Written by Emily Peng (Yale University), Student Correspondent for CET Beijing, Spring 2026
Before going abroad with CET Beijing, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect my day-to-day to be like. I knew we’d go to beautiful landmarks like the Summer Palace and have a week-long spring break (I went to Xiamen and Shanghai), but going into CET Beijing, I was in the dark about what a regular day of going to class would look like. But fear not, I’m here to shed light on this mystery! Below, I’m going to walk you all through a day in the life at CET Beijing.
早 (zǎo)! Good Morning!
Classes start at 8:40 AM every day for me, so I’m usually at least somewhat awake by 8:00 AM. My CNU roommate is usually still sleeping then, so I quietly and quickly gather everything I need for the day, freshen up, and head out the door to the dining hall by 8:25 AM.
These days, I can get away without a jacket because the sun is gloriously out to welcome spring. The greenery on campus is also stunning, now that the leaves have finally grown in. Even with only fifteen minutes to spare before class, I still make sure to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the beauty of campus as I speedwalk to get breakfast.
I usually beeline for a cup of 豆浆 (dòujiāng), also known as soy milk, and a carrot-egg bun. It takes less than a minute to order, grab, and pay, so I’m back out under the sunshine in no time. Walking to class is nice because I’ve got a pretty good system down: one hand holds the to-go cup of soy milk while the other holds my phone as I quickly review the flash cards I made the day before, all new vocabulary for today’s lesson. Of course, I’m always careful not to run into anyone or block the road or sidewalk!
When I make it to the CET building, I’m more often than not greeted by at least two teachers in the hallway with a happy 早 (zǎo), a casual way to say good morning, before I’m in the classroom with two to three minutes to spare.
Morning classes are split up into three sections: the first two sections are about reviewing and learning new material, and the last section focuses more on using what we learned in actual discussion. We have daily quizzes called 小考 (xiǎokǎo) which are not as scary as they sound, I promise. They’re also graded forgivingly. My class has a total of five students, so we’re very fortunate to each have a lot of class time to practice speaking Chinese. My favorite part is that every few days, we have an impromptu skit or debate in class using what we’ve learned, and it turns out to be a lot funnier than it is anxiety-inducing. Plus, our teachers are incredibly engaging and very encouraging, which makes it feel less daunting to speak and make mistakes, because it encourages us to learn!
下午好 (xiàwǔ hǎo)! Good Afternoon!
Lunch is one of my favorite parts of the day, solely because I get to talk to other classmates that aren’t in my classes. There are many different places to eat on campus: there are a few restaurants and the dining hall has three floors. Today, my classmates and I opted for a noodle place right next to our dorm. A bowl there costs about 20 RMB and the noodles are delicious! We just returned from our spring break, so much of our conversation revolved around our week-long adventures across China. I went to Xiamen and Shanghai, and I got to hear a ton about my classmates who went to Yunnan!
After lunch, we usually have afternoon classes and/or one-on-ones (and some classes also have one-on-twos). My class selected to take an elective about Chinese News and Media (新闻媒体, xīnwén méitǐ), which is exactly what it sounds like. We most recently talked about Pop Mart and other Chinese IP while using our newly learned vocabulary and grammar—a riveting conversation especially since this semester, almost all of my classmates are on the Labubu craze, including me.
But today was a special day—instead of having afternoon classes, we got to attend a talk by Jesse Appell, a previous CET student! I don’t know about you, but I am sometimes susceptible to falling asleep during lectures in the afternoon. This talk was not only right after lunch, but also wasn’t in English and instead in Chinese. However, I found myself awake and laughing along to his jokes. Jesse is a great comedian and had a wonderful presentation on his journey of studying Chinese and Chinese comedy, as well as his love for brewing tea. I would’ve never known about this talk without CET’s recommendation. They tend to put together a really nice, well-rounded set of activities for us to attend each week!
The rest of the afternoon was spent doing homework and unpacking my suitcase. Not exactly thrilling activities, but still important to do! Our homework consists of a review portion of the content we learned that day, a new article to read, and a corresponding worksheet with new material. Now that the weather finally permits it, many CET classmates like to sit on the outside deck of 中国房子 (Zhōngguó fángzi, China House), our dorm, and do homework with company and snacks from the nearby convenience store. (Recommendation: there is a brand of non-fried potato chips that we’re obsessed with and has become a staple snack while I do homework. It’s called 薯愿 (shǔ yuàn)!)
晚上好 (wǎnshàng hǎo)! Good Evening!
Around dinner time, instead of going back to the dining hall, I went to a sushi restaurant with another CET classmate and two of our CNU roommates. Another great perk of CET Beijing is that each week, everyone gets up to a 50 RMB reimbursement on an activity that involves Chinese culture or learning as long as it’s with at least one CNU student and at least one CET student. This week, we opted for sushi! I learned how to say a plethora of sushi-related words in Chinese like (of course) sushi (寿司, shòusī) and tempura (天妇罗, tiānfùluó). I also reserved the table! Turns out, reserving a spot at a restaurant is not as nerve wracking as it seems.
I ended the night with making flashcards for the new vocabulary that I’ll get tested on the following morning. It’s lights out by midnight for me, and after sharing a goodnight with my roommate (晚安, wǎn’ān), I go to sleep!
Thanks for following along with me on a day in the life of a CET Beijing student. Of course, it varies from day to day. Every Friday we have a weekly exam, followed by 中文桌子 (Zhōngwén zhuōzi), which is where we go out and eat lunch at a restaurant with our classmates and teachers. Sometimes, during the afternoon, we go out and sightsee. For example, we went to the Summer Palace a few Fridays ago. Later this week, we’ll have 国画课 (guóhuà kè), which is a traditional Chinese painting class, in the afternoon. While my day-to-day stays consistent for the most part, CET always has activities and opportunities to create variety as we live and learn in Beijing. Because of this, life in Beijing never gets boring.