About Hanyu Peixun

Started out of necessity, stayed for the work

Hanyu Peixun began in 2019 when two language instructors in Winschoten noticed a gap: their colleagues and neighbours who needed to communicate with Chinese business partners had nowhere practical to go. University extension courses were too slow, apps were too shallow, and private tutors in the region were rare.

We started with one evening group of six people and a borrowed classroom. The core idea was simple — structured progression, small groups, taught by people with genuine experience in Chinese-speaking environments. No coursebook franchise, no certificate pressure, just useful language.

By 2022 we had moved to our own space on Parklaan and added online sessions, which now make up roughly a third of our teaching. We remain deliberately small — we're not trying to be the biggest Chinese school in the Netherlands. We just want every student who comes through a term with us to leave with something they can actually use.

Our approach in plain terms

Tones first, always. We introduce all four tones and the neutral tone in the first two sessions and keep coming back to them throughout the beginner level. A lot of schools push tones to later — we've found that's counterproductive. Getting the sound system wrong early is hard to undo.

Characters are taught from the start, but writing is not the emphasis in beginner groups unless students specifically ask for it. We use pinyin as a support, not as a crutch — it disappears from materials as reading confidence grows.

Classes are taught in Dutch or English depending on the composition of the group. We don't use Chinese as the language of instruction until students are well into A2 level.

Instructors