Mandarin by the sea
I came to Beihai in March 2024 for 4 weeks, studying each morning 5 days a week. It looked like a nice spot on the south coast of China at a time when a lot of China would be pretty cold. Beihai has lots of beaches, if that's your thing - and is big enough (1.5m ppl) to have a fair bit to explore, but not so big that it's overwhelming. Once you're up and running on a bicycle of electric scooter it's an easy (and flat) place to navigate. I didn't choose to stay in a homestay, as I couldn't afford to, so stayed in a hotel for the first fortnight, and then ended up renting a local apartment cheaply for the last few weeks (via a local friend I made on the beach). Overall I have enjoyed my time in Beihai (despite the sun not coming out quite as much as I would have hoped!). The school is small, and tucked away on the 5th floor of a shopping mall in the middle of the city. It's a quirky location, and does mean that if you're looking for a 'campus' style experience, this isn't the place to come. The set up is small but functional, with a few newly fitted out classrooms and a small kitchen/common room - there's an outdoor space to for when the weather is good. Even though I booked a group class I ended up in a one on one for 2hrs each morning as there we no other students booked into group classes at my level - it's probably best to expect that you'll do one on one classes here. The teaching I've had is good - and I was able to choose which aspects of learning I wanted to focus on (in my case listening and speaking), with no pressure to spend time on reading and writing. I have definitely improved in my relatively short time here. The school has organised a number of different social opportunities which were good fun, and it's a place where you can just walk around in a place with no foreigners and soak up being in China beyond the tourist spots. If you're looking for somewhere where you won't be surrounded by English speakers, and a fun friendly, if small, group of teachers and students to study Chinese with, Beihai is a fun and affordable place to come.