Language study in China
Find the Chinese language route that fits your time.
Four weeks, a semester, a year, or a language year before a degree: each has its own programme type and visa class. Answer three questions and read what the official texts say about your case.
- Rules cited to the article
- No HSK cramming content
- Nothing you enter leaves this page
Route selector
Three questions. The result lists the programme types that match, the visa class, and the rule behind each line.
The four things to settle
Read the rule before you read a brochure
Four ways to study Chinese in China
Short courses, non-degree language study, preparatory years and scholarship study programmes, with the rule each one rests on.
§2X1 or X2: the study period decides
Which Chinese study visa matches your course length, what each needs, and what happens after entry on an X1.
§3Terms and start dates
What the official texts say about start months and programme length, and why exact term dates come from each university.
§4Where HSK comes into it
Where the official texts ask for an HSK score, where they do not, and where to find the test itself.
What this site does not do
No school rankings or picks
Tuition, dates and course lists belong to each university's own brochure. We do not guess them.
No promises
Admission is decided by the school and the visa by the visa office. Nothing here predicts either.
No HSK prep
This site only says where an HSK score is asked for. Test levels and formats are on the official test site.
Guides
Start here
How to study Chinese in China: the four routes compared
A short course, a semester or year as a non-degree student, a preparatory year, or a scholarship study programme. What each is, how long it runs and which visa goes with it.
X1 or X2 for a Chinese language course: how the 180-day line works
The study visa follows the study period in your admission notice. How the 180 days are defined, what each visa needs, and what an X1 holder does after entry.
Refunds when you withdraw or transfer: what schools must publish
Article 14 of Order No. 42 requires schools to publish their refund rules for withdrawal and transfer, and it sets no refund percentage.
Chinese ability at graduation: the levels in the quality standards
The Trial Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China set graduation Chinese at level 5 of the International Chinese Proficiency Standards for Chinese-taught programmes, and at least level 4 (bachelor's) or level 3 (master's and doctoral) for foreign-language-taught programmes.
Chinese terms a language student meets: a short glossary from the official texts
The Chinese terms on a language student's papers are defined in Order No. 42 and in a 2008 Ministry of Education reply on forms JW201 and JW202.
Complaints and appeals: student rights in the quality standards
National texts require higher education institutions to publish complaint channels, tell students how to appeal disciplinary decisions, and file withdrawal and expulsion decisions for the record, under section 17 of the 2018 trial Quality Standards and Article 31 of Order No. 42.
If a programme is cancelled or suspended: what the quality standards require of the school
When a university cancels or suspends an international student programme, section 17.5 of the 2018 Quality Standards requires it to act on the principles of respecting students' wishes, fairness and appropriate compensation, and to settle refunds, loss compensation and transfer placement.
Entrance tests and assessment: what a school may hold before admitting you
Article 12 of Order No. 42 says a school shall test or assess foreign applicants before admitting them, and Section 2.2 of the 2018 Quality Standards says this must ensure admitted students reach the school's set entrance standard.
Outside services and admission: what the quality standards say
Under Article 12 of Order No. 42, the school decides on admission of international students, and section 2.7 of the 2018 Quality Standards says admission may not be entrusted to any external institution or individual as agent.
Nationality and identity checks at admission: what schools review
Under Article 2 of Order No. 42, an international student is a foreign student who does not hold Chinese nationality; section 2.5 of the 2018 Quality Standards requires schools to review nationality and identity qualifications at admission.
Insurance for every international student: the rule and what happens without it
Yes. Article 40 of Order No. 42 requires international students to buy insurance, and a student who has not bought it by the set deadline is not admitted, or, if already studying, is withdrawn or not registered.
Ask a question
Ask the Language Route Desk
An automated assistant that answers from the official texts cited on this site. It is not an official service and cannot decide admission or a visa.