Immersion China

Hi, my name is Max from Germany. I am a high school graduate taking a gap year before starting university. I decided to go to China to discover a new culture and at the same time learn a new language. Since I wanted to achieve some major progress and be able to communicate effortlessly afterwards, I decided to stay at least half a year in China and chose the “Intensive Immersion Program” to make the most out of my stay.

I set myself a clear goal before coming to China and divided my stay into 3 months each in Beijing and Chengde. I attended 4 hours of group class and 2 one-on-one sessions each day in Beijing and 6 hours of one-on-one’s in Chengde. I also lived in a homestay which added some more valuable time of Chinese surrounding.

Looking back it was definitely Chengde and the one-on-one classes which were responsible for my fast progress. To be honest, Beijing is a nice city but Chengde is where the real action takes place. At least when it comes to learning Chinese. Chengde is quite rural compared to Beijing and the amount of foreigners is at an absolute minimum which is why it creates such a perfect learning environment. The pace of life is slower, for example your homestay has time to take you out for dinner regularly, people approach you more openly and if you want to have social interactions it will most likely only be possible with Chinese.

Of course there is life beyond the classroom: Beijing is a huge and interesting city, definitely take your time to tour through all the sight-seeing places, they are worth it. Beijing impressively shows how China is picturing it’s future and it is fascinating to experience that. On the contrary is Chengde very small in comparison. I found it harder to get to know Chinese people in Beijing. This isn’t just because of the city’s huge size, there are more people, but also more foreigners. Chengde is the place to go if you want to meet the “real China” beyond the internationalized version in Beijing.

On the flipside, you need to be creative in Winter in Chengde, it’s cold and you must brave the weather. However, if you are up for football in minus temperatures you will keep yourself busy! Alongside the studying during the week, you’ll have good fun in Chengde.

In general, I loved my time in China and I can only recommend to anyone to visit this country of the future. And yes, with some commitment and time you are definitely able to master the Chinese language in a short amount of time.

Hi, my name is Zander and I came to China and Chengde after finishing my Master’s degree at university. In total I was in China for 10 months, which included 7 months in Beijing and 6 weeks in Chengde (both at LTL).

Zander enjoying Immersion in Chengde

I decided to come to Chengde because I was preparing to take the HSK 6, and wanted to be in a full immersive environment for this. While I enjoyed Beijing, I had lots of English-speaking friends and knew how easy it was to be distracted there. Chengde appealed to me because it is relatively isolated and pretty unknown to foreigners.

I stayed in a homestay which was located directly opposite the main train station in the main area of town. My family was a couple, their two young kids, and the mother’s mother. They were lovely, always very kind and I liked the eldest kid so much we would play games together pretty much everyday. Each evening the grandma would invite me out dancing but I was usually studying so didn’t go too often. The food was excellent (best I’ve had in china, honestly) and there was always too much. 

Although I was mainly preparing for my exams I can see how easy it would be to immerse yourself into the culture of Chengde. Foreigners are so rare that everyone is very excited and happy to chat with you. I attended my teacher’s friends wedding which was a real experience and she managed to integrate me quite well into her friendship group.

Zander enjoying food with Angelina from the LTL Beijing Team

If you are looking for the ‘real China’ which feels quite distant when visiting the megacities of Beijing or Shanghai, Chengde is likely to be the place for you. It’s really almost like going back in time.

I passed my HSK 6 which I was very pleased with, and would attribute lots of this to the focus and direction that the learning-environment of Chengde provided. If you are willing to take the plunge, I couldn’t recommend it more.

When I applied for LTL I really liked the idea of the ‘Full Immersion Program’, as it sounded unique and so for my program I chose to go to both Beijing and to Chengde. I enjoyed my time in Beijing in the shared apartment accommodation and in the homestay in Chengde. Both were tidy and very comfortable.

Eleonora with her homestay family

I took group classes in Beijing, the small group allows for everyone to have the chance to practice speaking and learn effectively. In Chengde I took 1-on-1 classes, and of course these are the best for fast improvements. I had to prepare a university exam and I am really happy about how the teacher helped me to focus on my personal program.

The LTL environment is very friendly; it was really easy to meet people and make new friends. I hope to return to China and to LTL in the future.