The New Asia--Yale-in-China Chinese Language Center was founded in 1963 under the joint auspices of New Asia College and the Yale-China Association, providing language training in Cantonese and Putonghua (Mandarin). The Center became part of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 1974 and has been teaching Chinese to local and international students ever since. In 2009, the Center became part of the Faculty of Arts. In 2024, the Centre became part of the Centre for China Studies and was renamed “Yale-China Chinese Language Academy (CLA)” while its Chinese name remains unchanged.
 

There are two sections in CLA, namely the University Programme Section (UPS) and the Continuing Education Section (CES). In UPS, courses are divided into four categories: 1) Putonghua for local students; 2) Putonghua for international students; 3) Cantonese for non-local Chinese-speaking students; and 4) Cantonese for international students. In CES, the student group comes from all walks of life. The programmes on offer, namely Foundation Certificate, Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma award programmes, are framed into the sub-degree award system of Hong Kong, providing an opportunity for local learners or people from Mainland and overseas to study Putonghua or Cantonese. Students in CES come from over seventy countries with diverse cultural and professional backgrounds. Some of them are notable members of the society.

 

Founded in the same year as CUHK, CLA has been contributing to Chinese language teaching over the past few decades. Our motto is “Walk the Language Road and Tie the Culture Knot”. We will follow in the footsteps of our predecessors and continue to promote the internationalisation of CUHK and foster cultural exchanges.