Who's learning Mandarin? 210 million learners, celebrity kids and more

Students from 22 universities across 14 countries gathered in a circle.

One by one, they added their signatures to a banner that read, "I promise to speak only Chinese from today onward." They spent nine weeks in Shanghai this summer, studying Mandarin and soaking up Chinese culture, as part of NYU Shanghai's annual Summer Chinese Immersion Program.

There's just one rule: Speak only Mandarin.

Nearly 60 students joined the program, up 50% from last year.

"Nine weeks wasn't easy, but it was definitely worth it, and I hope to keep learning," said Faith Parker, a student from Virginia Commonwealth University.

The students' experience reflects a growing global interest in learning Mandarin.

It is already the world's second most spoken language by total number of speakers.

Here are four facts about Mandarin learning.

Fact one: Celebrity families are taking Mandarin seriously Learning Mandarin is becoming increasingly common among celebrity children.

According to the ABC, US President Donald Trump's granddaughter, founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla Elon Musk's son, and the children of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg are also learning Mandarin Chinese.

British actress Rosamund Pike, who is well known for her fluent Chinese and deep understanding of and love for Chinese culture, chose her own Chinese name Pei Chunhua (裴淳华) years ago.

"Chun" (淳) conveys sincerity and simplicity, while "Hua" (华) can refer to China as well as beauty and elegance.

During a visit to Shanghai with then British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in early 2026, she called Chinese "the language of the future," adding that learning Mandarin Chinese alongside English provides an interesting mental workout.

Fact two: 210 million people are learning Chinese globally China's Center for Language Education and Cooperation reported in May that global Chinese learners had reached 210 million.