Program Reviews

This summer I joined a group of other student, to participate in the BusIT weeks china.

In the 12 days I have been there I was never bored. Everyday was packed with a veriaty of exciting activities. These activities range from visiting an old chinese temple, to making dumplins with the group, to visiting big IT companies. All of these activities were well orginized and thought through.

We got to experience the fast pase of china's society. From payment to travel, every thing is and works fast.

Lastly, the guides of the trip were really amazing. They spoke good english, and were able to help with everything. There were guides from every city we went to, so we always had someone who was familiar with the area.

The trip was great, and i would absolutely recommend this program to anyone who wants to visit china, or just wants to be far away from europe for two weeks.

Really nice adventure. I had to opportunity to go to China or some countries in EU. I chose China because I didn't know a lot about China. This program is perfect if you want to get to know China. You visit different places in China and get a taste how life in China is.
The largest difference is the accomodation compared to what we are used to here, but some times you can find really good accomodation like the last hostel where we stayed in.

Overall a great adventure with fun activities!

Before I came to Beijing last September I did not know a single word of Mandarin. And while my original intention at the Hutong School was learning the language, I happened to meet most of my friends just there. Starting in a group of six we faced the seemingly impossible task to distinguish between the different tones or the difference between ch & zh.

Initially, I was concerned that perhaps twenty hours per week might be too stressful or time consuming, however in the end it turned out to be undoubtfully the right decision. Of course it does take dedication and motivation but it is worth it. I still recall the feeling of reward and accomplishment upon improving or extending your vocabulary. And this almost daily as the teachers really push you to your limit.
I was lucky enough to have a great group to study with. It was a perfect balance of competition and fun. Long after I left Beijing I’m still in touch with four out of five of them.
A huge plus of the Hutong School are the freetime activites they offer almost every other day. Ranging from archery, traditional cooking and sihtseeing/city tours over to Kung Fu workshops or movie nights. The offer includes basically everything you need to know about Chinese culture and is often even for free.
During the five month that I spent in Beijing, the ‚Hutong School‘ turned into a ‚Hutong family‘ for me. Big shoutout to my teachers and the staff at the front desk for having that much patience with me and my spontaneous ideas! From my first to my last day I could rely on them supporting me and properly preparing me for the international Chinese exam.

The other day I had the opportunity to accompany a European friend who studied Chinese in Beijing University. To be honest, I highly preferred the interactive lessons at Hutong School over this lesson where 12 students repeated the same story over and over again. While this is certainly not represantative for their language course, I am sure that the small classes in Hutong School provide more efficient studying.

All together the School was well structured/organized and while it is perhaps not the cheapest Mandarin School in Beijing, I would be surprised if there was an alternative that could compete with Hutong School in terms of teachers and programs.
If I’ll ever decide to continue studying Chinese in Beijing, I know where I’ll be going.

I interned for a month between August and September 2017. I stayed in 2 different Hutong School accommodations in Shanghai. The first was 4 metro stops and a short walk away from the school, just under half an hour journey in total, with lots of restaurants and shops around. The flat was big and spacious, and I shared with two others who I got on with. They left within a week and a half of me getting there however, and I told the coordinator that I didn't want to live alone- he sorted me out with new accommodation immediately, this one in an even bigger flat next to shops and restaurants about 25 minutes journey from the school with other roommates. I enjoyed my placement and the people I was working with, and felt had I had a concern I could have raised it at any point. They're really helpful with visas, arrival etc., and I also enjoyed taking part in cultural activities such as a nighttime bike ride around old Shanghai. It's a great place with great people, and the Chinese classes were amazing- there were only 2 in my group including me and the teachers were the best Chinese teachers I've had - really patient and make the lessons fun and interesting. Highly recommended!

The overall program experience was super. I recommend it for future students who want to learn something and are ready for a new adventure!

I took part in June's Summer Camp program. These two weeks went by very quickly ! We visited the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, the Confucius Temple, Beihai Park, and of course, the Great Wall ! We also attended an acrobatic show, an opera, and a tea ceremony. Finally, we discovered the chinese culture through learning chinese calligraphy, painting, knot, taichi, and mahjong... This program definitely immerses you into the chinese culture : We started our day with 4 hours of chinese, followed by many visits and activities in Beijing.

This summer Program is definitely a unique experience which gives you the opportunity to really improve your language skills : the teachers were extremely kind and patient. They were very invested and professional. They mainly spoke chinese, which really helped us improving your listening and speaking. But they can also switch to english if you really struggle. The courses are adapted to every student's level and capacities.

The guide who took us to every site and activity was extremely nice and friendly. She was even the one in charge of some of the workshops : Mahjong and chinese knot, which were among our favourite activities ! She's very communicative, flexible and receptive. She brought us to many different restaurants so that we could experience different local gastronomies (including the very famous Beijing Duck) She's always there to help you solving any problem you may have !

The school always assisted us, from the start, with our visa application, to the very end of our trip. The 24/7 support throughout our stay in China was very helpful and effective. Moreover, we also got to meet people from all over the world during our stay !

For all these very relevant reasons, I definitely recommend this program to everyone who's interested in learning chinese, visiting China or discovering its culture ! It's absolutely worth it and affordable !

The accommodation in Shanghai and Huang Zhou was okay for the price but in Beijing (Sanlitun Hostel) was really chaotic. I recommend finding another place in Beijing.

The pickup and dropoff when we arrived at the airport were good. The person was waiting for us at the right time.

We did lots of company visits in Huang Zhou and Shanghai. Those visits were super interesting because we had an introduction of the entrepreneurs of the startups in China.
In Huang Zhou, we had a workshop about Business Analytics, programming in R (Big Data).

The trip was really well organized, and the guide is really nice! She's a young woman who is really nice and helpful. She speaks very well Chinese and English so the communication wasn't a problem.

Overall:
I really recommend this trip! You learn the language, the Chinese culture, lots of new people, very good FOOD and lots of sightseeing like the Great Wall, The forbidden city, the bund in Shanghai, tea fields in Huang Zhou, and lots more!

Great trip
I loved HangZhou! Didn't like the other places that much. The guides (Karen + Hope) get a 11/10 from me.
We visited really important companies and people. The course was new for me. Maybe a bit too much theory.
It's very hot in here so make sure to pack lots of good looking light clothes!
We went out nearly every night and I recommend you to do the same. The nightlife is amazing and the people are really friendly. Just understand that nobody speaks a word english!
West lake was amazing.
Take anti musquito creme with you.

I really enjoyed my stats here in China , especially our 2 Guides Karen and mainly Esperanza were very good , very friendly , upbeat and open-minded. The trip was fully Packed so no day felt boring of tedious . The Company visits were very insightfull tot the business situation and opportunities in China , also the sight seeing was Well planned so i didn't feel like we missen something. The only thing Is wished for was that they workshop was more integrated with the week. 15 hours is a little tot short in my opinion to interact with the studentes and feel satisfied about the work we've done. Overall the trip was An amazing experience and a really good introduction to life in China as An it student.

The preparation before the trip started was not so great. I know it was the first BusIT-week and Jan was pretty busy, so I don't really blame you for anything! For the next time I would say you probably need to start making the preparations sooner and do more follow-up!

The trip itself is pretty cool! When we arrived at the airport, there was someone to pick us up and bring us to the hostel. Afterwards, we met our guide, Hope, who is my new favourite Chinese person! She's guiding us around very well, and we can always ask questions! Thanks to her, our trip is even more fun!

We're doing a lot of activities, which are pretty interesting as well, for example: Escaperoom, KTV, a boat on 西湖, company visits, etc.

The only thing I can say is maybe lower your total price by a bit. I'm not sure how much the hostels, food, and activities cost in total, but 1500 euro seemed a bit much to me, since we had to buy for our flights and visa as well.

To summarize, it's a nice experience, and I would recommend it to other people as well! I don't want to go back to Belgium!

Bertijn