Blog

Because of China’s internet censorship laws, you may need to use a VPN when in the country if you plan to surf…

At CLI we’ve always known that Guilin is beautiful and we’ve been on a mission to share the beauty since our founding…

In addition to winning the USA Memory Championship, CLI Online student, Alex Mullen just set a new World Record in Speed Cards…

We had the privilege of sitting down with Ben Hedges, founder of Learn Chinese Now, and discussing a variety of topics including…

 Shh! Don't share your goals. Derek Sivers, former CLI student, provides a compelling argument as to why we should keep our…

Not only was Jack Ma, 马云 Mǎ Yún, rejected from Harvard when he first applied, the university rejected his nine subsequent application…

Halloween in Guilin, China from Chinese Language Institute on Vimeo. Happy Halloween from CLI! 万圣节快乐！ Check out more videos by CLI.

If you're looking to improve your Mandarin skills while increasing your knowledge of U.S.-China relations, we highly recommend exploring the resources offered…

Yesterday CNN featured an article on Guilin’s Princes’ City. You can also read more about 王城 (Wáng Chéng), the “Princes’ City”, in…

Video game fans across the world are anxiously anticipating the release of Shenmue 3 (release date TBA), an open-world RPG that will…

Each year, CLI partners with high schools and universities around the world to create one-of-a-kind, fully customizable study experiences in China. On…

Let's meander together through a long abandoned and wildly overgrown Chinese fishing village called Shengsi (嵊泗). Shengsi is located near the mouth…

Simply put, Peter Stewart's photography is astonishing. His images, taken throughout China's Guangxi Province, are vivid yet surreal. As a fine art…

Michael Steverson is an American born documentary and travel photographer living in Liuzhou, China. His work portrays the people and cultures of…

We're already halfway through our first month of 2015, and Chinese New Year is just around the corner in February. Above are…

Last week, CLI said goodbye to a very special group: our fall semester Study Abroad students from SUNY New Paltz. CLI hosted…

On Friday, CLI hosted its annual Homestay Potluck Dinner to celebrate our homestay families. Each person brought one dish -- and with…

包饺子！ CLI recently hosted a dumpling making party in the CLI kitchen! Dumpling making is often a social activity in China, with…

Michelle Obama and her daughters Sasha and Malia recently made a weeklong trip to China, spending time in Beijing, Xi'an, and Chengdu.…

Students, teachers, and other festive members of the CLI community celebrated the holiday season this week with a hotpot feast fit for…

CLI continues to strive to be a beacon, or in our case a glowing Chinese lantern, for Chinese language and culture. This…

There may not be snow in Guilin, but winter is still winter and with the changing seasons come new opportunities to experience…

Trees inside living rooms, lights draped on houses, jolly old men in red suits ringing bells outside department stores, and cars pouring…

More great news from the Chinese Language Institute! Another major publication recently featured an article about CLI -- this time it’s the…

CLI students spent this past Sunday on a cultural tour of the Guilin countryside. We may have started a little early for…

This week CLI is bustling with the start of a new school year. Everywhere one looks there are new faces, new smiles, and a…

In its 2012 China travel guide, Frommer's made the following endorsement of CLI: "If you would like to extend your time in…

The physical space where we live, work and study has a profound impact on our progress as individuals and as a greater…

Last week, CLI adventured into Guilin’s countryside for an evening of swimming and dining.  The beauty of studying Chinese in China is…

CLI celebrated the red, white, and blue with its second full house of the summer season, welcoming students from a variety of…

Last week, CLI was delighted to roll out the red carpet for two college-level study tour groups hailing from four different universities.…

An adventurous group of CLI students and teachers found themselves in paradise this weekend – a fool’s paradise.  愚自乐园, or Yuzi Paradise,…

With Chinese Immersion Program student Mikko having just shared the beauty of Guilin with his visiting parents, CLI was delighted to welcome…

After more than two years of educational consulting and nine months as CLI's Educational Director, in September I bid a heartfelt farewell…

CLI is proud to unveil our new 5-story Mandarin learning center, completed just in time for the Chinese Spring Festival! Featuring twelve…

CLI is proud to announce that it was recently featured in the Washington Post! The article includes interviews with CLI's founders, Robert…

Each semester, CLI leads our students on a whirlwind tour of Yangshuo (阳朔), a countryside town fabled for its otherworldly mountain landscape…

This past weekend CLI led our fall students to Guangxi's famous Longsheng rice terraces (龙脊梯田) for two days of exploring Yao and…

The Chinese Language Institute team is pleased to announce a new partnership! CLI has officially joined forces with Lynchburg College and Spring…

During the annual Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, friends and family gather to celebrate the fall harvest and anticipate the arrival of the autumn…

This past month CLI guided its fall semester and short-term students to a nearby Guilin plastics factory. There, we surveyed the day-to-day…

This past weekend CLI led our summer session students to Yangshuo (阳朔) for two days of bike riding through Guangxi's karst landscape,…

CLI’s blog is a forum for team members, students, China experts and Guilin’s international residents to share their experiences in and thoughts…