Program Reviews

I spend almost half a year in Shanghai doing a Chinese beginners course. I loved the whole experience but the best thing in China is definitely the food! It is amazing how you can eat every day something new without eating once the same thing! On every corner, at every time of the day or night you will find this little restaurants where you can eat home made traditional food. I can just recommend to try everything you get to try and do not be shy about things that might look a bit weird. About the Hutong School in Shanghai, staff and teachers are super friendly and helpful, but you have to be disciplined or very motivated if you want to learn Chinese. There are no strict rules you have to follow, no proper tests you have to prepare for except for the HSK, therefore, I would recommend to try to keep the track in the classes if your goal is to learn the language!
But my absolute top experience (which is not that much Hutong School related) during my stay in China was when I made a trip to Tibet. If you are in China, this is one destination which is so mind blowing I can not even describe it!

It was lots of fun joining this language school.
I'm still in contact with teachers from there.
They regularly offered trips to local places and even proxy places.
Unfortunately I never joined these because I was busy doing my thesis there.
The language school was mandatory for obtaining the 6 months visa.

Doing a language program at Hutong School was probably one of the best ideas I had!

My teachers was very competent and helped me improve my language skills on a daily basis (even though I wasn't the best student you can imagine). I was able to focus on the topics I wanted to while being part of an awesome International community.

The school is located in the centre of Shanghai and many times I could practice my Chinese with locals while being at a restaurant or simply walking down the streets.

The staff was really helpful from the moment I arrived to the moment I left, I am and I will recommend this school to my friends. Hopefully we'll come together again very soon : )

This is the second time for me at Hutong School in Shanghai. As before I was met by friendly staff eager to help both with practical problems and with making the most out of studying and living in Shanghai. The teachers are great and the groups are small.

The school itself is located in a really nice part of Shanghai with a metro station within 5 minutes walk. It is surrounded by both cheaper local restaurants and more expensive foreign restaurants and shops for those who are feeling homesick.

Every week there are activities organised by the school to get to know Shanghai and Chinese culture. It's easy to get to know other students through the activities and while waiting for classes in the common room in the office. Every now and then there are weekend trips at affordable prices to scenic areas outside Shanghai.

I've had fun in class, during activities and school trips and I definitely recommend Hutong School to anyone wanting to learn Chinese!

Nice school, where you can learn good and fast! Excellent teacher who are aware of what's your needs and what you wanna learn, and of your level.They try to make their class fun and useful. And Beijing is an amazing place!

I have been travelling all over the world since I was 12 but I never had an experience like this. China is wonderful and Hutong School is super organized. Classes, trips, activities, welcome parties, everything in the right place! I had the chance to improve my chinese and at the same time to know incredible people from all over the world. I would recommend it to everyone!

The teaching at Hutong School is of a really high standard, better than other schools I have experienced. They cater lessons to your abilities, and have assistance at the ready in case you have any problems. My Chinese level increased very rapidly enough for me to feel confident enough to pass the HSK level 3. The Shanghai school was perfectly located and everything I needed for my stay, I could find it around Hutong School. Extra curricular classes were a lot of fun as well, with anything from cultural visits, Chinese painting, Tai chi and my favourite dumpling making class!

After studying Mandarin at SOAS University in London(a hilarious but unfortunate name as SOAS means STD in Dutch..) I decided to further develop my language skills in Beijing and my choice of institute was The Hutong School.

The Hutong School not only offer language classes (from beginner to advanced) but also help with accommodation, visa (which is a little more complicated when not visiting for tourism), finding cheap tickets and anything you could possibly need help with. They also organise social events, which is nice when living somewhere you don't actually know anyone.

After a 10+ hour flight with a short stopover in Helsinki I arrived early in the morning. I picked up my suitcase, made my way to the exit and looked for the Hutong School representative.

The representative in question was no less than Bruce Lee himself. No, I'm serious, 1.71m, black hair, died 41 years ago.. Well, I guess the name was just a mere coincidence. Anyways, Bruce Lee was just lovely and I would meet him quite a few times during my stay in Beijing.
He took me to my apartment and on top of being picked up by China's most famous actor,Bruce informed me that my neighbour was none other that Jackie Chan himself! I staked out but never caught a glimpse..

My apartment was located in Dongzhimen, a really nice and central location only 4 bus stops from the school, 2 stops to Tiananmen Sq. and 2 tube stops from Dongsi and Dengshikou where I usually stay when in Beijing.
The apartment was, as I guess could have been expected, not quite as "nice" as presented on the website. There were cockroaches, it was dirty and located in a building that was generally pretty run down. However, this too had it's charm and as the location was great and a proper clean improved it a lot, I called it home.

I had 4 roommates; a Dutch guy who arrived the same day I did and would be there for 4 months doing an internship at the Dutch embassy whist learning Chinese, two Columbian brothers who had been in Beijing for 7 months, an American guy who had lived in China for 2 years already and worked for The Hutong School at the time.

After settling in, Bruce took me to register with the local police, as a "resident" you need to register and always carry this form with you. He quickly showed me where the supermarket was and took me to The Hutong School to get a level assessment, arrange my schedule and to meet my teachers.
The school is, well, on the contrary of what one would expect and is implied by the name, not actually located in the Hutongs (traditional Chinese style courtyards & houses), but located on Sanlitun bar street - probably the most popular tourist street in Beijing - think Kao San Rd in Bangkok. Not to mention the school, quite opposite of a house in the Hutongs, is a massive skyscraper with The Hutong School located on the 15th floor. Obviously less charming but it did make for great views.

I had a 2 hour private class every day and my teachers were just lovely (as were the rest of The Hutong School staff my I add).Being in China and constantly being immersed in Chinese improved my Mandarin so much.

I had really great time studying at Hutong School. The teacher, Mo laoshi, is really comprehensive and very friendly.
My internship was really interesting, integrating an international team and developing new projects! Thanks for all the staff!

When i first applied online to the courses the first thought i had was "people will be cold and heartless, foreigner school in china...doesn't sound like a good deal".
I couldn't have been more wrong. The first contact with the staff was through email and since i haven't had any problem whatsoever dealing with them about anything.
I had few issue appling for my visa but i've been helped a lot by the kindness of the staff who supported me since the first email i've sent them.
I arrived in the middle of the night and there was a guy from the school waiting for and saving me from the savageness of being a new "laowai" in the airport - if you've ever been in southern Asia, it feels the same: taxi drivers touching, screaming at you and overly concerned airport staff that look a bit suspicious -.
Anyhow, as soon as i started classes i realised how it feels like home to be at hutong school, how people is always there for you.
Classes themselves are small and cozy, teachers are usually around my age or so and usually extremely friendly.
As a matter of fact my teacher was so concerned about my health she brought me straight to the nearest farmacy and dealt with the ladies at the counter - and also helped to communicate with them suggesting words -.
Hutong school is simply an extrimely good place to study in, nice people around great staff and heaps of free extra activities that make you feel they really care about you.
Such a shame i can't afford to stay more at the moment, i'd love to stay here 'till my chinese gets decent!