Learning is just a matter of application

In a break from traditional Chinese classes, former computer programmer Wang Zhulong has designed an app that is more akin to a game than an educational tool.

Since it was launched in August, ChineseSkill has attracted 400,000 users - most of them are registered overseas - and attracted 5 million yuan ($806,000) in investment. Wang's team now has 10 full-time and five part-time employees.

"We aimed to design a fun way of learning Chinese and turn the tortuous learning process into a game. When students can answer the majority of questions in a section correctly, they are allowed to proceed to the next stage. Otherwise, they have to redo the section, just like playing a computer game," Wang said, adding that the biggest hurdle for foreigners learning Chinese is fear of failure.