Yes there are about 217 different dialects of Chinese and there are in fact other languages in China as well that are spoken by many of the minority ethnic groups in China. You and I share a major. I also have a doctorate in linguistics. Although these days the M.S. is paying the bills working in biotech.

I figured that getting too far into linguistics in this forum would not be useful. I know many people that learned to read, write, and speak fluent Mandarin Chinese from outside of China and other than the novelty of being in China for a total immersion experience, they do alright speaking Chinese when needed. That is what I was going for there. I personally would not go all the way into the Middle East to learn Arabic as an example, but I do speak Arabic and I have lived and worked in the Middle East and the Arab Gulf States.

Different strokes for different folks.

As for the poster wanting information on internships in China...

http://www.internships.com/
http://www.inspiringinterns.com/
http://www.internshipprograms.com/
http://www.experience.com/
http://www.summerinternships.com/

As for the Z visas on interns....since they are not actually "experts"....which is a great question....

I went to HR in my company and asked about that. Our firm has about 90 interns from all over the map and they all have Z visas. HR has told me that since they work in China, they must have a Z visa at least where I work, (city and district), in order to have a legal internship. They also get the FEC, even though they are not actually "experts" but since China has no such animal as an ALMOST EXPERT ID card...they use the FEC for them as well.

Sorry I am a bit late on responding but before heading to Dubai I wanted to do a ride along with the guys over at Beijing Blacklist which was most enjoyable for so many reasons.