Omeida Chinese Academy

Fantastic program, amazing place, excellent teachers, it is the perfect place to learn Chinese, and immerse in the culture. There are options to suit your needs and level, and the teachers are able to adjust accordingly. The location is magical, and it never feels like a school. It is a community that you can be part of, and would want to be part of. The support from the staff is excellent, and while everyone can speak English at the academy, they encourage you to speak Chinese to them, no matter your level, which really helps to practice in a setting you don't feel uncomfortable in. There are also cultural classes, teaching you about aspects of Chinese culture, as well as language partner program, giving you more opportunities to practice Chinese.

Overall, it was a great experience. Yangshuo has a pleasant environment and atmosphere for foreigners to come and study for a while, especially for those who like nature. The staff was also very welcoming, and the small class system, allowed us as a student to engage more in the class and have lots of opportunities to ask questions. They also have many activities every weekend and a Chinese culture class every once a week, which was enjoyable. Overall, the eight weeks I had during this summer holiday were memorable and useful for me.

Great times in yangshuo, when in omeida, time flew, and the 6weeks i had went by in a flash. I think yangshuo is a great place for learning chinese, chinese culture, and about oneself.
The support i received since the beginning was great, and it really made me feel safe.
The learning is effective because you learn in class, and practice in the street or talking with chinese students, which makes it stay in your brain.
The activities were all fun, and the other events, such as the language partner or volunteering, made me always busy, which I appreciate.
My experience is very good.

I am a “mature” woman who in my later years have been able to take up a long desires wish to learn Mandarin. Omeida in Yangshou was the perfect fit, as I also had long wanted to see the fantastic landscape of the area.
I already had some basic knowledge of characters and I was put in a class (one on one for two weeks and a classmate for the remainder two weeks) where my listening and speaking skills were intensely worked on. Exactly what I needed! Compared to before my visit my listening and speaking skills are much improved.
I also have an interest in the skill of writing/painting the characters, so I did a course learning the intricacies of producing the right strokes to make characters. My teacher had great patience and gave me a very good insight into different styles of writing characters.
My husband also came with me to Omeida. He was a beginner in Mandarin and had an enjoyable one on one class with his teacher in the afternoons. The mornings he spent in a lovely village a short bike ride away learning Tai Chi with a Tai Chi Master.
The school also organises a lot of extracurricular and social activities which immediately gives you an introduction to people and culture.
I would highly recommend this experience to anyone who has an interest in Chinese language, culture and food. Although we are vegan we had no problems with getting lovely food. The fact that the school also provide lunch and dinner makes life simpler.

Omeida is one of the few full immersion programs in Mainland China that intertwines those wanting to learn English and students wanting to learn Mandarin. My classes were private one on one from 9:25am to 4:35pm with breaks during the class time and a good lunch break where we could eat delicious local food provided by the program. After class, other Mandarin students and myself would mix with the English learners where we'd practice our skills in real settings, cementing what we learned in class.