Here are 10 reasons why you should study Chinese Mandarin

Learning Chinese offers many benefits to personal and professional growth not least gaining a better understanding of one of the richest cultures in the world. Millions of people travel to China to see the shrines, walk The Great Wall of China and indulge in the wonderful food markets in cities such as Beijng. Here are 10 reasons to learn Mandarin.

1. China is the most widely spoken language in the world

Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world with approximately 1,197,000,000 people speaking Chinese, of which 873,000 million speak Mandarin, according to infoplease.com therefore 14% of the global population speaking Chinese.

2. Countries that speak Mandarin

As well as China, Mandarin is spoken in countries such as Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Phillipines and Mongolia so if you do business in these countries then it would be beneficial to converse in their language.

3. Learn about history and culture of China

Chinese history and culture is one the richest and certainly the oldest in the world. China is renowned for producing beautiful novels, short stories, poetry and more recently excellence in film. Reading great Chinese biographies and watching short films about the history of China provides a greater understanding of the language.
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Photo from llee_wu Flickr photo stream

4. Make friends with different cultures

China has the biggest population in the world with approximately 1.28 billion people so learning the language gives you access to communicate with many people and connect on a deeper level. Get a Chinese pen pal to improve your writing and understand family life in China.
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Photo by rinhello Flickr photostream

5. It is good for business

Mark Zuckerberg is wowing audiences across the world with his new Chinese Skills, especially those important business executives in China. Infact, there are many top CEO’s that speak Chinese as a second language.