beijing yu yuan da xue, known as the beijing language and culture university, and formerly known as beijing yu yuan wen hua da xue, is a school fraught with both locals and foreigners. many students live on campus and a good amount live off. during the summer, they offer 4, 5, and 6 week courses of mandarin from an introductory level (a0) through an advanced level (e). they teach both pinyin and simplified characters with a heavy emphasis on both oral and written production. two hours are devoted to writing with one teacher and the second two hours are for oral practice with a different teacher. the school itself is nice enough for a school in china although the administration speaks remarkably poor english for a school specializing in foreign language instruction. there are several restaurants and cafes on campus as well as a dining hall. taking the summer classes is a good idea for students of all ages and ethnicities who want flexible and not too intense chinese instruction. other schools' programs offer much more intensive ones for diligent college students but bclu is ideal for business people or people who want to be able to spend a good amount of time exploring beijing on their own with schedule flexibility.