Among all the air pollution problems in China, acid rain is the biggest one. Acid rain is rainfall that has been acidified. It usually has a pH lower than 5.6. It is formed when pollutants called oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, contained in power plant smoke, factory smoke, and car exhaust, react with the moisture in the atmosphere. Dry deposition, such as soot and ash, sleet, hail, snow, smog and low level ozone are forms that acid rain can take. As the emission of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide keeps increasing, the problem has becomes more and more serious. Now China is the third largest acid rain area, only next to Europe and North America.

There are many problems and effects caused by acid rain. It can cause buildings, statues and bridges to deteriorate faster than usual, and will pollute thousands of lakes, rivers, and streams worldwide. It will damage the ecosystems of the lakes and kills wildlife in these affected lakes, rivers and streams. It can also damage soil and the tree roots in it. When soil is acidified, tree roots are damaged, leaving them not able to draw in enough nutrients to support the tree. It will bring great harms to forest plants. Under this effect, nutrients in soil will be released, and leached out with the rain. As a result, the soil will become barren. In addition, it can make the aluminum elements in the soil released out from the stable state, so that the activated aluminum in the soil will be increased, which could seriously inhibit the growth of trees. When acid rain falls on trees, it will make their leaves turn brownish-yellow and the tree can no longer carry out photosynthesis properly.

The main areas affected by acid rain in China are the areas in the south of the Yangtze River, such as Sichuan Basin, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, and some coastal provinces such as Fujian and Guangdong. According to preliminary survey, the forests in Sichuan Basin is the largest area damaged, which is about 28 million hectares, accounting for 32% of the woodland area.

China has made great efforts on researches about acid rain for nearly 30 years. However, it is still quite limited in the funding, size and depth of the research. As a result, China still has a lot to do to solve the problems brought it.

Today’s lifestyle is fast-paced, to say the least. It’s all about getting everything you want and as fast as possible. Often, patience is not practiced. This is true when it comes to weight loss and why there’s a lot of buzz going around about Clenbuterol fat loss. Apparently, this substance shows fast results.

Clenbuterols was originally intended for use of people who have breathing disorders. Individuals with chronic asthma use this drug to make breathing easier. It acts by opening up the lungs to aid in an asthmatic’s breathing. Aside from being a bronchodilator, it also acts as a stimulant.

It has similar effects as ephedrine. Like ephedrine, Clenbuterol increases blood pressure while stimulating the central nervous system. But compared to the other stimulant, Clenbuterol’s effect is longer lasting and more potent. It is also thermogenic, meaning it produces heat by stimulating the metabolism of the person who consumed it. The thermogenic and stimulant effects are probably the two main reasons behind all the interest on Clenbuterol fat loss.

Indefinite suspicions about Clenbuterol fat loss continue to flood the health and fitness community. It’s important to know that it’s actually banned by the U.S. FDA. In 2006, an incident in Shanghai, China put the spotlight on Clenbuterol. According to reports over 330 people were poisoned. Pork, contaminated with this substance was consumed.

Another incident about Clenbuterol poisoning was reported in February of 2009, when at least 70 people from the Chinese province of Guangdong suffered from food poisoning. Reports say that the drug is fed to the swine to keep their meats lean. The food poisoning victims suffered adverse side effects like diarrhea and stomach aches.

Because of various Clenbuterol poisoning reports both internationally and locally, it is no longer approved for human consumption. However, the U.S. FDA approved Clenbuterol for treatment of horses with breathing complications. Naturally, the horsemeat is unfit for human consumption.

Regardless of the many warnings and concerns about the drug’s consumption by humans, some people remain stubborn. For instance, weight lifters and body builders use this substance to lose body fats fast. This drug is so popular in the sport and fitness circuit that even professional athletes illegally use it.

The International Olympic Committee bans athletes that test positive for this substance. For example, during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the Polish sprint canoer Adam Seroczynski was disqualified for using Clenbuterol.

Clenbuterol fat loss is possible, as many athletes and bodybuilders claim. However to knowingly consume an illegal substance for weight-loss can have serious repercussions beyond health related ones. The irony of pseudo health buffs consuming illegal substances that cause harmful side effects is confusing to many. There are a myriad of ways for individuals to lose fat and built muscle weight.

If you do your research you will find there are a variety of FDA approved weight loss pills available in the market. A little help from diet pills is not prohibited. But if you decide to start taking diet pills, pick the ones that are FDA approved. At the end of the day, would you trade your long-term health over losing a few pounds? Make the right choice. Clenbuterol fat loss has proven to have severe effects on humans and overall an unsafe way to lose weight.

The growing number of cancellations and nonpayment cases is leading many China suppliers to protect themselves from potential losses.

The financial squeeze in global markets is pushing an increasing number of China exporters to require risk-free payment methods or apply for credit insurance. The latter is gaining ground specifically for suppliers of high-value products.

Many small and midsize operations now specify TT as their preferred mode of payment. Compared with an L / C, TT is the fastest and most secure option for exporters. With this method, manufacturers ship out goods only after the money has been credited to their bank accounts.

Small household appliance maker Foshan Shunde Qifei Electric Co., Ltd. Ltd and freezer producer Foshan Shunde Weili Kitchen Equipment Co., Ltd. Ltd accept only TT as a form of payment.

Admittedly, TT is only completely risk-free for manufacturers. On the buyers' side, it requires trust that their suppliers will deliver on time and follow specifications. This is not a chance most customers are willing to take and businesses that refuse to accept other forms of payment inadvertently limit their export opportunities. Some companies, however, allow for mixed modes, receiving 50 percent or less of total purchase price via TT.

Larger manufacturers typically accept various types of payment methods, including via an L / C or an O / A. In such cases, many also buy export credit insurance to offset risk, including nonpayment. Similar to international credit rating companies such as Moody's, China has a number of watchdog organizations that analyze the risk of doing business with different countries. Among them are Dagong and China Export & Credit Insurance Corp. (Sinosure). It is these credit reports that big companies look at to determine whether to insure an order or not.

Home appliance maker Guangdong Galanz Enterprise Group Co., Ltd. Ltd buys short-term export credit insurance for all orders to be paid via an O / A and for some L / C transactions. This proved to be a valuable investment because the company was able to receive compensation from Sinosure against two nonpayment cases from an EU customer. The entire process took no more than three months.

Breathalyzers manufacturer Henan Hanwei Electronics Co., Ltd. Ltd, on the other hand, evaluates a client's credit history and payment capacity before insuring an order. Among the factors it looks at is the credit rating of the country where the buyer is based and if the customer tends to request payment deadline extensions. Although the company has purchased credit insurance for a few orders, so far none of its clients has defaulted on their payments.

Carpets and rugs exporter Shenzhen Dotcom Houseware Products Co. Ltd tries to gauge from e-mail communications and business meetings wherever credit insurance is needed for a particular buyer's order or not. The company has not yet insured any order.

But the growing number of nonpayment cases, which came first as a result of the global economic downturn and now due to the ongoing debt crisis in the EU, is encouraging more suppliers to apply for export credit insurance. This is particularly true for those offering high-value products.

Sun Fenix ​​Intl Trading Co. Ltd was burned once. Its customer from South America drafted an L / C, but the issuing bank then closed down so Sun Fenix ​​was unable to receive the payment. The company was able to sell the order of electric home appliances to other clients.

ShenZhen Hali-Power Industrial Co. Ltd, a maker of battery packs for digital products, plans to buy credit insurance for orders exceeding $ 100,000. Transactions below that amount have to be settled via TT.

Export credit insurance

How much a supplier will pay to insure an order depends on a number of factors, including the destination country's credit rating, payment terms, total purchase price, duration and buyer's credit status. There is no hard and fast rule, but most makers will include a portion of insurance fees in the transaction value if the cost is too high.

Once the exporter's sales team finds out that a client can not pay for an insured order, the insurance company is informed so that it can carry out its own investigation before claims can be settled.

For the first half of 2010, total short-term export credit insurance purchases increased 180 percent year on year to reach $ 67.62 billion. Premiums for high-value products in the same period totaled $ 14.84 billion.

To extend its reach, Sinosure recently launched new policies that can provide comprehensive insurance coverage even for small and midsize operations. The company mainly offers domestic trade, and short-, medium- and long-term export credit insurance.

The Pearl River Delta lies in the southern province of Guangdong, a short trip away from Hong Kong. It is China’s manufacturing heartland, and despite the continued industrialisation of the country’s interior provinces (with significant investments from the government in Tier 2, 3 & 4 cities this is likely to accelerate over the next few years) it is where most companies will initially seek to conduct any significant production outsourcing in the nation.

The majority of production lies in the manufacturing belt between the two megacities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou and there are literally tens of thousands of factories and facilities to choose from in these locations.

The cost savings and increased capacity make outsourcing to China, a “no brainer” strategic decision for many Western producers. There is a huge skilled workforce and massive developed capacity for manufacturing already in place, and whatever product you’re looking for there is almost certainly a number of factories ready and able to compete for your business.

That’s the headline and it is all true, what is often not said about China is that the marketplace is fraught with dangers for the unwary customer. It’s possible that your decision to outsource may lead to your brand being associated with the worst kinds of headline from developing nations.

Child labour? Mentally handicapped adults sold as slave labour? Wages so low and conditions so bad that workers routinely commit suicide? Massive pollution crippling the local environment and poisoning the local people? Shoddy goods that can lead to injury or death of users? All of these problems and more have been identified with Chinese production in the last year alone.

The key to avoiding these problems is of course to inspect your new production facilities, both regularly and adequately.

What are the barriers to successful factory inspection?

– Language – whatever you may believe about the idea that “the world speaks English”. It isn’t true in China; China has the lowest functional English literacy rate of any nation on earth. There are two major languages used in the country – Mandarin and Cantonese. Mandarin is the most widely spoken, but Cantonese may be vital in the south of the country, particularly if your provider is located in Guangzhou (and to a much lesser extent Shenzhen). You cannot rely on the supplier’s sales force (who are the only people likely to speak English in any given company) to act as an interpreter for you. If you can’t speak the language you need to use a translation service to make sure you understand exactly what the situation is.

– Culture – Chinese culture is widely different to traditional Western business culture. The first problem you are likely to encounter is the concept of “saving face” which means that your factory may well be economic with the truth (not necessarily because they are being fraudulent) to save themselves public embarrassment and more likely to say “yes” to your demands when they mean “no”.

– Timing – when you visit a supplier as a prospective customer they are likely to be on their “best behaviour” (which sometimes doesn’t mean very much) and all potential sources of embarrassment are likely to have been cleared away before you arrive (the ugly truth is that this could mean they lock all the child labourers away for the day for example) preventing you from making an accurate assessment as to their suitability.

– Understanding – it can be hard to validate even the basics in China, for example how will you know if that piece of paper purporting to be a business licence or for export permission is valid and genuine? The country is famous for copying anything that can be copied or faked and that includes paperwork.

– Information shortage – there is simply no real data held publicly in easy to access format that can help inform your decision, no customer review databases, no consumer protection society (or indeed much in the way of consumer protection regulation either) or reliable trade bodies to assist in informing your choice.

These barriers are not insurmountable and with care and planning it is perfectly possible to conduct your own inspection of your chosen factory. However the simple truth is that this is often an expensive and time consuming option, in today’s commercial climate delaying your outsourcing decisions can cost you market share and revenue.

One of the most common methods of getting round the barriers is to team up with a local quality assurance company to handle your factory inspections for you. Ideally you want to work with a business that is Western owned (local only companies have a certain reputation for writing more favourable reviews for suppliers based on compensation provided in a brown envelope by the vendor) and has a Western and Chinese workforce. These companies often have a good understanding of the local business environment and in addition to being able to overcome the barriers above, they have access to the local “grapevine” to better inform your outsourcing choice.

Whichever way you choose to conduct your outsourcing, make sure you include factory inspection as a vital component to ensure your success.

Sabah Tea, Sarawak Pepper and Bario Rice, together with Borneo Virgin Coconut Oil, Sabah Seaweed, Tenom Coffee and Buah Limau Bali Sungai Gedung, stand as the sole seven registered Geographical Indications in Malaysia (as of 2009).

Geographical Indications (GI’s) are one of the least known Intellectual Property Rights in Malaysia. Perhaps that is the reason behind the small number of protected GI’s.

In Malaysia, GI’s are governed by the Geographical Indications Act 2000. According to the Act, GI means an “indication which identifies any goods as originating in a country or territory, or a region or locality in that country or territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the goods is essentially attributable to their geographical origin”. The Act allows the producer(s) of the products from the geographical area, a competent authority or a trade organization/association to apply for a GI registration.

Examples of famous GI’s from Europe are Champagne for sparkling wine, Mozzarella cheese, Feta cheese, Tuscan olive oil, and Parma ham. GI’s that Malaysians may be more familiar with could be Basmati rice, Ceylon tea, Assam tea, Darjeeling tea, Persian carpets, Thai silk and Kanjeepuram sarees.

There are a few difficulties that may arise from registering and developing a GI. For instance, reaching a consensus on the relevant region/area and the quality requirements of the products does not come easily (One might refer to the recent issue over the highly prized Puer tea between the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Guangdong) unlike trademarks which are usually held by one individual or entity. A GI is usually owned by a number of people. Fortunately, these difficulties can be resolved with a round of meetings between the producers of the product or by creating a board which will decide matters pertaining to the GI. In Malaysia, an example of a board that registered and monitors a GI would be the Pepper Marketing Board, a federal statutory body, which registered the GI “Sarawak Pepper” for pepper and pepper products originating from Sarawak (a state in East Malaysia).

GI’s should be identified and protected because not only do they provide the ability for producers to market their products better and thereby increase their income, but GI’s also encourage a high standard of quality of production and promote tourism in the relevant region.

Consumers these days are becoming more and more discerning of the products they buy and are willing to pay more for quality. GI’s offer that guarantee of quality. In that sense, GI’s are similar to well-known trademarks as they denote good quality of the products on which the GI or trademark is applied.

Unfortunately, the assurance of quality given by a GI encourages third parties who are not producers from the region to ride on the goodwill of the GI and to label their products as originating from the same region as the GI. Consequently the GI’s value will be diluted and consumers will be deceived. Efforts should therefore be made by producers to protect their registered GI’s. Strict legal action should be taken against third parties who have no right to use the GI’s. It has to be noted nonetheless, that while registered GI’s inherently offer a certain protection to the producers, GI is similar to intellectual properties such as trademarks and patents in that the protection is national or regional, not global. GI has to be sought in other countries (where there is a registration system) if one wants strong legal protection there for their GI. Otherwise, action against wrong users will be by way of the tort of passing off (if available in a particular country).

The United States was once seen as the emerging front of the diamond market. It was the land of the American Dream, mass-consumerism, and new money. However, the United States’ economy is lagging behind the high growth markets in the east, namely India and China. While demand for Diamonds in the United States fell after the global economic crises in the past decade, markets have in fact surged in the East, to the point where within a decade, Chinese demand for diamonds could reach the same level as the United States.

De Beers has long been the monopoly holder of diamonds in the world, amassing about 95% of the World’s supply of diamonds at one point. They source their diamonds from Africa and India, and release it through select avenues and retailers on a limited approval basis. In an interview this month with London’s Financial Times, the Managing Director of De Beers, Garreth Penny stated that “What we’re now seeing, with China growing as rapidly as it is, [is] annual double-digit growth compounded over a period of five years.”

However, it appears that the surge of the diamond market in China is not solely due to the solid performance of the local economy and stock markets. A lot of it has to do with the wedding culture and traditions in China. According to Penny, 20 years ago, it was rare for Chinese brides to receive diamond engagement rings. However, today about 50% of couples married in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong buy them.

The growth of the diamond market in China is significant, since in 2009, China only accounted for 6-7% of the global diamond market, while the United States accounted for about 40% of it. De Beers has forecasted the Chinese demand to more than double by the year 2016.

A similar trend is visible in India today, where “the diamond jewelry business has been showing a growth rate of about 15% at a time when [just gold jewelry] has shown negligible growth.”The diamond jewelry market in India has been surging, and is representative of similar activity in India. According to experts, this is because with gold prices at an all time high, consumers are moving from investing in pure gold to diamond jewelry.

According to latest figures, in May 2010 alone, India’s polished diamond exports rose 73% from last year, to almost $1.8 billion. India has long been labeled a major hub of diamond cutting and polishing, and has a hand in 9 out of 11 diamonds that are produced around the world. Apart from India, Honk Kong and Dubai are also emerging as key trading areas.

It will be interesting to see how the balance of power between diamond trading centers shifts over the next decade. While the diamond industry is rebounding well from the global economic collapse of the past decade, there are many issues the diamond industry must deal with over the next decade, especially a decline in the diamond supply in the future. According to Penny, “These great mines that were discovered 10, 20, 30 years ago are not being replaced today. According to the data that is out there, we’re going to see some significant declines in diamonds.”

In China one of the most popular herbal teas is wang lao ji or wong lo kat in Cantonese. Wang lao ji is said to be a product that was commercialized and sold by Wang Zebang (nicknamed Wang Ji ) from Heshan in Guangdong province in 1828.

Currently sold as a herbal beverage, with the ingredients being seven different kinds of Chinese herbal plants: “Water, white sugar, mesona, dan hua, Bu Zha ye (Microcos paniculata Linn), Chrysanthemum flowers, jin yin hua (Lonicera japonica Thunb.), Prunella vulgaris, and licorice. (The “Dan hua” does not refer to eggs, but refers to the Apocynaceae species).

This is a seven part series exploring the contents of Wang Lao Ji seven herbal tea drink on FB Liangcha-Herbal Tea.

One of the major herbs in Wong Lo Kat is Xia ku cao, or Prunella vulgaris commonly known as self-heal, heal-all, heart-of-the-earth, and is a medicinal plant in the genus Prunella. It’s a perennial herb found throughout Europe, Asia and the North America and grows by spreading it’s roots underground. The flowers bloom depending on the climate and other conditions but generally from June to August.

For medicinal purposes, the entire plant is harvested when the flowers bloom, and dried. The leaves and small flowers are all edible.

Heal all is both edible and medicinal and can be used in salads, soups and stews. Medicinally heal all has been used in alternative medicine for centuries on just about every continent in the world and for just about every ailment.

• Plant’s constituents: betulinic acid, D-camphor, delphinidin, hyperoside, manganese, oleanolic acid, rosmarinic acid, rutin, ursolic acid, and tannins.
• Medicinal properties: antibacterial, antipyretic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antiviral, astringent, carminative, diuretic, styptic, and tonic.
• Medical Uses: fevers, diarrhea, sore mouth and throat, internal bleeding, and weaknesses of the liver and heart

There is clinical analysis showing it has antibacterial action, inhibiting the growth of pseudomonas, Bacillus typhi, E. coli, Mycobacterium tuberculi. Therefore, supporting its use as an alternative medicine internally and externally as an antibiotic and for hard to heal wounds and diseases.

Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer have a way of taking the life of overweight and obese people much earlier than the life of slim people. Scientists at the Medical University of Graz, in Austria, might have found the reason. When our cells divide, tiny structures called telomeres are involved in moving chromosomes to the “new” daughter cells. With each cell division, telomeres grow shorter, and shortness has to do with aging. The University of Graz, Austria, in March 2019, in the journal Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, reported on the link between fat tissue and its distribution of the shortened telomeres.

Researchers measured telomere length in the white blood cells of three hundred and seventy-five participants: they compared the telomere length with the amount and location of fat at fifteen sites. Telomere length was shortest in those who had high levels of fat in their…

• neck,
• upper arms,
• upper back,
• chest,
• abdominal area,
• hips,
• thighs, and
• calves.

It was found neck and hip fat were linked strongly with shortened telomeres. From these results, the investigators concluded excess fat is linked with the shortening of telomeres.

Medications used for treating diabetes have also been linked with telomere shortening. In January of 2019, the journal Aging reported on a study performed at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Hubei, China, and Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangdong, China. Telomeres in the white blood cells of three hundred and eighty-eight people with Type 2 diabetes were measured…

• Type 2 diabetics not taking medications had significantly shorter telomeres than treated diabetics.
• Type 2 diabetics treated with acarbose had shorter telomeres than those treated with other medicines.

From these results, the researchers concluded acarbose might have an aging effect.

In February of 2019, the Journal of Diabetes Complications reported on a study linking insulin treatment with telomere shortening. Investigators at the Capital Medical University in Beijing, China, and the Chinese Academy of Medical Science in Beijing, China, paid close attention to sixty-four people who had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes six years earlier. None had received insulin at the beginning of the study. Average telomere length decreased, although it lengthened in a small number of individuals. Out of 18 of the participants who had received insulin during the six years…

• 16 showed decreased telomere length, and
• 2 showed increased telomere length.

Insulin users were more than 17 times more likely to have telomere shortening than non-users. The use of insulin with high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels were connected with telomere shortening as well.

Although medications are necessary for many people who have been given a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes, controlling blood sugar levels without medications might be one way to increase their life expectancy, based on telomere studies.

“Betty” (her adopted Western name) is a fascination and an inspiration. I was introduced to Betty while I was touring a plastics factory in Shenzhen, about forty miles west of Hong Kong in Guangdong Province. As mentioned earlier, Shenzhen is part of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) established by Deng Xioping. Now, twenty-five years later, Shenzhen’s population is roughly ten million. About six million of these people are migrant workers who return home on the weekends and live in factory dormitories during the week. Shenzhen is the largest migrant city in China.

Betty was born and grew up in northern China where the native language was Mandarin. Her parents were rural farmers, but they insisted she go to school and study hard. Betty was a good student, hardworking and smart, and she was interested in many subjects. She studied Russian in elementary school, high school, and college, along with math and science. After college, Betty relocated to Shenzhen to take a “factory girl” job, where she assembled electronics for about US$80 per month. There, she had to learn Cantonese, the language of southern China, by studying at night in the dormitory and practicing with her co-workers and supervisors during the day. Eventually, she became fluent in Cantonese and was able to get a better job at the plastics factory at a higher salary and with better dormitories.

When I met Betty, she was the supervisor at the plastics factory, overseeing the production of semiconductor trays, medical device parts, and other plastic components, plus several hundred workers. As we toured the design and production facilities it was obvious she was in charge, being treated with respect by the employees. Her cell phone rang several times and she exchanged conversations and seemed to give instructions in Cantonese. After being introduced to several American and Western European visitors, Betty decided she should learn English to improve her chances for promotion, so she started taking English in night school. A few years and a couple of promotions later, she returned to Shenzhen University for her MBA, so she could understand more about Western business.

I was astonished that she would study graduate business administration (and that Shenzhen University would offer this degree) in the context of Chinese Communism. After all, an MBA is the most pro-capitalist education you can get anywhere in the world. But what we all come to realize is that China practices a kind of economic capitalism together with governmental communism. Business is done with a profit motive always in mind. In thinking about Betty, it seems that studying capitalism fits perfectly with her desire to have a successful business career. Profit has become the motive in China, and the tremendous growth throughout Chinese manufacturing over twenty-five years is the result. Betty is a good example of the surprises in store for you in sourcing and manufacturing in China. Any preconceived notions about what is and isn’t happening in China and about dealing with the Chinese are probably, at best, inaccurate and typically completely wrong.

When you come to China, expect the unexpected.

(c) 2012, Rosemary Coates.

Learning a new language can be done for fun or for more serious reasons. Some of the reasons that could compel you into learning Chinese include relocating to the country for educational reasons or to settle there because of one reason or another. If you are looking forward to doing business, creating partnerships or even working in the country or with its locals, then you might also need to learn the language. The challenge of learning a new language is inevitable, even when it comes to Chinese, but by doing a few important things, you can actually have an easier time learning the language.

1. Know the languages

When it comes to Chinese, you have to decide whether to learn Cantonese or Mandarin. Mandarin is the national language of Taiwan and China and is best for travelers and learners headed to the country. Cantonese on the other hand is the primary language in Guangdong province and Hong Kong and you can consider it if you are headed to those two locations as it is the dialect for Chinese overseas. Generally, Mandarin is easier to learn compared to Cantonese, which is characterized by more tones and changing slang terms.

2. Decide whether to speak or write Chinese

Considering that this is a language that is not phonetic based, learning to write will not help you learn speaking it. It may be helpful to learn reading characters if you are travelling so you can easily read menus and signs as well as interact with the locals. Writing the language can be done as enjoyable art.

3. Learn phrases rather than vocabulary

One of the easiest ways of learning Chinese it by learning phrases to help build vocabulary and not the other way round. This way, you are able to communicate by context, even when tones are not quite right. Remember this is a language with many words having a similar meaning even though they are used in different contexts.

4. Expose yourself more

Repeated exposure to Chinese will make your learning smoother and easier. This could mean creating time to listen to audio lessons and programs as much as you can so you can distinguish tones and reproduce them correctly. The more you expose yourself, the more you hone your speaking; it is really something you can best learn by hearing rather than reading.

5. Reduce pressure on grammatical rules

The vocabulary may be complex when it comes to Chinese, but the grammatical structure is simple. With the reduced pressure on grammar, absorbing the language is faster. Instead of concentrating on intellectually understanding the rules, focus on practicing the language and getting as much exposure as you can. When you listen and repeat over and over, learning becomes very easy.

6. Have fun while at it

You may be learning the language for serious reasons, but without enjoying the learning you will achieve very little. Join a language group, try language exchanges and watch as many Chinese movies as you can. Whatever you do just ensure you remain motivated to keep learning.