The Chinese Proficiency Test, also known as HSK, is the national standardized test designed and developed by the HSK Center of Beijing Language and Culture University to evaluate the Chinese proficiency of non-native Chinese speakers (including foreigners, overseas Chinese and people from Chinese national minorities). HSK is divided into three categories: beginning level (HSK Basic), elementary to intermediate level (HSK Elementary-Intermediate), and advanced level (HSK Advanced). HSK is held regularly in China and in other countries each year and HSK certificates are issued to those who meet required scores.
Both the HSK and the issuing of HSK Certificates are supervised by the State Commission of the Chinese Proficiency Test under the authority of the Ministry of Education. HSK is jointly administered by the Office of the State Commission of the Chinese Proficiency Test, under the supervision of the State Commission of the Chinese Proficiency Test, and by the HSK Center of Beijing Language and Culture University .

HSK Test Format
HSK Basic is a 140-item, 135 minute test. HSK Basic is divided into three sections: listening, sentence structure and reading comprehension. All questions are multiple-choice format.
HSK Elementary-Intermediate is a 170-item, 145 minute test divided into four parts: listening, sentence structure, reading comprehension and a cloze(fill in the blanks) section. Questions 1 to 154 are multiple-choice while questions 155 to 170 are cloze format requiring examinees to fill in blank spaces of a text at regular intervals with the appropriate Chinese characters.
The HSK Advanced test is 2 hours 35 minutes in length. HSK Advanced consists of three separately-timed subtests: a 120-item written test (objective), a writing composition section and an oral test. The 120-item written test is further divided into three subsections: listening, reading and cloze. A variety of objective-type questions are used including multiple-choice, matching, fill in the blank and writing Chinese characters. The oral test takes the form of an interview.

Suitable Candidates for the HSK Test

HSK Basic is appropriate for those who have 100-800 hours of formal classroom study in Chinese language.

● HSK Elementary- Intermediate is suitable for persons who have had 400-2000 hours of classroom instruction in Chinese language.
● HSK Advanced is best suited to individuals with over 3000 hours of classroom study in Chinese language .

Function of the HSK Certificate