Where abouts in China do they speak the most Mandarin?

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1

Hi,

I am planning a trip to China and one of my priorities is to go to a place where the main language of communication is Modern Standard Mandarin. I am not concerned with accents but I don’t want to encounter the situation that I face here in Southern Taiwan where the language on the street is mostly Taiwanese. I just want to hear Mandarin around me, on the streets, in the shops etc.

I have heard that there are a lot of local dialects spoken in China. I have been told that if I go to Shanghai I will mainly hear Wu, Xiamen will be Minnan and Guangdong will be Cantonese. Does this mean that I need to go to somewhere in the north?

I once read on a forum that Harbin has the most standard pronunciation but do they also have a local dialect that they will speak instead of Mandarin?

Also how will a my “fairly” standard Taiwanese Mandarin be perceived in China?

Thanks

2

The women will think you’re a sissy and the men will squint at you and grunt “Ah?”

3

I was in Beijing. I enjoyed the way they speak.

I heard that Haerbin has the most standard local dialect, but I’ve never been there. If you go, please report back.

4

How about going to Taipei instead? Mandarin everywhere.

5

[quote=“archylgp”]I was in Beijing. I enjoyed the way they speak.

I heard that Haerbin has the most standard local dialect, but I’ve never been there. If you go, please report back.[/quote]

I’ve been to Harbin. It’s a tough accent. Lots of phrases, words, locutions, not used in Taiwan so unless you point is to live in Harbin I am not sure how it really helps.

6

Yep, you would need to spend more time in Beijing as the accent phrases and vocabulary are different than what you would already know from Taiwan IE don’t expect miracles.