So you’ve taken the exciting step of learning Mandarin Chinese. You’ve got all your tools lined up: your phrasebook, dictionary, learning app, Youtube channels...the works. For the first couple of days, you rush headlong into your learning, and it seems to pay off quickly. You get a few words or basic phrases under your belt [...]
The Nakhi (also spelled Nashi or Naxi) first came to the attention of the Western world in the 1950s with the publication of Russian explorer Peter Goullart's travelogue "The Lost Kingdom". In it, Goullart describes his time living in Lijiang, the traditional cultural center of the Nakhi, during WWII. Of course, the region and [...]
Hutong School Down Under Big news from the land down under! Hutong School Sydney is here and ready to start its first classes in August. Ahead of the grand opening, we sat down with Joanne Li from the HTS Sydney team to learn more about the newest Hutong School. Why [...]
Shanghai off the Beaten Track So you've been to the Bund for a mandatory skyline picture and fought the crowds at Yu Gardens and Tianzifang. You strained your neck looking at the skyscrapers in Lujiazui, dutifully marched through five floors of bronzes and ceramics at Shanghai Museum and pretended to understand contemporary art at [...]
Making Every RMB Count If you are currently pursuing higher education in China, then being restricted in spending is probably not new to you. Food, clothing, apartment/dorm, public transport, parties, holidays – these are the things learners spend the most of their money on. Add to this some costs you have to [...]
Young Professionals, Assemble! As China's economic clout grows, it's no surprise more young people are flocking here to develop their careers through internships and language study. But what happens when your program ends, your visa expires, and it's time to go home? For many expats, a stint in China used to be seen as [...]
Ahead of next week's young expat professionals event, we sat down with our panel members to get to know a bit more about what makes them tick, how they ended up in China, and what advice they have for other young expats looking to establish themselves in China. Armando Flores Chiu: Business Development Manager @ [...]
This week, we have a special interview with a former Hutong School student, Delphine. She studied Chinese with us in Shanghai during an Erasmus exchange program and recently participated in the 4L Trophy. 4L is a humanitarian student rally that takes every year in the deserts of Morocco. Participants must drive across a variety of [...]
There's little doubt that Chinese people love eating. While "family-style" meals are perhaps the most traditional way of eating in China, there is also a rich tradition of xiǎochī小吃 or“small eats". These in-between meal bites that can be found on street corners and in night markets. Many of the following items started out as regional [...]
One of the things that makes life in China so interesting is the sheer diversity of people you meet on a daily basis. If you've spent any amount of time in China, you've undoubtedly run into one or more of these colorful characters... Beijing Taxi Driver 北京的哥侃爷 Hometown: Beijing Favorite Drink: Cheap green [...]
