Mandarin Chinese immersion resources
Created: 20/03/2025 - Last updated: 29/06/2025
This is an ongoing list of Chinese media, divided by difficulty level. Don't hesitate to check the advanced section for immersion material even if you're a beginner! The division is a bit arbitrary anyway.
And always keep in mind that it's easier to gravitate towards media that you love - there's no point reading the news in Chinese every day if you hate reading the news, you need to find ways to make it fun and motivating!
Beginner level
This section contains mostly media created for children or Mandarin Chinese language learners, and music in which the lyrics are quite clear.
TV shows
- Steaming platforms:
- Bilibili is the Chinese equivalent to YouTube, and a lot of TV shows are available on it for free, sometimes with English subtitles
- iQiyi is a streaming platform specialized in East-Asian dramas and movies; although it's subscription-based, it has some free-to-watch shows
- Chinese kids shows:
- 爸爸去哪ㄦ / Bàba qù nǎr / Where Are We Goin, Dad? (2013-): a reality TV show in which dads take their kids to rural areas.
- Beginner-friendly Chinese shows:
- 家有儿女 / Jiā yǒu érnǚ / Home with Kids (2005-2007): a sitcom about a family with 3 kids, which has over 350 episodes.
- 三国演义 / Sānguó yǎnyì / Romance of the Three Kingdoms (1994-1995): a very famous adaptation of the classic Chinese novel of the same name - the fact that the characters speak quite slowly and clearly makes it ideal for language learners! Although the episodes have been officially released on YouTube, I personally prefer these fan subtitles by Gentlemen of the Han.
- Popular Western kids shows dubbed in Chinese, often available for free on YouTube:
- Bluey / 妙妙犬布麗
- Peppa Pig / 小豬佩奇
YouTubers
Podcasts
Reading
- Dú Chinese is a very practical app offering many texts of various levels. When you hoover over words, you can check their meaning, see grammar points, or even create flash cards with them! The SRS system isn't great, so I personally mostly use for reading practice, not for vocabulary learning.
- Chinese Reading Practice is a free website with some texts written in Chinese, organized by level of difficulty, and with English translations available.
Music