Chengde (承德) is located in the mountains North East of Beijing.

The 150km drive takes only about two hours, but the city could not be more different to China’s energetic capital. Since the Kangxi emperor built his summer palace – called避暑山庄 literally meaning “Heat Avoidance Villa” – in Chengde to enjoy the cooler summer temperatures there, the city has been the second home of the Qing court.

It was here that the Qing built the famous Putuo Temple, the world’s largest wooden Buddha statue and the enormous imperial gardens in which the emperors were rumoured to tend to a small vegetable plot by themselves.

When the Xiangfeng emperor had to leave Beijing during the Opium Wars he fled to Chengde and ultimately died. It was there where power passed to Empress Dowager Cixi, leading to the demise of the Qing dynasty and with it a glorious period in the history of the city.

After the fall of Qing dynasty the Manchus and Chengde lost their political clout.

It last rose to prominence in 1952 when the accent spoken in Chengde was chosen as the basis of standard mandarin Chinese, but since then has a sleepy regional city that regularly gets confused with Chengdu, one of China’s largest cities and home of the Pandas.

Today Chengde is little known outside of China and the pace of life is markedly slower than in Beijing or Shanghai. Located in the mountains, the city offers a very high quality of life though with fresh air, great food and a very relaxed life style.

Yet the sights and history in Chengde are astounding and the city today is recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site. Just exploring the old summer palace and its gardens can take days.

The city is built inside the mountains along the Rehe (热河 or “hot river”) river and is divided into the old town, containing the summer palace, eight outer temples and most of the other sights and the modern part including the new university town.

The city has no expat community, and nobody speaks English, but the Mandarin spoken is considered the most standard in all of China.

You will be completely immersed into Chinese culture and the language environment, studying Mandarin individually with no contact to other English speakers.

Life in Chengde mainly revolves around food, hanging out with friends, sports, drinking beer and discussing how foolish the people living in a big city like Beijing are.

Before you will go there we will have a pre-Chengde meeting with you where you will tell us about your hobbies and interests.

Based on this we will put you in touch with local Chinese clubs or groups of friends to go hiking, play football, learn Chinese square dancing or anything else that interests you. The city actually has surprisingly much to offer in activities, especially with regards to sports and arts.

However, Chengde is a complete Chinese immersion experience.

This means you will need to be open to a very different culture and life style that is might be completely different to what you are used to. You also need to be willing to make friends and hang out with local Chinese, as there is no foreign community.

If you are looking for a more international life style and studying environment please do not choose this program. Have a look at our courses in Beijing or Shanghai instead.

Yes you can, but you will need to be ready for life in the real China. For students who have not previously been to China we do not recommend going to Chengde directly but first settle into Chinese life in a more international environment.

Chengde is complete language and culture immersion, but of course you are not alone there. Our local Chengde team is always available to help and support you if needed – if necessary also in English.

While progress of course always depends on the individual, language progress with the Mandarin Immersion Program is very fast. As an idea, usually a complete beginner taking the intensive immersion program with homestay would usually reach HSK 4 (B2) level within about four to five months. For a beginner, full fluency (HSK 5 or 6) can be achieved within about seven to twelve months, depending on the options chosen. The intensive program will get you ahead fastest, while the standard and individual options are roughly similar in terms of language learning speed. Students who live with a homestay usually improve faster, especially with their spoken Mandarin.

Note: we know it is a bit confusing, but the differences between HSK levels become bigger the higher you get. For example the step from HSK 5 to 6 is much bigger than 2 to 3.

You will take the train from Beijing to Chengde and be picked up at Chengde train station by our Chengde co-ordinator who will then bring you to your homestay or shared apartment.

Yes you can. It will mean a bit longer traveling time to Chengde, as Shanghai is further away, but everything else is the same. Have a look at our Shanghai Chinese immersion program.

There is no minimum language requirement to join the program and it is possible to join as a complete beginner without problems. Due to most people in Chengde speaking textbook standard Mandarin, in our experience most student’s spoken Mandarin level improves rapidly and they bridge the language gap very quickly. The biggest challenge is living in such a different culture without any foreign or international community around you. To succeed in Chengde is much more about your openness and willingness to adapt to another culture than your current Mandarin level.

Both Beijing and Chengde are incredibly safe cities. You can walk alone through any part of either city at any time of the day or night. China is one of the world’s safest countries to live in.

To avoid the temptation to speak English with other students when meeting each other before or after class, your mandarin lessons will be taught at your homestay or a tea shop or restaurant close by.

As a standard, arrival in Beijing is on a Sunday, you will travel from Beijing to Chengde on a Sunday and leave Chengde on a Saturday. If you want to book additional days’ accommodation in either city or have specific travel date requests this is usually possible. Please contact us to let us know what you are looking for.