Some foreign children here are spending the summer in classrooms, just like their Chinese peers, to study the Chinese language and culture. And they're not all from local expat families. Some have come from other parts of the world to Shanghai in order to have a better environment to learn the language.
This mandarin school has eight foreign students this summer. Ilona Khachadaluan from Russia says she's only been studying Chinese for two months, but already sees a big improvement in her Chinese proficiency. and can introduce herself easily.
One teacher says she tries to make it easier for the students to learn Chinese characters by associating them with gestures.
Foreign students can also get first-hand experience of Chinese culture here, including Peking Opera, calligraphy, and even mahjong.
More than 100 foreigners from countries including Germany, the United States, Switzerland and Japan are attending the two-week summer camp at the school, which costs at least five thousand yuan. And the school says more and more students want to study Chinese.
Another school has noticed an increase in the number of children who go to one Chinese city for a month to study Chinese, then return home for a while and come back to a different city for more language study.
Warren says he will go back to the United States after a month here in Shanghai, and maybe go to Taiwan at some point for further study.