Popular Post eion_padraig Posted July 4, 2015 at 02:44 AM Popular Post Report Share Posted July 4, 2015 at 02:44 AM So I just wanted to say if anyone is looking for a good private language school in Dalian, I ended up taking classes for 2 weeks at Dalian Panda Chinese Language School (大连朌达汉语学校). They're located just north of Friendship Square (友好广场) I decided to go north (I live in Guangzhou) after my vacation started to get out of the heat and rain, plus I figured folks in Dalian would speak a lot better Mandarin (they do).I ended up taking private lessons for 2 hours a day and a one hour speaking class with 2 other students (Korean). They rotated the teachers, so I ended up having 3 different ones. One was excellent, and the one two were good. I focused largely on filling in the gaps in my knowledge of grammar. I also attended a few free lessons on Chinese sayings, which were not quite as good as the other classes, but they were free. I think I paid 2400 RMB for 30 hours of instruction. Dalian's weather in June was really quite pleasant. Warm without being cold. I didn't end up using the air conditioning in my apartment during the whole time, but I kept the windows open with screens. I found local people I met on the street to be quite friendly. I found a few places I'd recommend. Bon Bon Cafe, which has great owners and a cat, is at Wuhan Ave and Duli Ave ( 武汉街，独立街). I spent a number of hours studying there and speaking with the owners and other customers in Chinese. I also went to the two locations for Brooklyn Pizza as I was craving a bit of American food. They have one at Bulao Ave （不老街) and one on Tianjin Ave (walking street; 天津街). While I was there, I went to a number of the tourist spots (Xinghai Square, Labor Park, Fujiazhuang Beach, Haizhiyun Park). I thought it was a good place to do some hiking and walking around. I was warned by locals that it gets windy and cold during the winter, but they said it doesn't snow much. So not a flashy city, but I have a pretty good impression of the place. I had some good seafood there too.Eion 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelS Posted July 5, 2015 at 12:31 AM Report Share Posted July 5, 2015 at 12:31 AM Thanks eion_padraig. That's worth knowing - I'm currently resigned to staying in Dalian a couple more weeks than I wanted to this summer, so maybe I'll take the opportunity to do some study. Do you have any contact information for them? Are they the kind of school that will do business via email, or is that asking too much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcdefg Posted July 5, 2015 at 02:31 AM Report Share Posted July 5, 2015 at 02:31 AM What did you do about lodging? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 6, 2015 at 08:46 AM Report Share Posted July 6, 2015 at 08:46 AM Thanks for the info. I spent a year in Dalian back in 2007/08 and enjoyed it - not the most exciting of cities, but clean, friendly and very liveable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 10, 2015 at 07:18 PM Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 at 07:18 PM Will people from other Chinese schools please stop downvoting Eion's post. It's like kindergarten in here sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eion_padraig Posted July 10, 2015 at 09:24 PM Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 at 09:24 PM Hey ABCDEFG, I found studio apartment through AirBnB. It wasn't super inexpensive (about 150 RMB), but I think it was less expensive than the decent hotels in the same area of the city. It also had a small kitchenette and a washing machine. Eion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcdefg Posted July 10, 2015 at 11:51 PM Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 at 11:51 PM Sounds like a good move. (Was just wondering if the school had a dorm or apartments of its own.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eion_padraig Posted July 16, 2015 at 07:56 PM Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2015 at 07:56 PM I don't think so, but then again I didn't ask. The only other two students I spoke with were just taking classes part-time and had lived in Dalian a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregorSamsa Posted October 9, 2015 at 08:38 PM Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 at 08:38 PM eion_padraig thanks for sharing man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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