Where to Practise Your Chinese and Japanese

You  will find Chinese speakers and Chinese signs in

1 China and Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore.
For Chinese restaurants in Malaysia and other Asian countries, look for places open late at night and Orange Chinese lanterns.
Also food courts.

2 Chinese and

London's Japanese department stores.
https://www.japancentre.com/en/stores

Singapore's Japanese Stores:
Isetan, Orchart Road, for Japanese notebooks, diaries - in stationery and children's section; and clothes.
Daeso bargain shopping in Singapore.
Takashimaya department store in Ngee Ann City on Orchard Road.
Upstairs is Konokunia bookshop with Japanese books.

3 TV and Radio
Watch TV and hear the radio in Mandarin in China and Singapore.

4 CHINESE FILMS (movies)
Watch films in Chinese with English subtitles, or English films with Chinese subtitles in China and on Singapore Airlines. The same goes for Japanese.

5 Buy Chinese songs and videos.

6 Go to a Mandarin-speaking Toastmasters International club in Singapore. There are several. (See my earlier posts.) Sign in to the website Toastmasters International Find a club.

7 Meetups.

8 Polyglot clubs.

9 Couchsurfing puts you in touch with hosts in China and Japan, or brings Chinese and Japanese speakers to you home and stay overnight. But the organization is not only for staying free in the home of others, or hosting, they also have regular meetings in London and other cities, weekly or monthly, to speak other languages or meet those keen to learn your language.

To travel to a place with Chinese speakers:

AUSTRALIA
Melbourne
Sydney

CANADA
Montreal
Toronto
Vancouver

UK
London - Chinatown
Manchester - Chinatown
Many Chinese restaurants, one in every city, one or two in most high streets. They might speak Cantonese (from Hong Kong) but the symbols on the menu and prices are likely to be the same.
Chinatowns in London and Manchester.

LONDON
Also Japanese restaurants in London using the same symbols.
One Japanese restaurant is at Japan house which also has a giftshop, library, workshop events, and free exhibitions in the galery.
Japanhouselondon.uk

Chinese Cultural Centre
http://www.ccc.org.uk

UK
https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/arts/japan-house-everything-you-need-to-know-about-kensington-s-new-cultural-centre-a3869531.html
visitbritain.org
visitengland.com
visitlondon.com

USA
Chinatowns in major cities:
Boston, Chicago, Houston, LA, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC.

visittheusa.co.uk

CANADA
Large Chinatowns in major cities including Vancouver.

SINGAPORE
Mandarin is one of the four main languages and taught in schools. Many people speak Singlish, or might speak other dialects at home, Cantonese or another from southern China.
Visit Chinatown, on the blue Downtown line, MRT station Downtown DT19, and North East line. You'll also find inexpensive Chinese food and speakers of Mandarin and dialects in hawker centres (food courts) which are often in the basement or top floor of the shopping area in skyscrapers. You will see videos running non-stop in the MRT stations and hear recorded announcements in English and Chinese.

visitsingapore.com
singaporeair.com

CHINA - Beijing, and officially everywhere Mandarin taught in schools. Chinese symbols.

cnto.org

The Chinese symbols for China.

TAIWAN - Taiwanese.

ECUADOR
Quevedo

FRANCE
Paris

INDIA
Kolkata (Calcutta)

JAPAN - Uses the same written language (symbols) as Chinese.
Kobe
Nagasaki
Yokohama

https://us.jnto.go.jp/
seejapan.co.uk

MALAYSIA
Kuala Lumpur

More travel and restaurant information from:
Tripadvisor
Wikipedia
Wikitravel
Wikivoyage

Learn or keep up your Chinese and Japanese with
Duolingo




Chineasy


Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.