Are Chinese surprised that foreigners are learning Chinese?

Not really surprised, well, I used to be, but I'm now working as a teacher, and for those of us (Chinese) who teach HSK we see the numbers of foreigners who want to learn Chinese are increasing rapidly, so in short, NO.

This is just a joke.When I was young, I didn't know how large the world is. My mum taught me English at that time and she once said that some foreigners are learning Chinese. Then I asked her, "is there just 2 languages in the world, English and Chinese? So, why should we learn English and foreigners learning Chinese?" When I have grown up, I know that there are so many languages in the world. Chinese is just one kind of them.

Em...some Chinese people may think it is difficult to learn Chinese for foreigners, and it's pretty formidable to be skillful at it. so if a foreigner can speak fluent Chinese, it's probably some kind of amazing. And sometimes people saying that words to u is out of curiosity rather than offensive, However the expressing style may disturb u. Please do not take it to heart. As for me, I m glad to know people learning Chinese. Chinese language is charming and Chinese culture is abstruse and interesting. In my opinion, it worth any kind of hardship before u get to it. I wish u a happy learning. \U0001f601

No, not really. Since there are more and more foreigners living in China and people are quite familiar with people who can speak Chinese.  Even if you can speak like a native speakers, I would say, most of us won't be surprised at all. Since  a lot of foreigners speak good Chinese and some of them are very popular in China like Dashan. Even though they ask you the question why you learn Chinese, it might mean nothing incongruous. 

When i was a child (10 years old), I was shocked that foreigners would learn Chinese. Because I was a kid, I knew nothing about foreigners and I was curious about all things related to them. I once heard some foreigner communicating with my teacher in Chinese, and it surprised me. Maybe, some people like me will be shocked. But, once I grew up, it was just so common.Then I realized foreigners study Chinese just like Chinese people study English.

Why feeling surprised? China is the second largest country economically and means unprecedentedly enormous number of opportunities in many areas. It is just natural for foreigners to learn its language under such circumstances.

As a native Chinese, I am not curious that many foreigners are learning Mandarin. Learning a new language is a best way to know its culture. However, in deep of my heart, i do not recommend you foreigners to learn such a language, because it is not economic unless you like challenge or torture yourself. In fact, many educational Chinese speak English well. You can have smooth conversation already. Learning Chinese is very tough. Many words even have long than 2000 years history, you have to remember 2 different (simplified/traditional) writting systems, you have to remember various complicated expressions..... and they are all for daily use. Many Chinese learn Mandarin for 12 years, until high school, just like me. If you have time, you can do a lot of better things, except you are a Chinese. I am very happy because i am a native Chinese. Mandarin is such a system, if you are in this system, you will find yourself in a most beautiful world, you will find many fun even just reading. Chinese has the most effective expression system. Twitter limits 140 alphabets, Sina Weibo (Chinese Twitter) also limits 140 characters, but many users can write detailed enough articles. Mandarin is a kind of drug, like heroin. If you are addicted, you will never get rid of it.

No they are not surprised, in fact, many of them are very happy with this. They are happy to know that people are into their culture, and that they are slowly but surely becoming more important on the international stage. After I teach my students Chinese, many Chinese people love to speak with them to learn more about their ideas on different issues around the world, as many people across the world have different thoughts on world issues and technology.

I was shocked at first, then I get used to it given the fact that there are quite a few people who learn Chinese. There are reason why we are shocked. 1.Unlike English, even though Chinese is spoken by billions of people, they are all centered in certain area——China of course, singapore and some chinatown abroad. Thus it's not really economically rational to learn Chinese. 2.If you want to learn it for fun. Here is the problem. Unlike any other language, Chinese has a continuous history over 5000 years and are developed by billions of people. That make it incredibly beautiful as well as complex. to be honest, chinese themselves have trouble understand their language sometimes. To be a qualified Chinese speaker, one has to get through at least nine years Chinese course which is ensured by compulsory education. I've seen a lot of people who try to learn Chinese and soon give up beforen they even have a clue. I am a Chiese and I'm totally good at it. I love it and take it as the most sophisticated and developed language in the world. Sorry to say, in my mind, Chinese beats English.