Photo by Andrey Safonov on Unsplash
Cheaper and slower-paced than Beijing, with a strong tutor market and a city that forces you to actually speak.
- How long
- ~84 days
- Cost
- $1,800 – $3,600
- In rupees
- ₹1.7L – ₹3.4L
- Starting level
- Beginner
28–365 days
$32/day
₹3,100/day
intense pace
Price covers: 12-week course, tuition + shared apartment. Range built from typical 2026 market rates. Verify before you book. Flights and visas are never included, and nothing here is a quote.
The price includes
- Tuition
- Somewhere to sleep
You come away with: HSK prep
Best months — Year-round
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HSKlow cost of livingfood city
While you're in the region
Is this a good one?
- Against others of its kind
- At $32 a day this sits well below the $48 median for language. It is cheaper than 12 of the 13 language options mapped here.
- Other things to learn in China
- 2 other options in China, starting with porcelain in Jingdezhen from $500.
- When to go
- Runs year-round, so this one bends around your calendar rather than the other way about.
- How long it really takes
- Most people give it 84 days, but the honest range is 28 to 365. That spread is wide because how far you take it is up to you.
Compare this against
The same question asked four ways — by country, by craft, by what it costs and by how long it takes.