We will send you a list of what to bring about 2 weeks before you come regarding the temperature and the weather at that time. Please feel free to download our Free Checklist Before Moving Abroad to Study. 

Most stores in Kunming do not accept foreign credit card payment. It would be better if you pay cash when you buy things in China. More and more people are using apps like WeChat and Alipay to purchase their goods. You can open a Chinese bank account and link it to your WeChat or Alipay account so that you can make payment using your mobile phones. Your teacher can take you to open a Chinese bank account if you need.

In China, we do not drink tap water. In each dorm room, we provide a water dispenser. You can order bottled water from us at RMB 15/bottle.

The school offers trips to the Stone Forest, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-la, Jianshui, Yuanyang during the weekends at an additional cost. Students are welcome to sign up for these trips.

Some students stay in their rooms or the library doing their homework; some students go out to explore the city; some students do their volunteer work if they sign up for the Volunteer in China program. Keats offers Chinese cultural activities such as Chinese calligraphy, Chinese cooking, Chinese painting, card games, mahjong, Chinese tea, Yunnan coffee etc. every Tuesday and Thursday night.

Kunming has its own dialect, but everywhere in China has its own dialect. Many Chinese people find it is very hard to understand Beijing dialect before they get settled down in Beijing for 1 year or 2. Besides, Kunming dialect belongs to the northern language system, which is close to Mandarin. As Kunming becomes more and more international, most Kunming people in the city can speak standard Mandarin and they will tend to use Mandarin to answer your questions. Our students do not have problems practicing their Mandarin Chinese on street or in a restaurant. Although they might consider this as a problem before they come, but it turned out it is not a problem at all. In addition, Kunming is called the “Spring City”, with beautiful weather all year round. The air is clean and local people are extremely friendly to foreigners. Our students sometimes travel to Lijiang or Dali or other nice little towns during the weekends to enjoy the natural landscape and interesting minority culture.

Yes, it is possible to learn Mandarin only at Keats School without accommodation. For students who do not live in the school, we charge RMB 200 per hour for one-on-one Chinese lessons. If you need help with the visa, the minimum duration for the course is 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. To be eligible to get a student visa with multiple entries requires a minimum of 16 weeks’ study at Keats.

Yes, all the prices listed on our website (except the small group Chinese class) include accommodation (single room with private bathroom). Therefore, you don’t have to look for your own accommodation, which is very convenient.

Yes, after we receive full tuition fee for the entire course through bank transfer, we will send you the official Admission Notice on behalf of Keats School to apply for a student visa (X1/X2) in your country. The X1 visa is for a program longer than 6 months while the X2 student visa is for a program shorter than 6 months. The express mail delivery fee is RMB 490.

Please Note: The tourist visa can no longer be changed to a student visa after you arrive in China. In order to avoid unnecessary cost, please make sure to enter China with an X1 or X2 student visa.

Yes, you will need a Chinese visa to study in China. Before you come to study in China, please leave yourself enough time to apply for a Chinese visa at the Chinese embassy in your country with the documents we send you.

For summer studies, the rooms are usually fully booked half a year in advance. For spring, fall and winter, students are suggested to register at least 2 months in advance to secure the teachers and rooms at Keats. This also leaves you enough time to apply for a Chinese visa. Please make sure to check the course availability with us before you apply.

Keats School accepts cash, bank transfer and credit card payment. For payment methods, please visit this page.

After the full payment is made and the visa is issued, if it is not the school’s reason to cancel the course, the tuition fee cannot be refunded, since the study advisor will actively track your satisfaction with your program. We will make adjustments to meet your requirements, so that you think your investment worth what you get. If you need to stop the program for family reasons or any other urgent issues, we will keep your tuition fee and you will not lose your tuition fee. You can come back to use it anytime in the future.

Yes, we provide 8 to 10 dishes each meal for our students. Among the dishes we provide are cooked for vegetarians.

Yes, please bring your textbooks to Keats School and prepare a copy/book for your teacher when you arrive so that your teacher can prepare the lessons according to your level and your learning goals.

If you are a beginner, we use “Essential Chinese” published by Keats School which contains useful and practical words and phrases. If you are at intermediate or advanced, we use “New Practical Chinese Reader”, “Boya Chinese” , “Speed-up Chinese” , “Developing Chinese” depending on your levels and learning goals. After you arrive, you will meet your teacher to discuss about your learning requirements and goals, and your teacher will select one text book that is suitable for your level and learning goals. Your teacher(s) will also prepare supplementary materials to comply with your studies.

If you choose the HSK Preparation Course, we use the “HSK Standard Course”  and various HSK exercise books.

If you are a beginner and have not studied Chinese before, a minimum of 12 weeks’ Chinese language study at Keats School will help you master the basic understanding of Mandarin and basic conversations, such as booking hotel rooms, making Chinese friends, ordering food in restaurants, asking for directions, talking about hobbies and personal experiences, etc.

If you have a higher level of Chinese learning goals such as reading newspapers, watching TV shows, watching Chinese movies, talking about social issues, and if you have longer time available, we would recommend you take a 20-week or 24-week intensive Mandarin course to help you achieve a lower/upper intermediate level.

You are welcome to study at Keats. If you only know a little English, you can still study at Keats. English is just a tool we use to teach Chinese. However, in order to create an all Chinese language environment, we will use as less English as possible to help our students learn Chinese. We have helped many non-English speakers to master the Chinese language.

Yes, we provide a program certificate for all courses we offer. You will receive a certificate at the end of your program, stating how many hours of Mandarin lessons you will have completed.

There are two semesters a year for the small group classes: Spring semester and Fall semester. The Spring semester usually starts at the end of February. The Fall semester usually starts at the end of August. For exact starting date for each coming semester, you can visit the page for Small Group Classes.