Originally Posted by moondog

I have a friend from HK, who speaks far better Mandarin than most of us, that came here for the sole purpose of learning Beijing Hua (which she reveres in the same manner that some attribute to the "Queen's English"). In fact, she went through no less than 5 tutors before she found someone with an accent that met her standards.

Personally, I think that Mandarin spoken in other parts of China sounds better than Beijing Hua (except for conflating "s" and "sh"; that's just annoying), but I do appreciate the traditions surrounding the Beijing dialect, and the perceived ties with nobility.