Personally vetted instructors
Chinese for Travel tutors, lessons & classes
您好 nín hǎo The formal "hello," the safe register a traveler should default to with strangers, drivers, shopkeepers, and hotel staff.
Personally vetted Mandarin tutors who teach travel Chinese the way it actually gets used: airport arrivals, the dīdī cab line, restaurant counters in Beijing and Shanghai, the WeChat-Pay scan, the Bullet train, and the small phrases that turn a tourist visit into a confident one.
Your instructors
Chinese for Travel tutors for private lessons & classes
Strommen has been teaching languages since 2006 and we vet every teacher ourselves rather than running an open marketplace. The travel Chinese roster pairs well with a tight timeline; tutors are used to building eight to twelve-week sprints around a specific upcoming trip.
Filter by location, age, or price, then book a 30-minute free trial. Bring your itinerary, the dates, and any specific scenarios you are nervous about; the trial is the start of the plan.
Below are the Strommen tutors who specialize in travel-focused Chinese. Photos, ratings, and rates are real. Click any card to read a bio and book a free 30-minute trial.
旅游 lǚyóu — China on the ground
5 things every traveler to mainland China should know before landing
These are not optional cultural curiosities. They are the small, high-frequency moves that come up within the first hour of a Beijing or Shanghai arrival, and the ones that turn a tourist visit into a confident one. Save the list and book a tutor to practice them.
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01
Tone-survival kit
Mandarin is tonal, and skipping tones because the trip is short produces sentences native speakers cannot reliably parse. The survival kit is not the full tonal matrix; it is the ten or twelve high-frequency travel phrases (nǐ hǎo, xiè xie, duō shǎo qián, zài nǎr) drilled until the tones are reflexive, plus a working ear for the four-tone contour itself. A traveler who controls the survival kit communicates; one who does not is misheard at the counter.
e.g. 妈 mā (mother, high level) vs 麻 má (hemp, rising) vs 马 mǎ (horse, dipping) vs 骂 mà (scold, falling) — same syllable, four different words
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02
Mandarin vs local language
Mandarin (普通话 pǔtōnghuà) is the official lingua franca and what a travel course teaches. But local languages persist: Shanghainese (上海话, a Wu-family language) in Shanghai, Cantonese (粵語) in Hong Kong, regional speech in Chengdu, Xi'an, Kunming, and elsewhere. Mandarin works in service contexts everywhere on the mainland, but knowing which local language is underneath helps a traveler read the room.
e.g. Shanghai: shop staff speak Mandarin to you fluently, but switch to Shanghainese with each other; Hong Kong: Cantonese dominates daily life with Mandarin widely understood
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03
Alipay / WeChat-Pay reality
Mainland China has run mostly cashless since the late 2010s. Alipay (支付宝) and WeChat Pay (微信支付) handle nearly every transaction by QR-code scan. Cash is legal, foreign cards work at major hotels, but a traveler without one of these apps set up (foreign cards have been supported since 2023) operates awkwardly at the edges of how the country works. The relevant counter phrase is 扫一下 sǎo yī xià ("scan please").
e.g. At a Beijing noodle shop: the staff points at the QR code on the counter and says 扫一下. You open Alipay, scan, confirm the amount, and you are done.
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04
Beijing-vs-Shanghai service culture
The two cities have famously different service registers. Beijing service is direct and unceremonious: dishes are called out, the bill arrives with the food, politeness is not performed. Shanghai service is more polished and softer, partly because Shanghai has been a treaty-port and international city for nearly two centuries. Neither is rude. The difference shapes how a traveler reads the room.
e.g. Beijing waiter: "Spicy pork. Bill." Shanghai waiter: "Here is your spicy pork, please enjoy. The bill is whenever you are ready." Same transaction, different register.
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05
The where-is question (zài nǎr)
Almost every travel transaction collapses into asking where something is, and the Mandarin pattern is reliable. [Thing] zài nǎr ([thing] is where?). Cèsuǒ zài nǎr (where is the bathroom). Dìtiě zhàn zài nǎr (where is the subway). Northern register uses zài nǎr; southern register uses zài nǎli. Either works everywhere. A traveler who controls this single pattern can navigate most urban Chinese situations.
e.g. 厕所在哪儿？(Cèsuǒ zài nǎr?) "Where is the bathroom?" — the single most-used travel sentence after 你好 and 谢谢
About Chinese for Travel
Travel Chinese for Beijing, Shanghai, and the cities you will actually land in
Travel Chinese is its own pragmatic curriculum, and a learner with eight weeks before a Beijing trip is not the same student as someone aiming at long-term Mandarin fluency. A travel-focused tutor spends very little time on character writing and a great deal of time on the actual scripts a traveler hits: getting through Beijing or Shanghai Pudong immigration, hailing a Didi (the dominant Chinese ride-hailing app, much more useful than waiting for a cab), ordering at a restaurant counter when the menu is photo-led but the staff speaks no English, paying for everything with the QR-code scan that has replaced cash for most of the country, navigating a subway in a city of 25 million people, and reading the social cues around drinking tea, accepting business cards, and handing things over with two hands. Done well, eight to twelve weeks of focused travel lessons covers far more useful ground for a two-week trip than a year of general-purpose study.
The first honest thing worth saying is about tones, because tone-skepticism is the most common travel-Chinese mistake. Mandarin is tonal, and the four tones plus the neutral tone are part of each word, not decoration on top of it. The syllable "ma" with a high level tone is mother (mā), with a rising tone is hemp (má), with a dipping tone is horse (mǎ), and with a falling tone is to scold (mà). "I want to buy salt" (wǒ yào mǎi yán) and "I want to sell salt" (wǒ yào mài yán) differ only by tone. A traveler who tries to skip tones because eight weeks is short produces sentences that native speakers cannot reliably parse, even with context to help. The good news is that a tone-survival kit for a traveler is not the full tonal mastery of an intermediate learner. It is the ten or twelve high-frequency phrases (nǐ hǎo, xiè xie, duō shǎo qián, zài nǎr) drilled until the tones are reflexive, plus a working ear for the four-tone contour itself. A travel-focused tutor drills exactly that set in the first lessons, not the full tone-pair matrix that an academic course would cover.
The Mandarin-vs-local-language distinction is the second framing piece every traveler needs. Mandarin (普通话 pǔtōnghuà, literally "common speech") is the official language of mainland China and the spoken default in Beijing, the official register on national TV, and the universal lingua franca that an educated speaker anywhere in the country knows. It is what a travel-Chinese course teaches. But local languages persist and matter. Shanghai's local language is Shanghainese (上海话 shànghǎihuà), a Wu-family language unintelligible to a Mandarin speaker, used among locals at home, in markets, and in everyday street conversation; younger Shanghainese also speak Mandarin fluently, so a Mandarin-speaking traveler is fine in Shanghai service contexts. Hong Kong's everyday spoken language is Cantonese (粵語 yuèyǔ), another distinct language with its own tones and grammar; Mandarin is widely understood but a traveler who tries Cantonese basics is received warmly. Cities like Chengdu, Xi'an, Wuhan, and Kunming all have their own regional speech alongside Mandarin. Travelers should know which city they are visiting, because the experience of speaking Chinese to locals shifts subtly with the local language layer underneath.
The Alipay/WeChat-Pay reality is the third piece travelers learn at the airport whether they were briefed or not. Mainland China has run mostly cashless since the late 2010s, and the dominant payment systems are Alipay (支付宝 zhīfùbǎo, run by Ant Group) and WeChat Pay (微信支付 wēixìn zhīfù, run by Tencent). Restaurants, street vendors, taxi drivers, vending machines, museum tickets, and almost every small shop expect a QR-code scan as the default payment. Cash is technically legal and the major hotels accept foreign cards, but a traveler who lands in Beijing or Shanghai without Alipay or WeChat Pay set up on their phone (with a foreign card linked, which has been possible since 2023) will spend the trip awkwardly at the edges of how the country works. A travel-focused tutor walks new arrivals through the setup, the scan-to-pay flow, and the receipt-confirmation script at the counter (扫一下 sǎo yī xià, "scan please"), because the language and the technology arrive together at every transaction.
The Beijing-vs-Shanghai service-culture difference is the fourth piece worth knowing in advance. Beijing service tends to be more direct and less performative: a Beijing waiter calls out the dish you ordered, slaps the bill on the table when they bring the food, and does not perform politeness theater the way some Western service cultures do. Shanghai service is famously more polished, more international, and softer in delivery, partly because Shanghai has been a treaty-port and international city for nearly two centuries. Neither is rude. The Beijing register is direct, the Shanghai register is smoother, and a traveler who understands the difference reads the room better. Both cities are deeply hospitable once a foreign visitor demonstrates basic effort with Mandarin, and both cities react warmly to a tourist who says 你好 with reasonable tones rather than launching straight into English.
The "where is" questioning pattern is the fifth piece, and the one a travel-Chinese tutor spends the most explicit drill time on. Almost every travel transaction collapses into asking where something is: where is the bathroom, where is the subway, where is the train platform, where is my hotel, where is the restaurant. The Mandarin pattern is reliable: [thing] zài nǎr ([thing] is where?). Cèsuǒ zài nǎr (where is the bathroom). Dìtiě zhàn zài nǎr (where is the subway station). Wǒ de jiǔdiàn zài nǎr (where is my hotel). The northern register uses zài nǎr; the southern register uses zài nǎli. Either is correct and both are universally understood. A traveler who controls this single sentence pattern with reliable tones can navigate almost any urban Chinese situation that does not require detailed conversation.
A brief word on transit. Beijing and Shanghai both have excellent subway systems, signed in bilingual Mandarin and English (and often Japanese and Korean in tourist zones), with the station-area maps and the line numbers easily navigable for non-Mandarin readers. The Beijing Daxing International Airport and Shanghai's Pudong International are massive and well-organized, with English signage on the main routes. The high-speed rail network (高铁 gāotiě) is genuinely impressive (Beijing to Shanghai in 4.5 hours at 350 km/h) and ticket-purchase is now mostly app-based (Trip.com works for foreign travelers), with photo-ID verification at the platform. Didi (滴滴 dīdī), the dominant ride-hailing app, has an English interface and works for foreign-card users, and is dramatically more reliable than trying to flag a Beijing cab in the rain. A travel-focused tutor briefs travelers on these logistical layers because the language and the system are inseparable.
Our travel Chinese tutors include native speakers from across the Mandarin-speaking world, plus longtime bilinguals who have guided foreign travelers through trips and know exactly which phrases come up on day one of a Beijing arrival. Lessons calibrate to your itinerary: a one-week Beijing trip, a two-week Beijing-Shanghai loop, a longer Beijing-Shanghai-Chengdu-Xi'an circuit, a business-plus-leisure week with a weekend in Hong Kong. Bring your itinerary to the trial; a good tutor builds the lesson plan around it.
What you'll cover
Lessons & classes tailored to Chinese for Travel
Tone-survival kit and reflexive travel phrases
Lessons drill the ten or twelve high-frequency phrases a traveler needs (nǐ hǎo, xiè xie, duō shǎo qián, zài nǎr, sǎo yī xià) until the tones are reflexive rather than computed. Travelers do not need the full tonal matrix that an academic course covers; they need a working ear and a few dozen phrases delivered with reliable tones. Tutors focus drill time on exactly this set, not the chapter sequence of a beginner textbook.
Alipay, WeChat Pay, Didi, and the digital infrastructure
Tutors brief travelers on setting up Alipay or WeChat Pay before departure (foreign cards have worked since 2023), the QR-scan-to-pay flow, and the counter phrases that go with it. Didi setup for ride-hailing, Trip.com for high-speed rail tickets, and the bilingual subway systems in Beijing and Shanghai all get covered, because the language and the technology arrive together at every transaction. Travelers leave with the apps configured and the muscle memory for using them.
Restaurant, market, and counter interactions
Ordering at a Chinese restaurant collapses into a small set of moves: pointing at the photo menu while saying 我要这个 (wǒ yào zhège, "I want this"), asking the price with 多少钱 (duō shǎo qián), specifying spice level with 不要太辣 (bù yào tài là, "not too spicy"), and paying with the QR scan. Tutors drill the script in role-plays so the rhythm is automatic by the time you walk into a real Beijing or Shanghai restaurant on day two of the trip.
Itinerary-calibrated planning for your specific cities
A one-week Beijing trip is a different lesson plan from a Beijing-Shanghai loop, which differs again from a longer circuit that includes Xi'an, Chengdu, or Hong Kong. Tutors calibrate lessons to your actual cities and your actual interests, whether that is the Forbidden City and the Great Wall in Beijing, the Bund and the French Concession in Shanghai, the terracotta warriors in Xi'an, or pandas and hot pot in Chengdu. For deeper study after the trip, paths open toward conversational Chinese or Chinese for beginners. See also the Chinese classes page for small-group options.
FAQ
About Chinese for Travel lessons & classes
Do I really need to learn Chinese tones for a short trip?
More than people expect, yes. Mandarin tones are part of each word rather than accent decoration, and skipping them produces sentences that native speakers cannot reliably parse, even with context to help. A traveler does not need the full tonal mastery of an intermediate learner; the survival kit is the ten or twelve high-frequency travel phrases (nǐ hǎo, xiè xie, duō shǎo qián, zài nǎr) drilled until the tones are reflexive. Tutors focus drill time on exactly that set in the first lessons.
Is Mandarin enough for Shanghai and Hong Kong, or do I need the local languages?
Mandarin works in service contexts everywhere on the mainland, including Shanghai, because younger Shanghainese also speak Mandarin fluently and locals switch to Mandarin with outsiders without thinking. Hong Kong is the exception: Cantonese is the daily spoken language, though Mandarin is widely understood in tourist and business contexts. A traveler heading specifically to Hong Kong who wants the warmest reception might look at our Cantonese classes for a few sessions before the trip.
How do I set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign card?
Both apps have accepted foreign credit cards since 2023 (a major change for travelers). Download Alipay or WeChat from your home country app store before you fly, set up the account with your phone number, and link a foreign Visa or Mastercard. The major caveat is that some transactions still fail with foreign cards (occasional vending machines, certain small vendors), so a small amount of cash as backup is sensible. Major hotels and large restaurants accept foreign cards directly. Tutors walk you through the setup in the first lessons.
Will I be able to read menus?
Most tourist-trafficked restaurants in Beijing, Shanghai, and other large cities have photo menus and often English menus, so the immediate answer is mostly yes. Smaller restaurants, street stalls, and local-favorite spots often have Chinese-only menus. Tutors teach a small set of high-frequency food characters (米 rice, 面 noodles, 鱼 fish, 肉 meat, 鸡 chicken, 牛 beef, 猪 pork, 辣 spicy) plus the menu vocabulary for the kinds of restaurants on your itinerary. The point-and-scan flow handles most ordering situations even at Chinese-only menus.
How do I get around Beijing or Shanghai? Should I use the subway, taxis, or Didi?
All three work, with Didi (China's dominant ride-hailing app) being dramatically more reliable than trying to flag a cab in the rain. The Beijing and Shanghai subway systems are extensive, signed in bilingual Mandarin and English, and run dense networks at low prices; subway is the default for most travelers. Didi is the right choice for late nights, rain, or destinations far from a subway stop. Cabs are still common but the language barrier is higher than with Didi (which has an English interface). Tutors walk you through Didi setup in the first lessons.
What's the deal with WiFi and the Great Firewall? Will Google work?
Mainland China blocks Google, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, and most Western services. Hotel WiFi is fine for blocked sites only with a VPN, which most experienced travelers install before flying (ExpressVPN and Astrill are the two most widely used; both require subscription and pre-flight setup). For navigation, Baidu Maps and Apple Maps both work without a VPN, and Didi has its own in-app routing. For messaging, WeChat is the universal default and downloads to foreign phones without issue. Tutors brief travelers on the digital environment in the first lessons.
Are your travel Chinese tutors native speakers?
Most are native speakers from across the Mandarin-speaking world, and several have guided foreign travelers through actual trips, so they know which phrases come up on day one of a Beijing arrival. Each tutor's bio specifies background and teaching experience. For travel-focused work the relevant question is whether the tutor can calibrate the lesson plan to your specific itinerary and the current realities of digital infrastructure in Chinese cities, which is a teaching skill in its own right.
Can I take travel Chinese lessons online?
Yes. Most of our travel Chinese tutors teach online via Zoom or Jitsi worldwide. Several also teach in person around Los Angeles. The booking widget on each tutor profile shows their available formats and times. Online lessons work especially well for travel prep because the tutor can share their screen to walk through your actual itinerary, hotel confirmations, and the apps you will need before you fly.
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Book a free 30-minute trial with one of our personally vetted tutors. Private lessons or small-group classes — your choice.