Luanping positions itself as a center of learning

According to the State Language Commission, Luanping county, Hebei province, is the "only place to experience standard Mandarin", or Putonghua ("common speech") as the official form of the language is known.

"With our natural advantages for speaking Putonghua, Luanping has started to tap into and promote language-related culture," said Yu Defu, an official at the Luanping education bureau.

According to Yu, the county has established three "Mandarin Experience Pavilions" to illustrate the history of the language, map its distribution and that of several dialects, test people's fluency in Putonghua, and teach them how to pronounce consonants, simple and compound vowels, and tones.