Tiger Hill Park is located in a northwest suburb of Suzhou. The Sword Pool is the most spiritually significant part of the Park. Historical records show that the tomb of King Helv of Wu is located beneath the pond. Legend has it that he was buried with 3000 of his beloved swords. King Hlv was […]
Kun Opera originated in Kunshan during the Yuan Dynasty and flourished in Suzhou where the people went absolutely crazy over the opera. In the 200 years of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the people of Suzhou held annual musical concerts at Tiger Hill Park. These celebrations of the Kun Opera were held at the time […]
The 1st consideration was age. The prospective couple should be about the same marriageable age, which meant that on the one hand, they had to be old enough to live as husband and wife; while on the other hand, there should be a proper gap in age so that they would enjoy a harmonious marriage […]
Equestrian polo was a national spot in the Tang Dynasty. There were enthusiastic fans in all the social ranks, from the emperor to the ordinary people. Some players entered the officialdom because of their excellent performances. A son-in-law was selected according to his skill in playing the equestrian polo. There are a lot of examples […]
Antenatal betrothals meant that parents on both sides got their children engaged before were born. It was the ultimate embodiment of the parental authority. This kind of marriage had many disadvantages. Sima Guan (1019-1086), a scholar in the Song Dynasty, once analyzed it in his book “The Family Codes”, “By the time the betrothed came […]
Even worse than antenatal betrothals was posthumous marriage. It was also called marriage of the dead, or ghost marriage, which meant unmarried but dead young men and women were married in the nether world by the arrangement of their living parents. It is assumed that this custom came into being before the Qin Dynasty (the […]
The people of Suzhou have a flair for taking simple dishes and preparing them perfectly. Shen Fu’s “Chapters of a Floating Life” describes how his wife, Yun, “Makes cooking seem effortless. Whether preparing fruit, vegetable, fish or shrimp, everything she cooks tastes delicious.” The preparation of Suzhou cuisine is all about timing. For example, the […]
In the Chinese language, “低” and “高” is a pair of antonym which mean “low” and “high” respectively. And “调” means “tune, tone” and so on. So you know that “低调dīdiào” means “low-key” and “高调gāo diào” is the opposite. Chinese people advocate that people should be modest and calm, so when they remind people or […]
There was a poor man who did not drink. Before he went out each day, he would eat only two grain cakes, which invariably made him slightly tipsy. One day he met a friend who asked him: “Did you have a cup of wine this morning?” “Oh, no,” replied the man. “I only had some […]
The Tu Nationality mainly concentrated in Qinghai Province and Gansu Province. They speak the Tu language which belongs to the Mongolian branch of the Altaic language family. The Tu are good at dancing and singing. They are also know for their folk embroidery with designs like “five petal plum”, “cloud flower” and so on. The […]
My name is Sarah Fish. I am 81. I knew very little Chinese when I arrived. How was I going to survive 2 weeks of intensive Chinese course? I have to laugh when I think of that now. What a positive experience this has been! I really wish we could be here a little longer. The teachers are extremely encouraging, evaluating first how much someone knows, and then starting from there.
One thing I really liked was that I was able to work with my teacher to make an individual plan of study. Another really nice thing is that you live at the school, you feel completely safe. You always have a group of people who are willing to do things with you on the weekends or in the evenings. They are serving you all the 3 meals a day, the food was excellent.
Listening and speaking in the classroom every day has improved my communication skills. After three weeks, my new words and sentences became more and more natural and fluent. Now I am used to thinking in Chinese, and I understand better what other people say, to be able to have real conversations with other people.
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.
All teachers are really lovely. The teaching level at Keats is so much higher. I really love the city. It is very comfortable to get around. I fully recommend Keats. It is a great place to study Chinese in China. We are looking forward to coming back again later this year.
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.
The best part of the school is the patience the instructors had and the time to focus on the fundamentals like pronunciation. I think it is very easy to skip over those and go to vocabulary. But by learning the pronunciation, I feel like it helped me gain a better understanding of the language.
Kunming is a great place to learn Chinese in China because not many Chinese on the street speak English. Keats has been a great school for me and a lot of other foreigners who studied in China recommended it to me. I think they are all right. The study method here is really structured. They make learning Chinese really easy. There are also a lot of cultural and natural places to visit.