A YNU teacher hosts the opening ceremony of the Mandarin learning project. [Photo/ynu.edu.cn]

The School of Chinese Language and Literature of Yunnan University (YNU) organized a project to promote Mandarin in Menghai county, Yunnan province, from Jul 11 to 17.

Ten teachers and postgraduates from the School of Language and Literature, the administration office, and the poverty alleviation office of YNU participated in the project. 

A team investigated five minority villages and found that most villagers couldn’t speak Mandarin very well, except for those who worked outside their village. 

Mandarin is a very important communication tool. Promoting Mandarin can improve people’s abilities to communicate with people from other regions and thus contribute to economic development. 

Over the course of seven days, a Mandarin promotion team taught villagers frequently-used Mandarin vocabulary and sentences, helped them download applications to learn Mandarin, and explained the significance of Mandarin to them. 

A series of Mandarin-related activities served to help villagers better integrate into mainstream society and is expected to contribute to the economic development of minority villages. 

YNU started promoting Mandarin in Menghai in 2017 in response to Mandarin promotion and poverty alleviation policies launched by the Ministry of Education, the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, and the Department of Language Application and Administration.

A YNU postgraduate teaches villagers how to download Mandarin-learning applications. [Photo/ynu.edu.cn]