summer capital of Chengde is nestled among the mountains north of Beijing, close to the Great Wall. Home to the Old Summer Palace, the Putuo Temple and many other historic sites, it is now recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site. With 500,000 inhabitants it is a relatively small city (in China terms!) and offers a much more relaxed pace of life than in other Chinese cities, with plenty of hiking and other outdoor activities available too. Chengde is also the birthplace of modern Mandarin Chinese.

Nowhere else in China do the locals speak a more standard form of Mandarin than here. However, students who chose to study in Chengde must bear in mind that unlike Shanghai or Beijing, there’s no international community here and none of the locals speak or understand English – they have no need to! This is complete Chinese immersion and the real China at its best.

Join the LTL Family in Shanghai

Metropolitan China

Shanghai-Beijing

Study Mandarin in China’s two main cities. Shanghai and Beijing are not only fierce rivals for the top spot as “China’s greatest city”, but also have very different local cultures and histories. While Shanghai is very outward-looking, modern and likes to compare itself to cities like New York or London, Beijing is the guardian of China’s ancient culture and heritage. While Shanghai is the centre of Southern China, Beijing dominates the North – and you will quickly discover that there are very big cultural and historic differences between those two parts of the country. The first half of your Chinese course will be in Shanghai, after which you will move on to Beijing.

You can choose between three program options.

Metropolitan China Standard

Includes 20 hours of small group Mandarin classes per week, first at our downtown Shanghai school in the old French Concessions and then at LTL Beijing, located in the heart of Beijing’s Central Business District.

Metropolitan China Intensive

This is the program for you if you want to maximise your language progress and get ahead with your Mandarin as fast as possible. In both cities you will have 20 hours of small group classes, plus a further 10 hours of private Chinese classes per week.

Metropolitan China Individual

Learn Mandarin at your pace and tailor your course to your needs. You will get 20 hours of private Chinese tuition in both Shanghai and Beijing. The package comes with a free personalised study plan, full language assessment and flexible curriculum.

Metropolitan China Prices (Chinese Yuan)

Duration	Standard	Intensive	Individual
4 weeks	12,956	21,972	22,215
6 weeks	16,708	29,580	29,928
8 weeks	20,078	36,414	36,856
10 weeks	23,094	42,531	43,056
12 weeks	25,783	47,983	48,583
14 weeks	29,383	55,283	55,983
16 weeks	32,983	62,583	63,383
18-52 wks	3,600/2wks	7,300/2wks	7,400/2wks

You can choose any course from four to 52 weeks – please contact us at [email protected] for a full quotation.

Prices include all textbooks, transport between the cities, airport pick up, a local SIM card with data plan, a bicycle, 24/7 support and full access to the LTL student community and support network.

Accommodation

You can combine your program with a homestay, shared apartment or organise your own accommodation. Prices for LTL accommodation options are the same in Shanghai and Beijing.

Three City Combo

Shanghai-Beijing-Chengde

Split your Chinese program between Shanghai, Beijing and Chengde. You’ll start your program in ultra modern and cosmopolitan Shanghai, then move to the more traditional, but still dynamic and international Beijing and spend your final weeks in Chengde, where nobody speaks English and you’ll be fully immersed into Chinese culture. For anyone who truly wants to understand and experience China, whilst fast tracking their Mandarin, this program is ideal!

Choose from the following three programs

Three City Standard

You will study 20 hours of small group Chinese classes per week in both Shanghai and Beijing. However once you arrived in Chengde we do not want you to speak English anymore at all, and you will have 20 hours of private classes per week to make sure you’re not tempted to use English with classmates.

Three City Intensive

Improve your Chinese at maximum speed with the Three City Intensive program. You will have 20 hours of small group and 10 hours of private Chinese classes per week in Shanghai and Beijing. In Chengde you will be studying 30 hours of individual classes every week with a private Chinese tutor. Of all the different options to study Mandarin in China, this is the one that will help you to improve your Chinese the fastest.

Three City Individual

Tailor your course to your individual needs and preferences with the Three City Individual Chinese Program. In each one of the three cities you will study 20 hours of private Chinese classes per week. This program is most suitable for students who want to specifically focus on a certain topic like learning to write Chinese characters, improving their spoken Chinese or learning Chinese for travelling or for Business.

Three City Prices (CNY)

Duration	Standard	Intensive	Individual
6 weeks	23,330	36,202	32,143
9 weeks	29,982	47,912	42,258
12 weeks	35,598	57,798	50,798
15 weeks	42,898	70,648	61,898
18 weeks	50,198	83,498	72,998
21 weeks	57,498	96,348	84,098
24-51 wks	7,300/3wks	12,850/3wks	11,100/3wks

Prices already include all course materials, transport between the three cities, airport pick up, 24/7 emergency support, access to the LTL student community and of course full LTL support in every city.

The Chinese Immersion Program

Shanghai-Chengde

Our Chinese complete immersion program is so popular that we created a special page for it.

Please have a look there for more details on how to first study Chinese in Shanghai and then immerse yourself into the “real China”.

What Our Students Say

Steph

Sienna's Mum

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

LTL sounded like what Sienna was after. She acclimatised pretty easily, Shanghai was the easiest transition out of the three, I think because it fit her personality the best. We were pretty well informed by LTL.

Emma

Switzerland

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I was warmly welcomed in both schools. The LTL school grounds in Beijing and Shanghai are very similar, in the sense that both are yellow, welcoming and have a fridge full of beer.

Will

Canada

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

In Shanghai I liked the teachers a lot, they helped me focus on pronunciation and the HSK exam, which I felt I managed to prepare for very thoroughly. Chengde can’t be beat for actually learning Chinese though.

Laura

Elaine's Mum

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Looking to take advantage of her Spring Break again this year to further improve her Mandarin, we decided she would try LTL’s new program in Shanghai. We are very happy with the program.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get from one city to the next?

We will organize all transport for you. From Shanghai to Beijing this will either be via plane or high speed train and to Chengde via train, because the city does not have an airport. You will be of course be picked up at the train station or airport and brought to your accommodation after arrival. Soon we are opening a new Mandarin learning centre in Taiwan, giving you even more options.

Are the language schools in the three cities very different?

While of course each school has its unique charm and personality, the LTL language schools in Shanghai and Beijing are very similarly structured with a central location, small groups, a lot of social activities and in general a very fun and relaxed environment. In Chengde, however, the focus shifts from meeting other students and social school events to making sure you immerse yourself completely in Chinese culture. Depending on your preferences, we will for example organise for you to join a local sports team, a hiking club or choir to make sure you are always surrounded by Mandarin speakers only and not tempted to speak English with other foreigners.

What are living costs like?

Except rent, living costs in China are in general very modest. Even at our Shanghai school, lunch only costs about 3 USD and our students get a lot of special drink deals with the local bars in the area. Overall however, Chengde is definitely the cheapest city to live in and most students spend very little money there. A taxi ride through the whole town costs only about 2 USD and a full dinner with plenty of beer usually about 4 USD – though in many cases you will be invited by your Chinese friends anyways and it end up being completely free!

What is life like in Chengde?

Chengde is a taste of traditional Chinese life. As a foreigner in the city you are bound to find some of aspects of life here fascinating, and sometimes a little bit strange – life in Chengde is very different to living in an international city like Beijing or Shanghai. After class you might go for some public square dancing with your homestay mother and the other aunties from the neighbourhood, go for a hike in the nearby mountains with your teacher and their friends, or stroll through the enormous, peaceful gardens of the Old Summer Palace. On the weekend trips you might go horse riding in the Mongolian grasslands, have a sports match or sing in a choir (people in Chengde love to sing!).

The nightlife however cannot compare to what is offered in a city like Shanghai – there are no Irish pubs or pizza joints to hang out with other foreigners and you will be surrounded by local Chinese all day.

Is it ok for a complete beginner to join?

Yes, absolutely. Almost half of our students know no Chinese at all when they arrive at our school and this is not a problem at all. In 2017 and 2018 we have complete beginner courses starting on the following dates.

August 21, 2017
September 11, 2017
October 9, 2017
October 30, 2017
November 20, 2017
December 11, 2017

January 8, 2018
February 5, 2018
March 5, 2018
March 26, 2018
April 16, 2018
May 7, 2018

May 28, 2018
June 25, 2018
July 9, 2018
July 23, 2018
August 6, 2018
August 20, 2018

September 3, 2018
September 17, 2018
October 8, 2018
November 5, 2018
November 26, 2018
December 17, 2018

How should I prepare for the program?

You will receive a full pre-course information pack from us before your arrival telling you all you need to know – from what kind of software you will need in China, to what to pack and how to best prepare. In general though, not too much special preparation is needed. There is almost nothing you cannot buy in Shanghai and we will do all the pre-course organisation for you here.

What do you recommend for accommodation?

There are many different options so please spend a bit of time looking through our website to find out what suits you best or contact us with any questions you might have. In our experience the best way to experience Chinese culture and improve your Mandarin at the same time is usually to stay in a homestay though and about 80% of LTL students do this. If you want to keep costs down a bit, it can be a good idea to live in a “teach English homestay” in Shanghai for example, but for Beijing and Chengde we would recommend a standard homestay for maximum language progress.

Related Program

Semester in Shanghai
Programs

Learn Chinese in Shanghai with the LTL Semester Program. Aimed at those wanting to achieve a level of fluency by studying over a longer period of time at more cost effective prices.

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Group Classes
Full Time

At LTL we don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach, since every student who comes to Shanghai to learn Chinese with us is different. Learning Chinese in a small group is a great way to get quality teaching.

Learn More

Multi City

Learn Chinese in China with LTL

Learn Chinese in China

Experience China

Meet people quickly

Smooth organisation