Why Hello, Mandarin?
Because the families of NYC’s best schools already know the answer

History & Philosophy

• Hello, Mandarin is New York City’s only arts-based Mandarin immersion program offering a complete, sequential curriculum from age 18 months through 12th grade — including AP and IB preparation. We are not a weekend class. We are a full language education built to last.

• Founded in 2019 by Dr. Jiaoyue Lyu — whose doctoral dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania examined what makes Chinese-language programs succeed across Pre-K through 12th grade — Hello, Mandarin is grounded in a single insight: children acquire language fastest when they live it. Not through memorization, but through music, movement, storytelling, and performance. That is not a philosophy. It is a research finding. And it is the foundation of everything we do.

• Our students perform from day one. Every Hello, Mandarin student — beginning at 18 months — performs in our Holiday Show and Annual Gala at professional concert venues. Nearly half of our Bryant Park Lunar New Year performers (four consecutive years, 2022–2025) are age five and under. Our 2025 Chinese New Year Gala was broadcast globally via SinoVision. These are not recitals. They are proof of fluency — built through art.

• Our venues: Lincoln Center · Apollo Theater · Bryant Park · NYU · Cipriani 42nd Street · Museum of Chinese in America · Queens Museum

A Community Built on Excellence

• Hello, Mandarin families come from 30 of New York City’s most selective independent and specialized schools. We serve children from The Brearley School, The Spence School, Horace Mann, Trinity, Collegiate, The Chapin School, St. Bernard’s, Buckley, Nightingale-Bamford, Convent of the Sacred Heart, and many more.

• This is not a coincidence. Families who have chosen the most rigorous academic environments for their children also choose the most rigorous, joyful, and research-backed Mandarin program available.

Spring 2026 Kindergarten Admissions:

• Hello, Mandarin students were admitted to The Brearley School, The Spence School (2 students), The Buckley School, The Nightingale-Bamford School, and Avenues: The World School (2 students) — among other placements.

The Founder

Dr. Jiaoyue Lyu is the founder and director of Hello, Mandarin! Dr. Lyu holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of Pennsylvania, where her research focused on what makes Chinese-language programs succeed for learners from Pre-K through 12th grade. She also holds a Master's in Music Education from New York University.

Before founding Hello, Mandarin!, Dr. Lyu was internationally recognized as a Guqin performing artist — giving the first solo Guqin recitals in the history of both Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. She brings that artistic depth directly into her curriculum: not as enrichment, but as the primary vehicle for language acquisition.

Dr. Lyu currently serves as the founding Chinese language teacher at a prestigious PK–12 IB international school in New York City, where she designs a Chinese program built to grow with students all the way through the IB Diploma Programme. Hello, Mandarin's curriculum reflects that same full-journey design.