Chongqing - "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." On a street in Chongqing, a Spanish tourist counted to ten in fluent Chinese. Asked who taught him, he smiled: "Social Media."
This is an everyday scene in Chongqing. Young people from around the world gather in this mountain city to chat in Chinese about prices, food and travel. On the other side of the world, Elon Musk wrote on social media in Chinese: "My son is learning Mandarin." Video of Donald Trump's granddaughter Arabella singing in Chinese was once shown during a China-U.S. heads-of-state meeting. Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed in 2025 that his granddaughter is learning Chinese. Mandarin also appears on the curricula of Britain's Prince George and Spain's Princess Leonor.
From celebrities and politicians to ordinary young people, a wave of Chinese-language learning is sweeping the world at an unprecedented pace.
A global trend too big to ignore
The numbers tell the story. According to Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 90 countries have incorporated Chinese into their national education systems, with cumulative Chinese learners and users outside China approaching 210 million.
The 2025 Duolingo Language Report presents global learning trends and offers another perspective: Chinese was the second fastest-growing language in the United States, with new Chinese learners up 216%. It was also among the fastest-growing languages in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia and Mexico.
China's domestic market for teaching Chinese as a foreign language grew from approximately 8.5 billion yuan in 2021 to 14.2 billion yuan (about $2.1 billion) in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 13.6%. The global online Chinese education market is projected to grow to $2.8 billion in 2026, driven by language learning demand, cross-border education and digital tutoring adoption, reflecting the expanding commercial footprint of Chinese-language education.
The popularity of HSK, China's Chinese proficiency test, confirms the trend. In 2025, HSK had more than 800,000 test takers; cumulative test takers exceed 8.5 million. The test now covers 168 countries and 1,477 test centers.
Behind Mandarin fever is trade
"Why learn Chinese?" In street interviews in Chongqing, answers varied, but one keyword kept recurring: useful.
A tourist from Myanmar said: "Because global business exchanges are now more open, and more and more Chinese are coming to Southeast Asia, we need to learn a new language." A Spanish tourist said: "I know Spain and China have very good business relations, so I think speaking Chinese will be very useful."
Behind these simple answers lies hard data. China has the world's second-largest economy and is a major trading partner of more than 150 countries and regions. Its Belt and Road network covers more than three-quarters of the world's countries. In Laos, two brothers from a farming family studied Chinese hard and later joined the China-Laos Railway. In job advertisements in Thailand, Vietnam and other countries, Chinese proficiency is often listed as a plus.
As prominent Indian journalist Palki Sharma noted, China is a manufacturing giant, a major trading power and a technological powerhouse, and one of the world's largest consumer markets. "Speaking Mandarin allows you to connect directly with the other side," she said.
Beyond trade: cultural IP as a gateway
If trade is the hard support behind Mandarin fever, culture is its soft engine.
A 15-year-old boy from Johannesburg, South Africa, wrote to Yangzhou University: "I want to understand the spells in Ne Zha and the story behind Black Myth: Wukong." A study by Yangzhou University shows that Chinese cultural IP is becoming an important driver of global Chinese learning, from Li Ziqi's short videos to the global hit Ne Zha 2, and the rise of Chinese micro-dramas.
On the streets of Chongqing, this cultural drive appears in a more personal form. A young Thai woman said frankly: "Because of Zhang Linghe, I learn Chinese." Another Spanish tourist said: "This is our third trip to China. If we could speak with locals in Chinese, the travel experience would be completely different."
Mandarin fever takes root in Chongqing
Chongqing, a city famous for hot pot and its maze-like topography, is an excellent window into Mandarin fever.
At the International College of Southwest University, international students from more than 60 countries study Chinese, with an annual enrollment of over 800. In November 2025, Southwest University and corporate partners launched a joint undergraduate training program in "Chinese+" majors. Drawing on 45 strong undergraduate programs open to international students, the program jointly sponsors 20 outstanding undergraduates each year to cultivate international talent proficient in both Chinese and professional skills.
On Chongqing's streets, one can meet Thai students studying Chinese at Southwest University. "What I like most about Chinese is writing," one said. Another added: "More and more Chinese are coming to Thailand, so we need to learn at least two new languages."
This is not an isolated case. In April 2026, the Southwest preliminary round of the Chinese Bridge Competition was held in Chongqing, bringing together more than 140 contestants from 37 countries. In Chinese, they told stories of how they met and came to know China. At Chongqing University, Chongqing Normal University and other universities, Chinese language training programs enroll year-round, from beginner to advanced.
The choice of language is a judgment about the future
At the end of an interview in Chongqing, we asked a French tourist: "Do you think learning Chinese will be as important as learning English?" He answered without hesitation: "Of course. 1.4 billion people speak Chinese, and China is strong in every field."
That echoes a sharp summary by Palki Sharma: "The language people choose to learn often reveals where they see the future."
When Musk's son studies Mandarin, when Trump's granddaughter sings in Chinese, when a Spanish tourist haggles in Chinese on a Chongqing street, when Thai young people open Chinese textbooks for better job opportunities, these seemingly scattered scenes point in the same direction.
The global Mandarin fever reflects the world's attention to China. More important, it reflects young people's active choice for their own future.