1

I think you need to leave the country (go to HK) to change visa types
I bet the Chinese schools in Yangshuo speak perfectly standard mandarin at the schools. Of couse, out on the streets of Yangshuo the locals will not be speaking anything close to standard mandarin, but schools all over China seem to have the standard mandarin pretty set now

2

I don't, however, fancy your chances of getting a student visa through a school that offers free lessons.

3

Hang on! You mean the free lesson was just a trail? If so, no problem. But, I'd imagine, Yangshuo will get a bit tedious after a few weeks. And you'll always be viewed as a tourist there.

4

foreign dude will always be viewed as a tourist wherever he go.
.
can the school get your visa changed? why the heck would you ask
random strangers on a travel forum? ask the school, silly!
.
how long ya wanna study? over six months, x-visa. under, then f-visa.
that may make a difference.
.
if that school can't handle the formalities, try a larger city. kunming
should do, and some schools there can change visas.
.
"you can directly come to China with a tourist visa (L). Once in Kunming,
we will change your visa into a student visa. Minimum hassle."
http://learnchineseinkunming.com/how-to-apply/
.

5

Certainly no worries with the Mandarin. Check it out more and decide. A trip to HK for the visa is realistic.

6

Any mainland China school of Chinese will teach standard Putonghua, no matter what the local taxi drivers speak.
Unless you specifically and deliberately enroll on a dialect class, etc, but you'd know if you were doing that!

Visas?
Schools can usually help, a lot, but I'm not sure whether they can still change visas in China, or whether they just provide letters to help you change visa in, say HK.
Check with the school.

(yes, many language schools the world over offer free trial classes).

Other options, Kunming and Nanjing have well-attended and well-regarded language schools.

7

That school has good relationship with the local police and gets visas modified on the spot. Understand that anybody can start a language school in China, even a university. A name does not make it legit. My daughter worked there as a teacher. She had no training whatsoever. Just went there to kill some time. Not a great "school".

8

It was just a trial class to see if I liked it. :p
Yes I think the local police can upgrade it but a trip to HK is not such a bad thing.
Anything not on the usual tourist list to do in my spare time ?
Bar

9

#8

Anything not on the usual tourist list to do in my spare time?

This is going to be you BIGGEST problem, I think. ;-)

10

Basically, expats there go to the bar every night.

11

That theres nothing to do ?

12

One popular activity in daytime, if you have time, is rock climbing.

13

There are a lot of interesting things to do in Yangshuo.

You can cruise down the beautiful Li river.

You can look at amazing Karst mountains.

You can go rock-climbing.

You can take a bike ride out to interesting Hakka villages in the countryside.

You can look at picturesque rice paddies.

You can shop for trinkets at the riverside stalls (Remember to bargain hard though)

And then, the next week, you can do it all again....

14

I've been living in Yangshuo for quite a while. I don't enjoy going to bars. I climb, go to the free bouldering wall, cycle around, play basketball and volleyball in one of the local middle schools with the students there (free Mandarin practice and great fun), enjoy milkshakes near the Li river, etc.

Omeida are good at advertising, more then hiring skilled teachers (low pay = a lot of chinese teachers from local guangxi universities get their first job there). People are nice, but so are they elsewhere in Yangshuo.
There is a private teacher that's got a really good reputation with local expats and some of the local hostels and hotels for foreigners. Her name is Janie and it should be easy to find her online.
There is at least one other good private teacher that's also been around for a while, though I don't know who she is.

As for speaking Mandarin with locals : they understand you well enough, and a lot of them speak Mandarin quite well. They are used to speaking with Chinese tourists, I guess that's why...
And anyway, it's full of really nice tourists or students (chinese nationality) that love to make foreign friends and will give you plenty of opportunity to practice what you learn in your lessons.

Also, Yangshuo is really cheap to live. I'm sharing a 2 bed-room appartment, total cost 650 yuan per month in center of yangshuo (i admit, i'm lucky.. could be a bit higher...). Which gives you more to spend on lessons or socializing. :)