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Home , Green Lake (Kunming), Tengchong, Tiger Leaping Gorge

Sample Summer Program in PROGRAM INTRODUCTION

In this three week program, students will both learn basic Survival Chinese Mandarin Chinese and have the opportunity to observe province's unique cultural and natural diversity. While in , students will study basic Mandarin in The program will start out in , China's largest Minds Abroad. While classes are held in Minds Abroad's city and perhaps its best example of the rapid economic offices, Minds Abroad partners with Yunnan Nationalities development that has taken place over the last two decades. University to hire teachers and develop the curriculum. After a weekend in Shanghai, students will fly to Kunming The purpose of these classes is to help give students the to begin a two week survival Chinese program at Minds basic skills they need to more fully Abroad’s language school. These first two weeks will enjoy and experience their . Knowing basic be broken up by a three day homestay in Heshun, a rural Chinese will not only enable them to do simple tasks like village in Yunnnan’s southwest with cobblestone streets order food and ask where the bathroom is but will also give and ancient houses. The third week of the program will be them the confidence and skills they need to interact with spent traveling around Yunnan’s northwest to Dali, Shaxi, Chinese people on a daily basis. , and Shangri-La. Along the way students will visit ancient towns, hike alongside a massive gorge and even explore a large Tibetan monastery. The trip will conclude with a 4 day trip to where Interning and Volunteering: students will get to observe the innerworkings of China's A Complete Perspective on Modern China capital city. After Chinese classes in the morning, students will spend their afternoons interning and volunteering in companies and organizations all around Kunming. Internships will be at companies in sectors including, but not limited to: finance, media, tourism, marketing, medicine and architecture. Spending time interning at these companies will give students an inside look into business and office life in China. In addition to interning, students will have the opportunity to volunteer at one of Kunmings many NGOs. This experience will allow students to learn about China's social issues including migrant labor and environmental degradation. In this way, students will get to see both sides of modern China - the booming economy and the problems that come with it. First Week Go to West Road to sample Visit the Shanghai Museum, home ) Morning: to perhaps China's greatest collection is shaped like an artifacts. In fact, the museum itself of ancient ancient bronze wine vessel. Outside of the museum is People's Square, a fantastic hustle and bustle of life in Shanghai. place to view the Afternoon: some of Shanghai's famous street food includingfor lunch, soupy noodles.dumplings Afterand Shanghai Stock Exchange. hotlunch, and studentssour will visit the

(SHANGHAI) (KUNMING) SHANGHAI AND KUNMING SHANGHAI ( (FLY TO CHINA) TO (FLY Arrive in Shanghai. After getting settled in their Survival Chinese Class - developing basic

Students will be led on a walking tour of the area Eat at Brothers Jiang, a restaurant famous for

Go to airport and fly to Kunming. After arrival students get settled in theirapartments and then head out Go to airport and fly to Kunming. Go to Pudong district on the other side of the river for

Yunnan’s ethnic minorities at Dynamic Yunnan. at Dynamic ethnic minorities Yunnan’s Afterwards, watch a performance of the dance and music of its Crossing Bridge Noodles, one of Yunnan’s delicacies.

Evening: go to Dongfeng Square to observe public excercise.

ATM machinesATM and medical centers. Afterwards, students will they will be living in, making sure to see things like restaurants, Afternoon: communication skills and confidence in Mandarin Chinese. Morning:

Day 4: Monday serves traditional Yunnanese food. Yunnanese serves traditional

together to Old House for dinner, a restaurant in an old four-sided courtyard building in the center of Kunming that that of Kunming center in the building courtyard in an old four-sided a restaurant to Old House for dinner, together Evening: Day 3: Sunday

views of Shanghai. these skyscrapers, the Jinmao Tower, for one of the best nightime nightime best the of one for Tower, Jinmao the skyscrapers, these

is known for its towering skyscrapers. Afterwards, ascend one of of one ascend Afterwards, skyscrapers. towering its for known is Shanghainese food. Pudong is the modern half of Shanghai and

a welcome dinner at Xiao Yang, a restaurant serving excellent Evening:

are a must see for any visitor to Shanghai. are a must see for are beautiful colonial era buildings along the Huangpu River that

commerce has moved away from The Bund, what still remains financial center in the 20's and 30's. While much of the city's historical area of Shanghai that once served as Shanghai's hotel, students will be led on a walking tour of The Bund, the Afternoon:

Day 2: Saturday Saturday Day 2:

Leave NY in the early afternoon for Shanghai. early afternoon in the NY Leave Day 1: Friday Friday 1: Day Day 5: Tuesday (KUNMING) Morning: Survival Chinese Class - developing basic Evening: Eat dinner at Moonlight Corner, a Thai communication skills and confidence in Mandarin Chinese. restaurant next to Park in central

Kunming. In addition to having some of the freshest First Week Afternoon: Interning and Volunteering - a deeper and most delicious food in the entire city, Moonlight perspective on modern China. Afterwards, go to Green Corner also has one of the city’s best nighttime Lake Park to observe senior citizens practicing dance and views of the park. opera.

Day 6: Wednesday (KUNMING)

Morning: Survival Chinese Class - developing basic communication skills and confidence in Mandarin Chinese.

Afternoon: Interning and Volunteering - a deeper perspective on modern China.

Evening: Eat Hui cuisine at Yitianyuan Restaurant. The Hui are Muslims that form one of the largest minority groups in Yunnan. They are known for their delicious cuisine that includes delicacies like hand-stretched noodles and lamb skewers rubbed with cumin and garlic. Afterwards, go to Kundu to observe and participate in Chinese night life. Day 7: Thursday (KUNMING) Morning: Survival Chinese Class - developing basic communication skills and confidence in Mandarin Chinese.

Afternoon: Interning and Volunteering - a deeper perspective on modern China. Afterwards, visit the campus of to observe college life in China.

Evening: Eat at Huatongquan Dai Restaurant near Green Lake. The Dai (or Thai) live in southern Yunnan’s Xishuangbanna region. Their cuisine is known for its fiery chilies and delicacies like Pineapple Rice. Afterwards, go visit Green Lake Park and attend English corner, a gathering of people practicing English together that are an excellent resource for learning about the local community. Day 8: Friday (HESHUN - A TRADITIONAL HAN CHINESE VILLAGE)

Day: Heshun Night: Heshun First Week

Morning:

Fly to in the morning. Upon arrival in Tengchong, take a short bus ride to Heshun Ancient Town.

Afternoon:

Introduce homestay families and then take a tour around the village. Afterwards, students are assigned an aspect of the village to observe for a few hours and then report on to the group. Traditonal Heshun House

Evening:

Eat a freshly prepared dinner with homestay families. Perhaps more than anywhere else in the world, in China, eating dinner together is one of the cornerstones of family life.

Day 9: Saturday (HESHUN - A TRADITIONAL HAN CHINESE VILLAGE)

Day: Heshun Night: Heshun

Morning: Go farming with the Yang family. Heshun Village is surrounded by rice paddies and corn fields. There is no better way for a student to experience rural Chinese life than by actually going out to the fields with local farmers.

Afternoon: Congregate at the Liu family house to learn about Chinese cooking and to make some Chinese specialties like jiaozi, zongzi and tanyuan. After snacking on these delicacies, students will gather for daily group discussion.

Evening: Fly back to Kunming. Day 10: Monday (KUNMING) Morning: Survival Chinese Class - developing basic communication skills and confidence in Mandarin Chinese. Afternoon: Interning and Volunteering - a deeper perspective on modern China. Afterwards, visit the Pu'er Teahouse to experience a typical Chinese tea ceremony and sample Yunnan's tea. Tea is not only one of Yunnan's most important products but is also an integral part of the city's renowned laid back atmosphere. This makes teahouses some of the best places in the city to observe social interaction. Evening: Free time. Day 11: Tuesday (KUNMING) Morning: Survival Chinese Class - developing basic communication skills and confidence in Mandarin Chinese. Afternoon: Interning and Volunteering - a deeper perspective on modern China. Afterwards, got to Nanping Street to observe Chinese commerce. Evening: Free time. Day 12: Wednesday (KUNMING) Morning: Go early to Dongfeng Square to observe public exercise. Every morning, hundreds of people start out there day dancing together or practicing Tai Chi. Afterwards, Survival Chinese Class - developing basic communication skills and confidence in Mandarin Chinese. Afternoon: Interning and Volunteering - a deeper perspective on modern China. Second Week Evening: Eat at Tianma Ham & Chicken Hotpot Restaurant with Chinese teachers before leaving Kunming the following day. This type of hotpot uses a spice called Tianma that is used in traditional Chinese medicine and gives the meat and vegetables in the pot a completely unique flavor that can’t be found anywhere else. Day 13: Thursday (KUNMING AND DALI) Morning: Survival Chinese Class - developing basic communication skills and confidence in Mandarin Chinese.

Afternoon: Drive to Dali, an ancient city that once served as the capital of the Nanzhao kingdom, a rival to China that contained much of what is now Yunnan as well as parts of Vietnam, Laos and . Evening: Explore Dali Old City and then eat a feast of Bai minority food which uses exotic Day 14: Friday (SHAXI) ingredients like flowers and wild mushrooms. Morning: Drive to Shaxi, a picturesque farming town that once was a commercial center on the Southern .

Afternoon: Explore temples in Shaxi’s town center and then go to Sideng Friday Market, a weekly outdoor bazaar where people from all around the Shaxi valley convene to sell their handicrafts, produce and livestock. Perhaps no other market in Yunnan is as good of an example of rural commerce as the Sideng Friday Market.

Evening: Eat a feast of local Bai minority food, including wild mushrooms and vegetables grown in the surrounding farms. Day 15: Saturday (LIJIANG)

Morning: Drive to Lijiang. Afternoon: Explore Lijiang’s old city. Lijiang is a small city tucked in a valley below the massive Dragon Snow Mountain. For over a thousand years it has been the home of the Naxi people, a Tibetan subgroup renowned for their music and Second Week Dongba pictograph writing system. At the center of the city is Lijiang's well-preserved ancient town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Evening: Eat Naxi hotpot and then attend a concert of Ancient Naxi music in the Old City. The Naxi Ancient Music Orchestra has achieved considerable acclaim in recent years for their renditions of both traditional Naxi music and era tunes brought by Kublai Khan’s armies when Yunnan was first integrated into the Chinese empire in the 13th century. Day 16: Sunday (TIGER LEAPING GORGE - HIKING & ENVIRONMENTAL CASE STUDY) Morning: Drive to Qiaotou, the start of Tiger Leaping Gorge and begin hiking. Tiger Leaping Gorge is a massive gorge north of Lijiang where the river rushes through Himalayan peaks. There is no better way of seeing Tiger Leaping Gorge than by hiking through the small Naxi villages that skirt its sides. Afternoon: Eat lunch at Naxi Family Guesthouse in Nuoyu, a small farming village off the trail. Students will learn about and discuss the environmental issues (such as the development of Hydro-electric dams in the area) that are threatening to destroy the gorge. Afterwards, continue hiking. Evening: Stop for the day at Tea Horse Guesthouse. Day 17: Monday Day 18: Tuesday (SHANGRI-LA - A TRADITIONAL (SHANGRI-LA AND LIJIANG) TIBETAN TOWN) Morning: Visit Ganden Suntseling Gompa Tibetan Morning: Eat breakfast and continue hiking the trail Buddhist monastery. This monastery is the largest in along the gorge. Yunnan and is home to over 700 practicing Tibetan Buddhist monks.

Afternoon: Stop at Sean’s Guesthouse, the endpoint of the trail, for lunch. Afterwards, drive to Shangri-La, Afternoon: Eat lunch in Shangri-La’s old town and passing the first bend of the Yangtze River on the way. visit Tibetan grasslands.

Evening: Explore Shangri-La, an ancient Tibetan Evening: Drive back to Lijiang. town that was once an important center of the Tibetan kingdom’s Kham region. Afterwards, eat a traditional Tibetan dinner, complete with yak meat and Tibetan dumplings (called momos). After dinner, go to Shangri- La’s public square to participate in circle dancing. Third Week Day 19: Wednesday (BEIJING) Morning: Fly to Beijing from Lijiang in early morning and arrive in Beijing.

Afternoon: Visit Tiananmen Square and the .

Evening: Eat Peking Duck.

Day 20: Thursday (BEIJING) Morning: Visit the , an expansive park surrounding Kunming Lake in northeastern Beijing that was once a summer resort for Cixi, the Empress Dowager. Within the Summer Palace is Cixi's Marble Boat, an extravagance that is thought by some to be the symbol of the downfall of China's empire.

Afternoon: Visit the , a 600 year old complex that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is known as one of the finest examples of Taoist architecture in China.

Evening: Eat dinner in Hou Hai, a park with a cluster of restaurants surrounding Third Week small lakes in the center of Beijing. Day 21: Friday (BEIJING - AN ENVIRONMENTAL CASE STUDY)

Morning: Spend day at the first organic dairy farm in China, located in Langfang, a suburb of Beijing. Students will interact with the farm’s migrant workers and learn about the farm’s daily operations. Additionally, students will learn about China’s organic farming industry and its role in China’s growing environmental protection movement.

Afternoon: Continue at the organic dairy farm and then head back to Beijing in the late afternoon.

Evening: Visit 798 Art Zone, an area of Beijing known for its numerous art exhibits and buildings with unique architecture. This has led to it often being compared to Greenwich Village or Soho.

Day 22: Saturday (BEIJING) Morning: Go to the Simatai section of the Great Wall. Simatai, the least travelled to section of the Great Wall near Beijing, is a completely original Ming Dynasty section of the wall that snakes across a breathtaking mountainous landscape. Afternoon: Continue at the Great Wall and then return to hotel in Beijing. Evening: Final banquet at Afunti Xinjiang Restaurant. Watch music and dance performance at the restaurant.

Day 23: Sunday (FLY HOME) Morning: Get an architectural tour of the Olympic village, including the “Bird Cage” and the “Water Cube”. Afterwards, proceed to airport. Third Week Afternoon: Fly back to US. Arrive Back in US.