Practical, conversational Mandarin for travelers. Navigate cities, order food, bargain at markets, and make real connections all in Chinese. Start with our free Travel Chinese phrase sheet.
The Travel Chinese track is built around the moments that matter most on a trip. Here's what we cover.
We focus on what you'll really use not textbook sentences you'd never say.
A focused program built around your travel date and the places you're visiting.
We tailor the language to your destination whether it's the hutongs of Beijing or the night markets of Chengdu.
You can travel in China with very little Chinese, but a small amount makes a large difference. English is limited outside major hotels and tourist sites, and signs, menus and apps are mostly in Chinese. Learning a handful of key phrases for transport, food and payments makes the trip smoother, safer and far more enjoyable.
You do not need to be fluent. A practical core of a few hundred words and phrases covers most travel situations: greetings, numbers, directions, ordering food, shopping and dealing with transport. Our travel phrases resource focuses on exactly this useful, high-frequency language rather than grammar you will not use on a short trip.
Even a few weeks of focused lessons before you leave will help. Six to eight weeks gives you comfortable command of the essentials, while a couple of months lets you handle conversations with more confidence. We shape the pace around your departure date and the kind of trip you are taking.
In large international hotels and some major attractions, yes, but elsewhere English is patchy. Taxi drivers, small restaurants, shops and rural areas often have little or none. Knowing how to ask directions, read a basic menu and confirm prices in Chinese removes most of the friction independent travelers run into.
Numbers and prices, directions, transport, ordering food and polite basics are the highest-value areas. Mobile payments are central to daily life in China, so language around paying and confirming amounts is especially useful. Our guide to payments in China gives helpful background for travelers.
Yes. In your first lesson we discuss where you are going, how you like to travel and what you want to be able to do, then build the lessons around that. Whether it is street food in Chengdu or business travel in Shanghai, the language is tailored to your actual itinerary. Book a first lesson to get started.
Book a first lesson. We'll talk about your trip, your level, and build a program that gets you ready.