The Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi 汉语水平考试 (HSK), the official Chinese Proficiency Test used in China to test Mandarin Chinese language proficiency for non-native speakers such as foreign students and overseas Chinese.
The HSK test approximates the English TOEFL, and a HSK certificate is valid without any limitation in China. However, should you use it for the purpose of applying for admission to a college or university in China, they would only accept HSK scores not exceeding two years from the date you took the test.
The HSK test is a test of language proficiency for higher educational and professional purposes. In order to get admitted into university, you will need to have passed at least HSK 4 for undergraduate courses, HSK 5 for Masters and HSK 6 for PhD. In addition, a lot of jobs in and outside of China (where the hirer is a Chinese company) requires the job applicant to be fluent in Chinese. If you are a non-native speaker, then exhibiting your HSK certificate will be proof that you are in fact fluent in Chinese.
The HSK is administered solely in Mandarin and in simplified Chinese characters; however, if the exam is paper-based, the test-taker can choose to write the writing assignments in simplified or traditional characters, at their discretion.
The test can be either paper-based or Internet-based, depending on what the specific test center offers.
Test takers with outstanding results can win a scholarship for short-term language study in China.
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