Yes there are but they can vary from seasons and years.

Generally you can expect activities such as Sports, Calligraphy, English, Drama etc.We can help get this set up if anything takes an interest.

While this of course depends on each person, students studying at a Chinese high school in Beijing for a year usually reach full fluency.

What definitely helps is a preparation Mandarin course in Beijing at the beginning – the longer the better.

Once you are at the high school, all your class mates will be Chinese and you will be speaking Mandarin every day. You will also soon discover that outside the tourist and expat areas in Beijing basically nobody speaks English and you will be speaking Mandarin pretty much all the time. You will discover that learning Mandarin is actually not as difficult as many people think it is.

Once you got your tones under control and learn how the Chinese character system works, Chinese grammar is actually quite simple.

While everyone sometimes misses home, surprisingly homesickness has never been much of a problem for our China high school program participants.

Beijing is an amazing city and once you are in it you will not want to leave.

However, usually in China the first two weeks can be quite challenging. The food is different, nobody speaks English, Beijing is a very big city and often even smells differently.

During that time many students require quite a lot of support from our team both practically and sometimes a bit emotionally too. We are here for you at all times, whatever you need.

This is the great thing about having the whole LTL support team being based in Beijing.

We will see each other regularly for school events, trips and dinners while you are at the high school and even more so if you do a preparation Mandarin course in Beijing before going to high school.

Yes of course they can visit you.

Your parents are welcome to visit you in China at any time. We can also help them with their visa invitations and organization of the trip.

Our homestays are lovely places to be but of course, general tidiness, politeness and genuine etiquette around the house are important.

You may help around the house with little chores here and there but just being kind and respectable on a daily basis is all that will be asked.

We have been doing this for many years and the process is actually a lot simpler than many people think.

Send us a message to let us know a bit more about you, when you want to come to China and ask any questions you might have. We will then organize a WhatsApp or phone interview with you and your parents to go through the program together and get to know you a bit more.

After this you and your parents will have to fill out our registration forms, we will register you for the program, apply for the visa, you book your flight and you are on your way to China

Yes all Chinese schools have their own school uniforms.

No, this is strictly forbidden during class but before or after any class this is no problem.

If there is any emergency at any stage, the school phones can be used.

Students can decide to travel home during the break or stay in China. The break of Spring Festival lasts four weeks generally but these dates are always subject to a little change each year.

As accommodation is not included for the Spring Festival Break we can arrange a homestay during this time (a great time to experience these celebrations over the holidays) and additional Chinese classes to reenforce their Chinese knowledge.

Likewise, travel home of course is a possibility. Communicate with us and we’ll make sure whatever solution you are after, we resolve.

The dates of Chinese New Year/Spring Festival Break are different every year, but it is usually either in late January or early February.

Us of course.

In addition to your high school, you will be part of the LTL social community here and we organize events, dinners and trips every week. We will see each other regularly, but if you have a problem, call us or come by our office at any time.

Many issues we will be able to help you solve over a cup of tea in our office, but for anything serious we of course also offer 24/7 emergency support.

Firstly, you will definitely need a WeChat account when living and studying in China. This will be your “whatsapp in China“.

For your other apps that are banned, you will need a VPN.

The best thing we can recommend here is getting a VPN sorted out before coming to China.

We’ve covered VPN’s extensively on our blog. Take a look and your questions will be answered there.

Likewise we also recommend getting things like a Chinese SIM card sorted out and of course with the powers of technology these days, we are closer to home than we ever have been before.