Comments on: Why travelling isn’t the best method to learn Chinese https://www.hackingchinese.com/pros-and-cons-with-travelling-to-learn-a-language/ A better way of learning Mandarin Mon, 23 Mar 2026 08:05:50 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Stometa https://www.hackingchinese.com/pros-and-cons-with-travelling-to-learn-a-language/#comment-148756 Mon, 23 Mar 2026 08:05:50 +0000 http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=224#comment-148756 Really appreciate the nuance here, Olle — especially the point about travelling being great for consolidating what you already know, but not so great for building new vocabulary from scratch. That’s exactly been my experience.

I’ve spent a lot of time in Shenzhen specifically, and I’d add one more dimension to the discussion: the practical logistics of arriving in China can eat up so much mental energy that there’s nothing left for language practice. Figuring out which border crossing to use from Hong Kong, whether you qualify for the 240-hour visa-free entry, how to set up Alipay without a Chinese bank account — it’s all overwhelming in English, let alone in Chinese.

That frustration is actually what led me to build shenzhendecoded.com — a free English-language arrival guide with tools like a visa eligibility checker and live border wait times. The idea is to eliminate the logistics friction so that travelers can actually focus their mental bandwidth on the language instead of the bureaucracy.

Your tip about preparing before you go is spot on. The more you can offload the logistics to tools and preparation, the more of your actual travel time goes toward real Chinese practice.

]]> By: Don't be a tourist | Hacking Chinese https://www.hackingchinese.com/pros-and-cons-with-travelling-to-learn-a-language/#comment-127841 Wed, 29 Jan 2025 22:17:29 +0000 http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=224#comment-127841 […] As I’ve shown in two other articles, living in China does not guarantee that you learn much Chinese, and travelling is not nearly as good a method for language learning as people think. […]

]]> By: Chinese learning tools and resources worth paying for | Hacking Chinese https://www.hackingchinese.com/pros-and-cons-with-travelling-to-learn-a-language/#comment-125693 Mon, 25 Nov 2024 06:55:15 +0000 http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=224#comment-125693 […] In-situ immersion: As I’ve argued elsewhere, you won’t learn Chinese simply by living abroad, but engaging with the language in an immersion environment is an experience that can’t be entirely replicated either by using the internet or local communities of Chinese speakers. Using Chinese to communicate in real-life situations and being immersed in the culture is a life-changing experience. Even if you can’t stay abroad for long, I strongly suggest that you go if you get the chance. See this article for some counter-arguments about travelling to learn Chinese. […]

]]> By: Best of Hacking Chinese 2023 | Hacking Chinese | Hacking Chinese https://www.hackingchinese.com/pros-and-cons-with-travelling-to-learn-a-language/#comment-116141 Mon, 15 Jan 2024 08:24:33 +0000 http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=224#comment-116141 […] 四 Why travelling isn’t the best method to learn Chinese […]

]]> By: Julien Leyre https://www.hackingchinese.com/pros-and-cons-with-travelling-to-learn-a-language/#comment-370 Mon, 15 Jul 2013 10:21:21 +0000 http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=224#comment-370 You make a very good point about learning new words vs consolidating what you already know. (Well, you make lots of very good points, as you always do 🙂 – but this one point happens to echo with my own preoccupations more particularly)

In my experience learning and teaching languages, learning new things and consolidating the known are two different activities, but you need to do both to go towards fluency. I suppose there may be optimal arrangements to progress more quickly and with less perceived effort – but I’m not too sure what they are. Have you written anything specifically on this topic (consolidating what you know, and the best time to do it), or do you know anyone who has – I’d love to look into it more in depth :-).

]]> By: David Feigelson https://www.hackingchinese.com/pros-and-cons-with-travelling-to-learn-a-language/#comment-369 Sun, 14 Jul 2013 14:45:13 +0000 http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=224#comment-369 I found Taiwanese in Taiwan (in Taiwan) and Chinese in China (over the internet) more open to friendship than Chinese in the United States. I think language is more about the closeness of the relationship than any particular location.

]]> By: Sara K. https://www.hackingchinese.com/pros-and-cons-with-travelling-to-learn-a-language/#comment-368 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:16:04 +0000 http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=224#comment-368 Ha, if I could learn Chinese characters just by walking down the street in a Chinese-speaking area, I would have learned Chinese characters a long, long time ago (I grew up in a neighborhood with many Chinese-Americans and with many signs in Chinese).

]]> By: Olle Linge https://www.hackingchinese.com/pros-and-cons-with-travelling-to-learn-a-language/#comment-367 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:12:49 +0000 http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=224#comment-367 In reply to Marie.

Yeah, I’ve heard similar comments all the time. People seem to assume that language is learnt by magic just by existing in the country, which is obviously bunk. In fact, I’ve written an article about this that you might like. 🙂

You won’t learn Chinese simply by living abroad.

]]> By: Marie https://www.hackingchinese.com/pros-and-cons-with-travelling-to-learn-a-language/#comment-366 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:48:20 +0000 http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=224#comment-366 Very true and interesting article.
When I was struggling to learn Chinese in Paris, how many times did I hear people say ‘Why don’t you go to China?’ with a patronizing tone, implying that if I lived in China all my efforts would be avoided. And maybe I would learn the Chinese characters simply by walking in the streets of Chinese cities !

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