Purpose of learning
The recent surge of pandemic and its ill effect have definitely made people sour to life but the good side is, some people have decided to use this time fruitfully and thus the foreign language-learning trend has boomed. Regarding Chinese, before thinking about the ‘duration’, please think about the ‘purpose’. If the purpose is career-based, then a more serious approach will be necessary. Here I would like to mention the name of Multibhashi, an ed-tech platform from where you can hire professional trainers for Chinese. The curriculum will be tailor-made depending on your requirement and of course you can renew to intermediate or advanced level as you progress. You may also click on this link to check the books available for learning Chinese https://www.multibhashi.com/books-to-learn-chinese/
Movies
Just like Bollywood in India, even China has a booming entertainment business and who doesn’t know Jackie Chan- the father of action stars that we witness today in Hindi movies. So yes, Chinese movies are a great way to pick out nuances of Chinese as well one learns optimum when one is happy. I have no qualms in accepting I am a Jackie Chan fan and if we two are on the same boat then click on YouTube or on Amazon and start watching them with English subtitles initially and once you gain confidence slowly you can stop the subtitles and watch them completely in Chinese.
Self-learning tools
Now if you are not planning to commit money initially there are several self-learning tools, meaning apps online for example- HelloChinese, ChineseSkill: Learn Chinese & Learn Mandarin Free, Learn Chinese Free for beginners, Learn Chinese Mandarin Phrases, Chinese Grammar, Anki, Duolingo, Memrise and some of them are free too. However, one word of caution would be most of them have not been designed tailor-made. They have a set-pattern as you will find in a workbook or so. It’s great way to achieve the beginner’s level for Chinese.