Hi, my name is Manuel! I am from Spain and I am a Student Advisor at LTL. I’m now based at our Seoul School after living 3 years in Taipei.
Hi, my name is Mojca! I am from Slovenia in Europe and I work as a student advisor at our Shanghai school.
Jamie
USAMy homestay was the best! They were amazing! They were like my second family. I liked it when Shushu cooked; he makes the best food. I was originally supposed to stay in Chengde for a month and then I ended up staying for four!
HOMESTAY IN CHENGDE
Living with a homestay in Chengde is a great opportunity to not only practice your Mandarin, but also quickly become part of local Chinese life and make friends quickly.
We have been working with our host families for many years, they know how to support and deal with foreigners studying abroad in China even though students often don’t know that much Mandarin yet.
You are in the right hands with LTL in Chengde.
As there are no foreigners living in Chengde, having an international student living in your home is quite an interesting experience for both sides.
Warm and Fuzzy
Home – Bed, towels and a hot meal ready when you arrive
Family – Experience the warmth and care of a Chinese family
Relatives – Lots of new family members to meet
Friends – Go on trips, join family outings, make real friends
Great Apartments
Privacy – Your own bedroom and personal space
Modern – Nicely renovated and spacious apartments
Good locations – Centrally located and easy to reach
Equipped – Kitchen, bathroom, living room, WIFI etc
Learn Mandarin Fast
Speak – Practice Chinese fully immersed at home 24/7
Pronunciation – Chengde locals are famous for speaking well
Help – If you need help with your homework, advice is right there
Confidence – Gain confidence quickly by speaking Mandarin 24/7
Get to Know the Culture
Tradition – Celebrate holidays, join family gatherings, “go local”
The real China – Experience the real China
Adventure – Learn more about China than any book could teach
History – Hear about China’s history from your host grandparents
THE CITY OF CHENGDE
Learning Chinese in Chengde is very different to studying Mandarin in a group in Shanghai or a Chinese semester in Beijing.
At our school in Chengde there is no international student community, no after-class dinners and no lunch club where students eat together and socialize.
All life is local Chinese only and your friends will be exclusively Chinese.
Living with a homestay is a great way to quickly have a home base, meet locals and discover real Chinese life.
In Chengde 95% of our students choose to live with a homestay.
THE APARTMENTS
All apartments are modern and fully furnished.
You will have your bedroom and either a shared or private bathroom with a Western-style sit-down toilet.
Your bedroom will be spacious with a desk and wardrobe for you to use.
The kitchen, living room and all other common areas are shared with your host family.
WiFi and all other bills are already included in the price.
LIFE IN A HOMESTAY
Life in a Chinese family is usually mainly about eating big meals together, visiting relatives and organizing weekend outings.
Every family is different, but popular weekend trips are visiting one of the imperial parks in the city, going hiking in the mountains or joining friends or relatives for a meal.
In a Chinese family dinner is the highlight of the day and a meal usually consists of several meat and vegetable dishes. Beware though as healthy home-cooked Chinese food is incredibly tasty, you might be quite disappointed when eating Westernised Chinese food in a Chinese restaurant back home after studying in China.
If you have special dietary requirements, let us know and we can organize accordingly.
Each family is of course different and while some are a whole clan living together in a big house ranging from grandparents to toddlers, others are just a married couple with one child that either still lives with them or has already moved out.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to homestays and matching you with the right family is what we are best at.
We will ask you about your preferences, from pets, children, non-smoking habits, age preferences etc. and based on this find the perfect family for you.
HOMESTAY
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How will I find my homestay?
With the Chengde survival kit our coordinator will pick you up from the train station and bring you to your homestay.
The Chengde survival kit is already included in our Chinese Immersion programs, multi-city Chinese courses and most of our gap year programs.
How does laundry work?
Your family will either do your laundry for you or you will have access to the laundry machine to use yourself.
Both options are of course free of charge.
Do I need to bring bedding or towels?
No you don’t.
Bedding and towels will be provided.
Also, even though it is little known outside China, Chengde is still a big city with half a million people living there.
Buying toiletries and daily necessities is not a problem and much easier than carrying your own stuff half around the world with you.
How long can I book a homestay for?
You can book a homestay for anything from one week up to a whole year.
The longer you stay, the cheaper it gets.
Remember though, you must be an LTL student to book a homestay. You cannot just book a homestay and not take lessons with LTL.
How will we communicate?
You will communicate in Mandarin of course.
Depending on how much Chinese you learned beforehand either at home or in a Chinese course in Beijing or Shanghai you might use an electronic Chinese dictionary like Pleco, hand gestures or simply point at things.
Our homestay families are very experienced and used to this. They will most likely have a translation software ready too.
Your Chinese lessons will also focus on teaching you the language skills needed for daily life at home.
Should I choose all meals or just breakfast and dinner?
This is up to you.
Eating at home for lunch is very convenient and the best food in China is always home cooked, so the all meals homestay option is very popular.
If you however prefer to go out for lunches during your breaks with your teacher then this is not a problem at all either.
Can I book a homestay without a course?
No, unfortunately you cannot.
Our homestays are very popular and we are regularly booked out.
It takes a lot of time to organize and manage homestays, so we reserve our homestays exclusively for our students.
Will I get a key?
Yes of course you will get a key to the apartment.
You come and go as you please, however if you will miss dinner, spend the night camping on the Great Wall or travel to Beijing for the weekend, please let your family know.
You can also lock your own room if you want to.
