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WHAT’S THE BEST CITY IN CHINA TO STUDY MANDARIN IN?

It’s time to decide what city you’re going to call your “home away from home”. Will it be Beijing? What about Shanghai? Why not pick the beautiful city of Kunming.

It may not be as large as these other cities, but the benefits of living in the city of eternal spring outweigh the over-populated areas of China.

In this blog post, let us compare the basic needs these cities offer. By the end of this blog post, Kunming will be calling your name.

AIR QUALITY

Air quality is a big deterrent for people when they’re picking a place to study.  You see people wearing pollution masks sometimes, and that’s something we don’t want to have to give you on your first day of school.

You can check the air quality every day for different cities online.

Let’s compare the air index.

Kunming – 63 / Moderate

Beijing – 85 / Moderate

Shanghai – 104 / Unhealthy

To compare US cities, New York is currently 53 / moderate, Toronto is 50 / Moderate, and L.A. is 46 / good.

Kunming is the capital and largest city in Yunnan Province, Southwest China. It’s a city with blue skies, temperatures around 20-28 degrees, and moderately/good air quality. Air masks are not a common accessory in Kunming.

SCHOOLING


There are several different schooling options in Kunming, China. Keats School was founded in 2004 and has become one of the top Chinese language schools in China. We provide a variety of Chinese language courses. The school tailors your study plans based on your learning requirements and adds fun topics to suit your personality.

Keats School has a 40% return rate for students, and we even help you secure a study visa.

COST OF LIVING

When it comes to moving to a new city, it’s important to think about the costs. Moving is quite a costly expense when you consider housing, schooling, utilities, travel, and food. And that’s just the necessities.

According to Numbeo, in Kunming a liter of gas is 7 Chinese Yuan which equals to $1.05 US Dollar (Currently in the USA, gas is $2.35), an apartment in the city center is 1, 933.00 Yuan a month, a taxi’s starting price is 8 Yuan and a monthly transportation pass is 250 Yuan.

In Beijing, gas is 6.23 Yuan, an apartment in the city center is 6,266.67 Yuan, a taxi starting price is 13 Yuan, and a monthly transportation pass is 200 Yuan.

If you were to study at Keats School in Kunming, room and board are provided, meals are provided, and airport drops off and picks up are provided. This would eliminate a lot of expenses that you might have to pay for in another city.

CROWDS


You may think there’s no escaping the crowds in China. When we close our eyes and imagine walking in the streets of China, we may think of shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, busy streets, and car horns honking.

But, that’s not the case everywhere. Let’s look at the population of these three popular cities.

Kunming – 6.6 million

Beijing – 21.5 million

Shanghai – 24.15 million

While the populations are all relatively large, you can tell that Kunming, China, would have fewer crowds compared to the bigger cities. If you decide to live in Kunming, you won’t be shoulder-to-shoulder with other residents when you’re running down the street to catch your bus.
Think of Shanghai like New York (cold and city-like) and think of Kunming like a small town in Colorado, where the people are friendly.

TRAFFIC AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION


Speaking of running to catch your bus… The transportation system in China is already very developed.

China will soon have nearly as many drivers as the U.S. has people. According to the country’s top law-enforcement agency, there are more than 244 million licensed passenger-car drivers.

That’s a lot.

You have a lot of options for transportation if you move to Kunming to study. The city is serviced by an extensive public transportation network. There are several bus routes around the city.

Kunming is the main hub for the Yunnan Province for traveling by bus.

In addition to traveling by bus, there are four train stations located throughout the city of Kunming. From those stations, you’re able to travel throughout most of the country.

In Beijing, the development of transportation has been put on the fast track because of the size of the city. The subway was extended and improved in 2008 because of the Olympic Games. There are also thousands of buses operating in the city with hundreds of different routes.

While there is a lot of transportation available, getting a seat is sometimes impossible, so get ready to squeeze in and stand.

The same thing goes for Shanghai. The city is the busiest transportation hub in eastern China. It has a railway network, subway trains, long-distance buses, and transportation via waterways.

The government is working on constructing a large number of roads, subways and opening more bus routes to ease the pain of crowded public transportation.

WHY YOU SHOULD PICK KUNMING

As you can see, there are many benefits in picking Kunming as the next city you’ll call home. The beautiful blue skies, clean air, and friendly people are calling your name. Not only that, but you’ll save a lot of money when it comes to accommodation, meals, and transportation.

Contact us today to learn more about why Keats School is your best bet for studying Mandarin in China. We have eight different course options and are interested in helping you find the right one for you.

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PROGRAMS

Rients's Story at Keats Kunming, My Second Hometown

OVER 7300+ STUDENTS HAVE STUDIED AT KEATS

Ida

Ida | Italy

Small Group Chinese Class

I have studied at Keats for 2 semesters. I highly recommend Keats School. If you are very interested in taking a Mandarin course in China, I would suggest you come to Kunming. Kunming people are very friendly. The weather in Kunming is great. So I recommend that you study Chinese at Keats in Kunming.

Liam

Liam | UK

HSK Test Preparation Course

Last year I started studying Chinese at University. The reason that I came here is that currently, I’m preparing for the HSK 5 test. Also, I heard that this is one of the best schools to study Mandarin in China. After I came here I realized that Kunming is a pretty cool city to live in and with regards to the teachers’ teaching methods, I think they’re very professional. And I think the language environment is good so now I’m ready to take the HSK 5.

星河明

星河明 | Japan

Intensive One-on-One Chinese Classes

I took the one-on-one Intensive Chinese class for 6 hours a day. The classes are very interesting. The teachers are caring and the content the teacher teaches me is suitable for my level. It is an easy way to learn Mandarin. I have a lot of time practicing Chinese in class. The food is great here. I have improved my Chinese through this program at Keats.

Mike

Mike | Australia

Small Group Chinese Class

I think Kunming is a great city, the weather is really good. I really like Keats school and found it is very organized. The teachers here are very good. They have a coffee shop and new classrooms, a new lounge area here now, so you can chill out with your friends and practice your spoken Chinese with natives. If you’re considering coming to Keats to study, I would really recommend it. It’s the best place to learn Mandarin and I think it will be a great experience for you.

 

Kim

Kim | UK

Intensive One-on-One Chinese Classes

I’ve had an amazing time at Keats. I am amazed at how much I’ve learned over the last 3 weeks and I will be really sad to go. We are already planning on our next trip of coming back because we had such a fantastic time here. They really tailor the Chinese language course to you and your individual needs.

Stew

Stew | UK

Small Group Chinese Class

The place is very cool. I am with a great group of people in my class, so coming to classes is very enjoyable. It is fun, we have a lot of discussions, games, activities. Our teachers are also very good, very supportive. Learning Chinese is intimidating at the start because you have so many questions. But I would advise coming to Keats because the atmosphere for learning is great. It is very relaxing. I would recommend the school.

SJOERD

SJOERD | Netherlands

Small Group Chinese Class

We use a lot of games to learn grammar and new words. We have really good teachers, really patient. She helps us a lot. Our class is really nice and we have people from all over the world, different countries. We often discuss topics in Chinese in our class. I live in the dorm of Keats. It is very convenient. I don’t have to spend time traveling. You can just focus on learning Chinese.

嶋田京子

嶋田京子 | Japan

Intensive One-on-One Chinese Classes

Kunming’s scenery is very beautiful. It is the best place to study Chinese in China. My favorite learning method at Keats School is one-on-one because it is suitable for everyone. My teacher is very good, very caring, and lovely. My life when learning Chinese in Kunming is very good and the weather is very good. The air is very good. It is good for the elderly’s body.

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