Teach on your terms.
Keep everything you earn.

That's the right question to ask, and we'll be straightforward: HanyuLab is growing, not established at scale. What we offer instead of raw traffic is quality of intent. Every student who lands here searched specifically for Mandarin instruction — not a generic language app. They chose a specialist platform, which means they're far more committed than the average Preply or iTalki browser.

In practical terms: your profile is discoverable via search (we invest in SEO for Mandarin-learning queries), you appear in our tutor directory with full profile, rates, and specializations, and we promote the platform actively through Pearson Wang Group's existing network across the US and Asia.

We also don't require exclusivity. You can and should maintain profiles on other platforms while building your HanyuLab presence. Many tutors find that a smaller, higher-intent student pool converts more reliably than high-volume generalist traffic.

Yes, entirely. You set your hourly rate when you create your profile, and you can adjust it at any time from your tutor dashboard — no approval required, no waiting period. Rate changes take effect for new bookings immediately; they don't retroactively affect sessions already booked at your previous rate.

There is no minimum rate floor and no maximum cap. HanyuLab takes 0% commission, so the rate students see is exactly what you receive. Some tutors choose to set a lower introductory rate to build reviews, then raise it as their booking history grows — that is entirely your call.

You can also offer different rates for different lesson types. A trial session, a standard conversation class, HSK preparation, and business Chinese might all carry different prices. That granularity is built into the profile setup.

HanyuLab has a built-in video classroom available directly from your tutor dashboard. You click "Start Classroom Session," a unique room link is generated instantly, and you share it with your student — that's it. No Zoom account, no external meeting link, no third-party setup required.

The classroom includes:

• HD video and audio (peer-to-peer, so performance is good on most connections) • Screen sharing — share your screen, slides, or any app mid-lesson • Live in-session chat for sharing vocabulary, links, or written corrections • Session timer so both you and your student can see the lesson duration • Mute/unmute and camera controls so you manage your own environment

Your student joins via the room link — they don't need an account on any external platform. Sessions happen entirely within HanyuLab.

If you ever run into a technical issue mid-session (unstable connection, browser problem), you can always fall back to any other video tool you prefer — the room link is shareable and the session is still tracked on our end. We don't lock you into a single tool; we just give you a good one that's already there.

The classroom runs entirely in a modern web browser — no downloads, no plugins, no app installs required for you or your student. It uses WebRTC, the same underlying technology as Google Meet and browser-based Zoom.

For a reliable session:

• Browser: Chrome 90+, Firefox 88+, Safari 15+, or Edge 90+ (Chrome gives the most consistent experience for screen sharing) • Internet: A stable connection of at least 2 Mbps upload/download. Wired ethernet is noticeably better than WiFi for video stability • Hardware: Any laptop or desktop webcam and microphone built in the last 5–6 years will work fine • Permissions: Your browser will ask for camera and microphone access the first time you open the classroom — you need to allow both

Because the video is peer-to-peer (directly between your browser and your student's), connection quality depends on both ends. A student on a slow mobile connection will affect quality more than your own setup. The in-session chat remains usable even if video quality degrades.

No. HanyuLab does not restrict tutoring to native speakers. What we look for is demonstrable teaching competence and a meaningful level of Mandarin proficiency — which includes heritage speakers, near-native second-language speakers, certified teachers, and academics who have studied or taught the language professionally.

That said, we do vet applications. A heritage speaker who grew up speaking Shanghainese at home but has HSK 6-level Putonghua and teaching experience is a strong candidate. Someone at an early conversational level looking to make money tutoring would not be approved.

Your profile will show your background honestly — students can see whether you're a native speaker, a heritage speaker, or a certified non-native teacher. Different students want different things: some specifically seek out non-native teachers who understand the learning journey from the outside. Transparency here works in everyone's favour.

Our cancellation policy is designed to protect your time. Students can cancel without penalty up to 24 hours before a scheduled session. Cancellations within 24 hours — or outright no-shows — result in the student being charged 50% of the session fee, which is paid out to you.

In practice: if a student books a one-hour session at your rate of $60 and cancels with two hours' notice, you receive $30 without having taught a single minute. You are not required to offer a make-up session, though you may choose to as a goodwill gesture for regular students.

Repeated no-shows or late cancellations by a student are flagged in our system. We take action on students who abuse this — including suspension — because protecting tutor time is essential to keeping quality tutors on the platform. If you ever feel a dispute wasn't handled fairly, email tutors@hanyulab.com and a human will review it.

The platform is international. Students can book from any country, and there is no geographic restriction on who you can teach. Many of our early students are professionals in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia learning Mandarin for business or travel — and tutor locations span the US, Canada, Taiwan, the UK, and Australia.

For payment: Stripe supports payouts to tutors in most countries where Stripe operates (the full list is at stripe.com/global). If you're in a country where Stripe isn't available for payouts, contact us before applying and we'll confirm whether we can accommodate your situation.

One practical note on time zones: students tend to book based on their own schedule, so if you're in Asia teaching North American students, you may find most bookings fall in your early morning or evening. Setting your availability calendar accurately avoids mismatches — students see your local availability, not their own timezone by default.

Payments are processed through Stripe, the same payment infrastructure used by Amazon, Shopify, and most major platforms worldwide. When a student books a session, they pay upfront via Stripe. Because HanyuLab charges 0% commission, the full amount is paid out directly to you — we don't hold a margin.

Payouts go to your connected bank account or debit card via Stripe's standard payout schedule (typically 2–7 business days depending on your location and bank). You can track your earnings, upcoming payouts, and session history from your tutor dashboard.

HanyuLab does not hold your earnings on the platform in the way some marketplace platforms do. There is no escrow structure where we sit between you and your money for extended periods. If a session is disputed or cancelled, our refund policy governs how that is handled — and our default position protects tutors for sessions that were completed as agreed.

HanyuLab is operated under Pearson Wang Group, a firm that has worked in international education and business advisory since 2008. This is not a side project or a non-profit run on volunteer hours.

For tutors specifically, you have a direct line to tutors@hanyulab.com with a committed response time of 24 hours on business days. Billing and payment questions go to billing@hanyulab.com. General support is at support@hanyulab.com.

Because we are a smaller, focused platform rather than a platform with millions of users, you will not be routed through a tier-1 chatbot before reaching a human. The tradeoff is that we don't have a 24/7 phone line — but you get faster, more substantive responses than you'd get from a mass-market platform's support queue.