Learn Chinese on Instagram 📸 12 Must Follow Accounts (for 2024)

How to Learn Chinese on Instagram & Who To Follow in 2024?

It might sound crazy but you really can learn Chinese on Instagram.

Sure it won’t get you fluent, and nothing beats actual student-teacher interaction, but you can go a damn sight further than you’d expect.

chinese language podcasts

Why?

Because there are so many fantastic accounts out there these days, and we want to introduce you to some of them today.

The great thing with learning Chinese on Instagram is there’s a real mix.

You can follow flashcard accounts, you can follow cultural videos, you can follow schools, or individuals – there’s a little something for everyone.

It can be done casually, relaxing on your sofa at any time of day also.

EVEN IF you only have 5 minutes, it’s those 5/10 minute sessions that can make the difference over time.

Imagine you say to yourself on 100 separate occasions…

“Pfft, I’m going out in 5 minutes so there’s no point”

Multiply that by 100

You’ve just missed out on 500 minutes worth for study over time… every minute counts!

So, without further ado, let’s introduce you to our roll of honour, here’s the best accounts to Learn Chinese on Instagram!

Learn Chinese on Instagram #1 || @taoli_chinese

Learn Chinese on Instagram #2 || @chinesewithjen

Learn Chinese on Instagram #3 || @chineseclass101

Learn Chinese on Instagram #4 || @easymandarinteacher

Learn Chinese on Instagram #5 || @masterchinesewithpeipei

Learn Chinese on Instagram #6 || @chillingchinese

Learn Chinese on Instagram #7 || @unconventional_chinese

Learn Chinese on Instagram #8 || @cecelialeely

Learn Chinese on Instagram #9 || @naughtychinese

Learn Chinese on Instagram #10 || @learnchinesewithvicky

Learn Chinese on Instagram #11 || @mengmandarin

Learn Chinese on Instagram #12 || @ltl_mandarin

And there’s more…

Learn Chinese Culture on Instagram #1 || @dr.candiselin

Learn Chinese Culture on Instagram #2 || @informaltalks_official

Learn Chinese Culture on Instagram #3 || @blondieinchina

Learn Chinese Culture on Instagram #4 || @shasha77.daily

Learn Chinese Culture on Instagram #5 || @silkroad_journey

Learn Chinese Culture on Instagram #6 || @cultural_heritage_unlocked

Oh and by the way – if your favourite account isn’t listed, give it a shoutout below, we’ll include it on our list.

@taoli_chinese

TaoLi Chinese is a great Instagram account to follow for Chinese learners looking to master new vocabulary in the format of informative, condensed lists or several keywords with fun images.

TaoLi post quite regularly, so their casual content is perfect when relaxing in the morning with a cup of coffee or tea, and scrolling through your instagram feed.

TaoLi’s content is good for beginners, as they cover some basic vocabulary and some grammar occasionally.

They’re also great for more experienced Chinese learners looking to supplement their Chinese vocabulary bank with some extra additions.

They also have a youtube account, although their content is a little different as TaoLi’s cover the most common Chinese vocabulary and also some useful videos for improving your Chinese tone pronunciation.

If you prefer learning with a language study-buddy, TaoLi has you covered as well! TaoLi has a Facebook group with Chinese language learners posting their experiences and interests, where you could meet someone to study with.

FOLLOW @taoli_chinese here

@chinesewithjen

Sometimes simplicity is best and @chinesewithjen is just that.

Some accounts come across aesthetically pleasing when you visit the profile and this is one of them.

Jen serves up two kinds of post – a vocabulary flashcard, and a video where she introduces a word and gives an example sentence.

There is nothing groundbreaking about it, but ones things for sure, it’s a super useful way to learn Chinese.

The fact she boasts over 50,000 followers and counting proves this!

A number of people who speak many languages attribute learning sentences rather than words as a key method to learning a language – so on that basis, Jen has you covered.

What Jen also does well with her videos is that she makes sure the setting is pretty professional.

These aren’t just off-the-cuff videos taken in any setting.

She takes the time to use a microphone, and have a clear background, making the sound crystal clear – important when you are new to learning any language, let alone Chinese.

Jen is also on YouTube as well, with some slightly longer videos if you like her Instagram channel.

FOLLOW @chinesewithjen here.

@chineseclass101

The 101 language accounts are hugely popular and if you are a language learning, there’s a strong chance you’ve come across them on a Google search if looking for learn (insert your language of choice here) online.

ChineseClass101 provide a whole host of content which is useful for not only beginners, but also intermediate learners as well.

Learn Mandarin on Instagram

If this is account you particularly like you are in luck because there are pretty active online.

Their website is here, and they are also very active on YouTube with well over 350,000 subscribers to their name, and videos going up almost daily – impressive.

FOLLOW @chineseclass101 here.

@easymandarinteacher

There are many accounts, with any language, whereby individuals set one up and start teaching a language to their followers.

We saw one above with Jen and this is another one.

@easymandarinteacher doesn’t have the rigid structure of Jen’s account, and is a little more fluid with the content, sometimes including current affairs for example.

She also provides classes every so often and dabbles in sharing meme’s and song lyrics (whilst singing along by the way), recently in particular from one Teresa Teng.

A simple, but wholly effective account to follow to boost your Chinese for sure.

Learn Mandarin with Instagram

FOLLOW @easymandarinteacher here.

DID YOU KNOW – not long after publishing this post we ran a vote to find out your favourite Instagram account to learn Chinese, and @easymandarinteacher was the winner! Definitely worth a follow if that’s anything to go by.

@masterchineseiwithpeipei

Peipei actually came to our attention due to rather unfortunate circumstances.

At around 18,000 followers her account was hacked, leaving her locked out and at the mercy of Instagram.

You may or may not know that Instagram don’t make it exactly easy to gain access back to your account after a hacking.

LESSON TO LEARN – Turn on 2FA (Two Factor Authentication). You’ll struggle to get your account back after a hacking otherwise, as Peipei unfortunately discovered.

However, luckily for Peipei through sheer persistence, and a huge amount of support from fellow Chinese language teachers and students, she managed to gain access back to her account some time later.

If that steely, persistent nature isn’t worth the follow alone, her content most certainly is the cherry on top of the cake!

Peipei is a hugely popular teacher and often comes up when we run polls for favourite accounts.

She provides plenty of videos and hits common, daily topics that would appeal to all age brackets.

Her account is now safely back in her hands (we hope with 2FA switched on!) and she’s making great waves, now well beyond 20,000 hardened followers!

Well done Peipei!

FOLLOW @masterchinesewithpeipei here.

@chillingchinese

@chillingchinese is run by a lady called Karen who now has over 70,000 followers making the account one of the more popular Chinese learning accounts out there.

The account is of the simple variety once again – short, snappy videos explaining vocabulary or sentences, but given the subscriber rate, it’s clearly done very well – and we agree!

@chillingchinese have jumped aboard the TikTok bangwagon and they also provide the occasional free Chinese class on the Instagram channel as well – always nice to see.

Karen’s regular videos, smiley demeanour and useful content makes it a must follow for learning Chinese.

Learn Mandarin on Instagram

FOLLOW @chillingchinese here.

@unconventional_chinese

I must admit this is a particular favourite of mine, simply because it goes against your typical teaching account – clue’s in the name!

Keren is the lady behind the account and just to get an idea of who we are dealing with here I recommend you watch her intro video on her website. It’s only 37 seconds long but a clear insight into her as a teacher.

@unconventional_chinese is all about teaching you Chinese, unconventionally, shock!

Keren dislikes the traditional teaching methods and teaches you her way, using comprehensible input.

If anything the account is fun to follow and you’ll learn a lot of stuff you wouldn’t learn with many other accounts.

See the middle image below here – that’s Keren doing a live class with a cute kitten, unconventional if anything!

Learn Chinese using Instagram

Keren has a website (linked above) and a YouTube channel also with further content, and she also offers private lessons also which can be purchased on her site.

Despite the fact @unconventional_chinese doesn’t boast the huge follower numbers of some of these accounts, we know that’ll change soon.

A great person, and a fun follow where you’ll learn plenty for sure.

FOLLOW @unconventional_chinese here.

@cecelialeely

@cecelialeely is a must-follow account run by Cece, perfect for anyone interested in learning about chinese characters or improving their current chinese character writing.

@cecelialeely provides detailed videos on how to correctly write those particularly tricky characters and great tips about how to improve your stroke order.

But that’s not all!

From common writing mistakes that many of us make to overly similar characters to watch out for, @cecelialeely has all your chinese character writing queries covered!

@cecelialeely is also launching an online writing course, so be sure to keep an eye out for her new coruse soon!

FOLLOW @cecelialeely here!

@naughtychinese

Back to the unconventional again with another great account that is unique in it’s own right.

@naughtychinese delivers exactly what you’d expect it to deliver.

There’s no learning about how to say hello in Chinese or happy birthday in Mandarin here.

We delve into the world of Chinese swear words and insults here and it’s great fun to follow.

There’s something funny about learning the bad words in a language – I can’t figure out quite why?!

The account’s content is simply colourful flashcards.

Learn Mandarin with Instagram

As you’ll see above subtle isn’t a way to describe this account, more blunt and to the point!

They’ve racked up a few thousand followers and the account is still in it’s infancy.

If you want to learn some taboo topics – it’s a must follow!

FOLLOW @naughtychinese here.

@learnchinesewithvicky

@Learnchinesewithvicky offers informative and fun videos sorted into various categories such as Culture, Slang, Pronounciation and Conversation just to name a few topics that she covers!

Learnchinesewithvicky is a great account to follow, because her content is quite diverse, interactive and laid-back with amazing sound quality.

She also covers how to correctly write Chinese characters not only in the standard way, but also in cursive for those interested in making their handwriting really standout!

Excellent for beginner and intermediate students interested in learning some basic keyphrases and interesting apsects of Chinese culture, learnchinesewithvicky is an account you should definitely give a go!

Learnchinesewithvicky also has Youtube and Tiktok accounts, but her content is mainly posted on her Instagram account.

FOLLOW @learnchinesewithvicky here.

@mengmandarin

Like their name, @mengmadarin (梦 (mèng) means dream) is truly a dream come true for linguists and idiom enthusiasts!

mengmandarin regularly post catchphrases or idioms of the day, with a well-detailed character analysis.

Although their content is aimed at more intermediate students rather than beginners, mengmandarin provides neatly explained catchphrases, with the key characters separately written out and explained.

That is what makes mengmandarin suitable for anyone interested in Chinese sayings!

Surprise your teachers and friends by casually dropping a proverb during a conversation brought to you by @mengmadarin!

FOLLOW @mengmandarin here.

Oh speaking of catchphrases – check out our very own Chinese proverb of the day!

@ltl_mandarin

Saving the best until last?

Something like that!

Although I must admit, having been at LTL myself for over 3 years now I can state that our Instagram game has SIGNIFICANTLY improved recently, most in part thanks to our amazing Marketing team.

Free language resources are something everyone should have access to. Sure we are a school, but we also want to make sure the Chinese language learning community has the chance to pick up their phone and learn whenever they wish.

This is why we put hours of time into making our YouTube, Facebook and Instagram the best we possibly can.

Sure – it’s easy to promote ourselves but I challenge you to find a Chinese language school who gives you more than we do…

Learn Chinese with Instagram

Free flashcards, short cultural videos, vital vocab, a few laughs along the way – it’s all there, wrapped up in one great little account which YOU SHOULD FOLLOW!

Come on, you know you want to…

FOLLOW @ltl_mandarin here.

Discover the LTL Podcast

BONUS!

We’ve compiled 6 Instagram accounts that also focus on Chinese culture for you to take a look at.

Let’s check them out!

@dr.candiselin

@dr.candiselin is run by Dr. Candice Lin, a professional tutor specializing not only in both the Cantonese and Chinese languages, but also posting various informative short-form videos about Chinese and quite often Canonese culture.

As you can see, @dr.candiselin covers quite a large variety of topics, ranging from Chinese pop culture news and the hottest trends on Douyin to interesting cultural topics that you may have never heard about before, such as the airport culture in China!

If you love watching chinese dramas but struggle to figure out the massive Chinese pop culture industry, have no fear! @dr.candiselin should be your first stop to getting the breaking news and the latest trends.

@dr.candiselin’s content is fantastic for everyone, from long-time China enthusiasts to people curious about the Chinese culture.

FOLLOW @dr.candiselin here!

@informaltalks_official

@informaltalks_official is exactly what their username suggests; A group of people from various countries gathering together and have an informal, lively talk about a wide range of topics in Chinese.

Their content is fantastic, as @informaltalks_official host a panel of people from different cultures that discuss interesting themes, like how to become an experienced driver for example.

The guests then discuss their experiences back home, and share their insights and observations about the contrast with China, and provide us with an interesting perspective about the cultural differences.

You can definitely benefit from learning about the fascinating differences but also the occasional similarities!

If you want to improve your Chinese listening skills or maybe to get an interesting different insight into the Chinese culture through the eyes of another culture, then be sure to give @informaltalks_official a go!

Although @informaltalks_official have an instagram account, they have a much larger presence on their youtube channel, with longer detailed videos regularly uploaded.

Follow @informaltalks_official here!

@blondieinchina

Behind @blondieinchina is Amy, an Australian Beijing-based content creator, who documents her various adventures and fascinating experiences whilst living in China.

@blondieinchina’s content strongly focuses on the Chinese food culture and travelling in China, so be sure to check out her content especially if you are a fellow traveler or explorer yourself!

From documenting the most interesting cultural dishes from cities in China on her Instagram and YouTube accounts to providing valuable advice for living in China, @blondieinchina’s content is sure to be useful for everyone.

As you can see, @blondieinchina covers quite a large variety of dishes from all over China, but have you heard about the Eight Great Cuisines?

You’ll definitely like @blondieinchina’s content, especially if you’re planning to go travelling to China to try out all the tasty mouth-watering dishes for yourself!

Follow @blondieinchina here!

@shasha77.daily

@shasha77.daily is a Taiwan-based commentary chanel offering insight on not only Chinese and Taiwanese current affairs, but also on various global issues in a neat and straightforward format.

What’s great about @shasha77.daily is that they actively post on both of their Instagram and YouTube accounts, so if you prefer reading content rather than watching or vice versa, you have both options.

If you ever found yourself wondering about the protocol for dealing with annoying neighbours in Taiwan or why Taiwan banned vaping, @shasha77.daily is likely to have the answer to all these burning questions and more!

@shasha77.dailys content is in Chinese but with the option of English subtitles, so if you’re trying to improve your Chinese listening skills, then you should definitely head over to @shasha77.daily‘s Youtube channel.

Follow @shasha77.daily here!

@silkroad_journey

@silkroad_journey is a must-follow account for any Ancient Chinese fashion or culture enthusiast.

@silkroad_journey regularly posts about Ancient Chinese fashion in Chinese Drama’s and the history behind these gorgeous garments and accessories .

Whether it’s a Tang Dynasty Crown or a Qing Dynasty Goddess portrait, @silkroad_journey has detailed explanations about all of these artificats, including statues, portraits, musical instruments and many more!

Regardless of whether you’re a Chinese drama costume fan or just interested in Chinese paintings and sculptures, @silkroad_journey is sure to be of great interest.

Follow @silkroad_journey here!

@cultural_heritage_unlocked

@cultural_heritage_unlocked is a must follow for anyone with a passion for Chinese architecture and history.

Run by Jinze Cui, @cultural_heritage_unlocked features various fascinating and historical buildings and landmarks around China, with very vivid historical explanations.

As you can see, @cultural_heritage_unlocked posts a huge variety of fascinating historical places ranging from famous scholar’s courtyard houses to temples and halls built during the Ming Dynasty.

Regardless of whether you’re a huge fan of chinese architecture or just have an interest in beautiful landmarks, you should definitely check out @cultural_heritage_unlocked’s content!

Follow @cultural_heritage_unlocked here!


There you have it – 12 AMAZING CHANNELS to Learn Chinese and 6 to Learn about Chinese culture on Instagram.

Did your favourite feature? Have we helped you? Tell us below, we all want the best portfolio of accounts possible after all!

好好学习天天向上

BONUS – Are you studying Japanese too, and love following your favourite Instagram accounts? Check out our top accounts for learning Japanese on Instagram here.

Learn Chinese on Instagram || FAQs

Are there many Chinese accounts on Instagram to learn the language?

There are a lot more than you think!

Instagram is a super popular way to learn not just Chinese, but any language.

Is Instagram banned in China?

Instagram is indeed banned in China, alongside a number of other social media websites like Facebook and Twitter.

How can I access Instagram in China?

To access Instagram in China you will need a VPN.

Do LTL have an Instagram account?

We do – you can follow us here.

How about learning Chinese on YouTube?

We have an article with the best YouTube channels to follow for Chinese Culture and learning content: have a look here.

And of course, don’t forget to subscribe to the LTL YouTube channel.

Want more from LTL?

We offer a 7 day free trial to all new students where you can study Mandarin 24/7. Come and check it out free of charge and see what you think.

We also offer immersive Chinese courses in China. You can learn more about those here.

Sign up below and become part of our ever-growing community.

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19 comments

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  1. I love the HanCharacters account!

    1. Max Hobbs
      Reply

      So do we!! Really well put together and some excellent content for all levels as well which is also difficult for an account to achieve!

  2. Hattie
    Reply

    Jens account is really nice. Her tone is super easy to understand I find

    1. Max Hobbs
      Reply

      We love Jen's account, very easy to understand and a nice variety of structures to learn 🙂

  3. Great list! Will follow them

    1. Max Hobbs
      Reply

      Excellent to hear Des, we are sure you will enjoy them.

  4. Who knew you could learn Chinese on Instagram! It's not just for selfies!

    1. Max Hobbs
      Reply

      Indeed, it's sooo much more!

  5. Carly
    Reply

    Already followed some of these but also some new ones. Great list, thanks

    1. Max Hobbs
      Reply

      Glad we could be of help Carly

  6. Vanessa
    Reply

    Master Chinese with Peipei should definitely be on this list!

    1. LTL Team HQ
      Reply

      Hey Vanessa, yes Peipei has come to our attention more and more recently for sure. We just might have to include her in the list!

      Thanks for giving us a nudge!

      LTL

  7. laowai.idioms is a fun one

    1. LTL Team HQ
      Reply

      100% agree! Top shout

  8. Jamie II
    Reply

    Kerens channel is dope. she's hot too

    1. LTL Team HQ
      Reply

      😂 one of our favourite channels too Jamie

      1. After following unconventional Chinese for several months, liking her content, I interacted with her with fairly simple posts (not grovelling and starry eyes) and found her to be abrasive and rude, so I unfollowed her. There are heaps of great teachers on IG though. I like eazymandarinlican, and his spin off with three other teachers. Other favourites are nerudalingchinese, everydayeasychinese, and jennyfunchinese.

        1. Max Hobbs
          Reply

          That's a shame Kelly, we've always really liked Keren and her content but of course everyone has their own thoughts 🙂

          The other teachers you listed are great!!

  9. ‘Social media is China’s lifeblood’: The future of Chinese language learning is right at your fingertips! – Master Chinese Through Digital Media
    Reply

    […] Still intimidated? There are hidden gems lurking on Instagram. […]