This will depend on you, but in the shared apartments most likely not as much. While it is usually very easy to meet your foreign flat mates, differently to people in many other countries, Chinese living in shared apartments are often quite reserved and more see it as a rent sharing arrangement and not as an opportunity to meet friends. As a result, most students living in shared apartments in China end up not meeting many local Chinese friends through their accommodation. So while a shared apartment is fun, easy and affordable, for cultural and linguistic immersion into China it is not necessarily the best option. At LTL we are very serious about helping our students to learn Mandarin quickly and truly immerse themselves into Chinese culture, not just living in an expat bubble and so are our students. The choice is of course up to you, but that means that most of our students choose to live in a homestay instead. If you are looking for immersion, have a look at the teach English or standard homestay options for a more immersive living environment. If you are looking for a complete immersion course in China, you might want to have a look at our Chinese immersion program as well.