What is a 'bilingual school' (双语学校) in China?

Question

Priscilla Han · Accepted Answer

In mainland China, a 'bilingual school' (民办双语学校) is a private school that blends a legally-required Chinese national-curriculum core with international elements (often IB or A-Levels in the senior years). It is the category most mainland-national families actually use — because foreign-passport-only international schools (外籍人员子女学校) cannot enrol them. The label tells you nothing about quality — the bilingual tier ranges from excellent overseas-feeders to weak ones. Judge a specific school on published results, leaver destinations, and teacher retention, not on the word 'bilingual' or 'international' in its name. Because Chinese law requires mainland nationals in compulsory education to follow the national curriculum, the bilingual/private tier is generally the real option for mainland-passport families, with the international layer arriving more fully in senior school.