In China, various customs are associated with the quality of fertility as symbolized by dragons. In Hunan and Hubei provinces, women wanting to be pregnant will let the dragon circulate their bodies and give money or gift to the dragon dance team as reward. A boy is placed on the back of the dragon and […]
The earliest Chinese writing system that has been preserved to the present day is the oracle bone inscriptions, which dates back 3,000 years to China’s Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). The ancient Chinese people believed that both nature and human affairs were governed by a kind of mystical force. As a result, divination was commonly used […]
In China, there are “four famous buildings”: Yueyang Tower, Tengwang Pavilion, Yellow Crane Tower and Penglai Pavilion. Yellow Crane Tower is said to be 1,800 years old. According to legend, it was once a tavern. One day, a Taoist priest visited the tavern. The tavern’s hostess treated him to 1,000 cups of liquor. In order […]
In the past, there was once a pagoda called the Leifeng Pagoda, situated on the shore of the beautiful West Lake (in Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province). According to legend, over 700 years ago, there was once a whit snake that was transformed into a beautiful woman named Bai Niangzi (also known as Madam White Snake), who […]
Chinese characters that represent numbers also have their own special meanings. One (yi, “一”) The Chinese people believe that “one” (“一”) represents the beginning of everything. The famous ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi once said that, in the beginning of the universe, “’dao’ created one”. “One” here refers to the chaotic state that existed before anything […]
Chinese characters that represent numbers also have their own special meanings. Two (er, “two”) As we know, the Chinese people believe that everything in the universe possesses two properties: “yin” and “yang”. Laozi also said: “one created two”. This means that the primeval “one” possessed the properties of both “yin” and “yang”. Because the Chinese […]
Three (san, “三”) The Chinese people believe the number “three” is a mystical number. Laozi once said, “Two created three; three created all things”. The world thus had “yin” and “yang”. Later, changes in “yin” and “yang” produced a great many new things. Therefore, the number “three” can represent “many”. According to legend, the beginning […]
Four (si, “四”) It is interesting that the Chinese character for “four” was originally written in 4 horizontal lines, like “one two three”. Only later it was written in this way—“四”. Comparatively speaking, the number “four” is a relatively unpopular number for the Chinese people. For example, the number “four” is often avoided (and replaced […]
Five (wu, “五”) The ancient Chinese people believed that the world was composed of five basic substances: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. These five substances are known as the Five Elements (“wu xing”). The Five Elements can represent everything. For example, the Five Elements can represent the five basic directions: east, south, west, north […]
In the ancient times, the Chinese people are quite pride of their hundreds of surnames. However, recently, with the publication of “Dictionary of Chinese Surnames”, there are more than twenty thousand Chinese characters for surnames. The exact number is 23,813. The simplest surname is the surname comes from Lisu people—“一” (yi, means one) and the […]
About studying Chinese here, I think the living condition is very convenient because the dorm is very close to the classroom. Our teachers really enjoy teaching Chinese. They are also very passionate. Compared with other cities in China, Kunming has really good weather.
I’ve been at Keats school and Kunming now for one month doing the one-on-one Chinese lessons with two different teachers. I really enjoy it. Both of my teachers are very friendly and patient. They really helped me to improve my Chinese, both of my reading and speaking. I really enjoy studying Chinese in Kunming as well. This city is really beautiful and the weather is nice, the air is clean. It’s one of the best cities in China to study Chinese.
The visa application was really straightforward, because Keats School helps us a lot with that. Keats has a big emphasis on conversational practice, so we learn a lot of vocabulary and daily life plans which is very convenient for us to go around town and speak with Chinese people which is the whole point of learning Chinese in China.
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.
They really care about what our interests are, what questions we have, what requirements we have. Then they adjust our Chinese language program content according to the situations. One teacher and one student, so it is easy to keep your focus for the 6 hours of immersion Mandarin lessons. It is very convenient to study, live and eat in one building.
I have 2 teachers, and I do 4 hours a day. So I have got Dong Laoshi and Jin Laoshi. Both of them are very good. They made the experience very nice to me. They are willing to help you whenever, so if you ever have a question here, the teachers are always there to help you whether it is visas, whether it is getting around the city. Everyone wants to talk to you.
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.
Before I came to Keats School, I had no confidence in my Chinese proficiency. I did not have the confidence to speak Mandarin Chinese and chat with Chinese people. However, after 4 months of study at Keats, I become more and more confident in speaking Chinese now. Studying Chinese in China at Keats School has been the best decision I have ever made. There are many games in the class, and my teacher’s teaching methods are also very interesting. My experience at Keats School has changed my view of China and Chinese people.