Program Reviews

I was already living in Yangshuo when I spent 3 months studying Chinese with Omeida. My Chinese was patchy and I had quite a lot of vocabulary but not a good understanding of grammar. The teachers were incredibly helpful and the class was small so a lot of help was available. I advanced a long way in 3 months. I had tried to study formally before but found the approach with other schools or teachers was not well set out and confusing.
I did not stay in the accommodation or eat the food as I already had accommodation. The other students were very happy with the standard. You will not find a meal for 10rmb anywhere else in Yangshuo unless you eat noodles three times a day.
Yangshuo is a beautiful place and there are many opportunities to involved yourself in other activities such as cycling, climbing or hiking. Best to get outside the town and spend some time talking to the locals in the small villages if you want to practice your Chinese.

Overall, I think the program is great. The scenery is beautiful and the city is alive. You can study during the weekdays and go traveling during the weekends. The teachers had great knowledge in their field of study and they answered all my questions thoroughly. The scheduled weekend activities are really cool and would recommend attending (especially water rafting). The whole atmosphere of Yang Shuo is very relaxing and it was easy to get around and navigate. I really loved the Chinese roommate experience and Chinese dorm mates, I made some good friends. Lastly, Anya and the staff at Omeida do the maximum to make sure you ahve a safe trip to and from Omeida, Thanks! These are amongst the positive parts of the program.

As for the negatives they are little nuounces here and there. The food in the canteen was good, but I feel like it wasn't worth 10 yuan per meal. Overall, I feel like the program is more suited for beginners, as you can fall back on English anytime you want - this was one thing I didn't really like. I was hoping for a more submersed Chinese experience, but I found alot of staff (especially in English Department) talking to me (and others) in English. The city will probably bore you after 1 month, as it is really small. Probably the only major negative part of the whole experience was the housing. Some pretty big bugs crawled around and I squashed a cockroach or two.

Overall I'd recommend the program to any beginner/intermediate Chinese learner or HSK Test taker.

Living in yangshuo is lovely! Be carefull of mosquitoes, they are everywhere. I noticed there are no danger at all (except when crossing the main road!). Sometimes you don't understand how yo go somewhere or how to do something but is not a problem, just ask someone in omeida's office. If you are a smoker watch out cause Chinese cigarettes are horrible.
i suggest everybody that want to learn Chinese to go to omeida: school is well organized and there is a lot to do on weekends

Omeinda is a great choice. The teachers are perfect and they really teach in a good way. We practiced a lot of speaking and a lot of grammar structures. I had the chance that I was in a very small class, first week 3 students and second/third week we were only two students. The way of teaching is not the dominant Chinese way, it's more western style or even better. I arrived at Omeida and my Chinese was really poor but when I left three weeks later I really that the impression that my Chinese improved a lot!

Yangshuo is a great place to stay! There are a lot of outdoor activities and some fun bars! First I was affraid that all the people there speak English (it's a rather touristy city) but thats definitely not the case. You can still use your Chinese very often.

For me it was the perfect school and I really loved my time there. I will definitely come back one day!

I really liked being in Yangshuo! It's a small but very interesting town with many tourists coming from all over china and from western countries. Therefore you can find many western bars and (mainly young) people.
I didn't know any Chinese when I arrived there and I was surprised how fast I had learned enough to be able to write dialogs and stories in Chinese. The lessons are very good: challenging but also interesting. In my first week I was the only one in my class, then I had lessons together with another student and in the end we were three students. You can learn so much in a very short period of time and the teachers are so friendly and enthusiastic. You also get to know something about Chinese culture as there is a cultural lesson and a social night every week. In my opinion it's a great place to learn Chinese and a very beautiful one, too.

The Chinese teachers were always very helpful and patient. If I forget chinese words my teacher repeated it so often just I got it.
Sometimes I had lessons at the Yangshuo Parc, at Kellys or we visited the canteen kitchen to learn the words for vegetables or fruits. I liked very much this kind of teaching. I learned very much.
After four weeks par example I wanted to stopp eating in the canteen, because I had problems with my stomach. I got the rest of the money I already paid back.
I liked the social dinners too. And it was really great, that the teachers organized al lot of ativities. We had the possibility to meet somebody.
I was happy that I had the possibillity to visit the TaiChi-School. My favorite sports.

Next year I will come back to Omeida, to Yangshuo.

But there was only on thing that I don't like. It was the bathroom. It was very dirty. I would be happy to pay more money for a proper room.
The last two days I lived in the Tiffanys Hostel. It was the same room, but proper.

Every day I think of Omeida and my wonderful experiences and adventures I had gain.
Many greetings to Yangshuo....;-)))

I was only there for 1 week but couldve easily satye a month. All the stagf there is soooo welcoming and generous with their time, it really made learning chinese motivating! I followed the intensive classes and have learn much more than I wouldve hoped for. Moreover, the school organize activities almost everyday like hikes, social nights, chinese art classes, karaoke, visit of nearby villages on weekends, etc. This is a great way to meet ither foreigners and other chinese students learning english that will practice your chinese with you. Everything was great, would go again anytime! THANKS OMEIDA :)

I really enjoyed Omeida because everyone was very warm and welcoming and my teacher, Wency, was really great. Even though my Chinese level was already very high, I felt appropriately challenged and I was heard when I expressed a desire for change in the classroom. I was also really pleased by having only 3 students in my class the first week and only 2 the second week. It was great fun and I would definitely come back to this school again!

From the landscape to the community - you cannot get any better than Yangshou. Amazing excursions to the countryside, wonderful teachers and all at a fraction of the cost you'll find in Beijing. I was torn between well advertised programs in Beijing and Omeida in Yangshou - I was so happy I choose Omeida. I was able to learn and practice while also exploring (plus easy access to western food if you are feeling the need for a comfort coffee or crepe).

I was only able to stay two weeks but everyone helped me make great use of the time to learn so much. I felt I made progress and had a lot to practice back home and for a week in Beijing.

When I sent my first e-mail to Omeida fromout the wireless Chinese jungle, 2 weeks before I wanted to start, I was immediately impressed by the elaborated response to all of my questions + a lot of other relevant information and help I had not asked for. Both before I started my studies and during my studies, the people of Omeida put a lot of effort in making my stay in Yangshuo comfortable, which helped me to settle, have fun and focus on my studies.
I believe that there are many good Chinese schools throughout China, but as far as I know Omeida distinguishes itself from these by being located in the far more quiet, rural and natural Yangshuo. What I found in Yangshuo was a village life in an amazing environment (mountains to climb, rivers to swim in within half an hour cycling). Touristy and busy, but also lively. What I found at Omeida was a mixed group of Chinese students learning English and foreign students learning Chinese, intermingling as language partners and friends at both organized and unorganized activites.
In short, Omeida is a lively school in a lively environment. I made lots of great friends and had a great experience learning from and about the Chinese, the Chinese culture and the Chinese language. I would definitely recommend anybody to go!

ps. If you're set on going, please enter in the Pub Quizes at thursday night, beat the climb instructors and English teachers and rub it in their faces.