SHANDONG: BIRTHPLACE OF THE SAGE OCTOBER 2018

PREPARED BY THE HUTONG FOR: THE BRITISH SCHOOL OF BEIJING KEY CONCEPTS TEAM BUILDING HISTORY AND TRADITION Our aim is to help students develop leadership, communication, and By having students visit the the historical sites in and Tai’an, they interpersonal skills under challenging circumstances while also improving will have a better understanding of what these sites mean in the context their understanding of team dynamics. The Hutong’s carefully planned of modern Chinese society. Confucianism and lie at the root of outdoor activities will test students’ abilities to work effectively as a Chinese culture, and students will be able to have a better grasp at what team. In order to successfully participate in and complete the course, it means to live in a society where Confucianism and Taoism have taken students must work together and collaborate effectively. By the end of root for thousands of years, side by side with . Students will the course they will understand and be able to identify the benefits and be split up into different disciple groups throughout the program, and challenges of TRUE collaboration. each day we will engage in a Philosophical reflection on the day’s events seen through the looking glass of an idiom that they have to create and explain as a team. PHYSICAL CHALLENGE We offer students a rewarding physical challenge that pushes personal CULTURAL IMMERSION AND PRESERVATION and physical growth. The adventure will test their tenacity and move them beyond their perceived comfort zones, all in the spirit Throughout the program students will be participating in a range of of a safe, controlled and mediated adventure. Shandong province has carefully selected, meaningful cultural activities, all with the purpose of some of the most spectacular and underrated scenery in all of China and immerse students in the unique cultures of the region. Students will also students will try their hands at a number of different outdoor challenges experience first-hand how different groups have coexisted and prospered throughout the program. By the end of the course students will have for centuries. Moreover students will learn about efforts by local, national, developed a greater appreciation for and ability to exert themselves and global organization to preserve the region’s cultural heritage. By the physically, mentally and emotionally. end of the course students will have an increased appreciation of the similarities and differences in contrasting human cultures, as well as a greater sense of global awareness and international mindedness.

SHANDONG OCTOBER 2018 2 DESTINATION SHANDONG 山东

Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese Buddhism, and Confucianism.

Shandong’s is the most revered mountain of Taoism and one of the world’s sites with the longest history of continuous religious worship. The city of Qufu is the birthplace of , and was later established as the center of Confucianism. The province is also home to both the kite capital of China in , as well as the vegetable capital in nearby Shouguang.

Shandong’s coastline was used during the Olympic sailing of 2008, and going back much further, the city of was established as a German colony, and then later by the Japanese. The province’s motto is “Friendly Shandong,” reminding all locals to recall Confucius’ famed opening line in his , “Isn’t it a pleasure to greet a friend from afar?”

SHANDONG OCTOBER 2018 3 ITINERARY & DAILY SCHEDULE Meals provided indicated in schedule as Breakfast (B), Lunch (L), and Dinner (D) DAY LOCATION ACTIVITIES

10/15 Beijing - - Morning Outdoor Recreation High-speed train from Beijing to Jinan Base Afternoon Accommodation: Lunch Outdoor Base Hotel Transfer to Outdoor Recreation Base Program Introduction Meals: L, D Team building activities Check in to hotel

Evening Dinner Reflections 10/16 Outdoor Recreation Morning Base - Tai’an Breakfast Outdoor Base rotational activities: Accommodation: - Water bridges Hotel - High ropes course - Spiderwebs Meals: B, L, D Afternoon Lunch Transfer to Lingyan Temple Lingyan Temple exploration Transfer to Tai’an Check in to hotel

Evening Dinner Reflections 10/17 Tai’an Morning Breakfast Accommodation: Transfer to Buyang Village Hotel Propaganda poster activity Dumpling-making and exchange in local villagers’ homes Meals: B, L, D Afternoon Dumpling lunch with local families Transfer to Dai Temple Taoist storytelling and activities at Dai Temple

Evening Dinner Reflections SHANDONG OCTOBER 2018 4 ITINERARY & DAILY SCHEDULE Meals provided indicated in schedule as Breakfast (B), Lunch (L), and Dinner (D) DAY LOCATION ACTIVITIES

10/18 Tai’an, Mt. Tai Morning Breakfast Accommodation: Early morning transfer to Mt. Tai Mid Gate Hotel Mt. Tai Hike

Meals: B, L, D Afternoon Packed lunch on the way up the mountain Poetry writing on top of Mt. Tai Hike back to Mid Gate, return to hotel to shower and change

Evening Buffet Dinner Reflections and poetry reading

10/19 Tai’an - Qufu - Morning Beijing Breakfast and check out Transfer to Qufu Meals: B, L Confucius Temple scavenger hunt

Afternoon Early Lunch Confucius Cemetery visit and final reflections High-speed train return to Beijing, arrival early evening

SHANDONG OCTOBER 2018 5 TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

CONFUCIUS TEMPLE AND CEMETERY

These are the “must see” locations that students will visit upon arriving in Qufu, home of Confucius. Located in what is a relatively small city by Chinese standards, these two sites make up a full morning of UNESCO quality research and adventure. Divided into groups, students will explore and reflect upon their cultural, historical, and educational value using their Hutong handbooks. MT. TAI HIKE

Also a UNESCO World Heritage site, no trip to Shandong would be complete without the physical challenge of hiking up Mt. Tai. Following in the footsteps of the emperors who came to Mt. Tai for centuries to worship Heaven, students will hike up to the top of the mountain that combines nature and literature in a harmonious and sybiotic relationship with layers of history etched in stone on the sides of the mountain.

DAI TEMPLE

At the foot of Mt. Tai lies the Taoist Dai Temple. This temple is the spot where emperors would come prior to making their ascent up to the summit of Mt. Tai. There are countless in the pristine temple that record the visits of scholars and emperors from the past. In addition, students will view an extremely rare Taoist mural in the main hall and create their own story devoted to the legend of the Mt. Tai God ascending to the top.

SHANDONG OCTOBER 2018 6 TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

LINGYAN TEMPLE

As part of the comparative religions aspect of this program, students will get to visit Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian temples. Lingyan Temple is one of the most hidden and authentic UNESCO Buddhist temples in the area. Renowned for its untouched stupa , lifelike arhat statues, and Pizhi Pagoda, this temple provides an excellent location for meditation, sketching, and exploration.

VILLAGE VISIT

The community of Buyang village just outside of Tai’an City has had a long tradition of welcoming visitiors from abroad as a model socialist community. Through our visit to this village students will be able to view the local farming methods, the layout of the village, the incorporation of socialist values in everyday life, as well as the kindness and hospitality of the local people.

DISCIPLE GROUPS AND PHILOSOPHER’S PACKET

Each night students will have the opportunity to relate their day’s experiences to a different Confucian expression. By directly relating their shared experiences to ancient culture, students will be able to make connections with the past, each other, as well as different philosophies.

SHANDONG OCTOBER 2018 7 TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

OUTDOOR ACTIVITY BASE

Students will challenge themselves physically and mentally at the Golden Elephant Mountain outdoor activity base. They will engage in team building events that combine height elements, group coordination, and support. Each team will work together so that all members are included and take part in the physical challenges and group activities.

POETRY EXPRESSION AND REFLECTION

China has had a long history of renowned poets and literati. The faces of all the rocks in Mt. Tai are covered with poetry and prose. Students will have a chance to create their own multilingual poetry regarding the sites they visit, as well as having the opportunity to share with their classmates and teachers afterwards.

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SHANDONG OCTOBER 2018 8 VALUES AND CHALLENGES

Throughout our programs, we challenge students to not only push their THE CHOPSTICK CHALLENGE boundaries and explore their surrounding culture but we encourage them to take responsibility for their actions through embracing sustainable travel, Each student is given their very own set of sustainable bamboo chopsticks making good decisions and supporting their classmates. These notions are with a stylish pouch to keep them in. Why? are being chopped down born out of our own company Core Values: for producing chopsticks – 20 million trees per year to produce 80 billion disposable chopsticks for China alone. To discourage deforestation and 1. Be a good egg! wasteful consumption we avoid using disposable chopsticks and encourage responsibility for possessions. Students who demonstrate best sustainability 2. Embrace diversity! practices will earn the ‘Golden Chopstick Award.’ 3. Light a spark! THE HUTONG HELMSMAN 4. Go the extra ‘li’ (mile)! was known as “The Great Helmsman” because of his ability to 5. Seek challenge! steer the PRC to the right course of action. At The Hutong, we will choose our Helmsmen and Helmswomen based on who has lived up to the Hutong’s Core 6. Smile more! Values that day, thereby helping steer us to a more successful trip. We typically have each teacher choose someone from his or her group, and by the end of the trip each student ends up being recognized for their positive contributions. We like to challenge students to adopt these practices and award those who demonstrate such values during the trip, through initiatives such as:

SHANDONG OCTOBER 2018 9 REFERENCES

We have been running innovative, custom-crafted educational tours since 2009 with responsible professionalism and while maintaining an exemplary safety record. We encourage all new partners to contact references for an unbiased perspective on their experiences with The Hutong. Below is a list of top administrative contacts for international schools that we regularly run programs for. We are also happy to provide contact information of teachers who have been trip leaders on our programs, and with whom we have worked closely

Simon Joyce [email protected] Brenda Petersen [email protected] Head of Co-Curricular Activities, ISF Academy Hong Kong Assistant Head of School, Concordia International School, Shanghai Colleen Drisner [email protected] Greg Ladner [email protected] Secondary School Principal, Beijing City International School Associate Principal, Hong Kong International School Heidi Witt-Williams [email protected] Fred Runkel [email protected] Head of Secondary School, British School of Nanjing Co-Principal, YCIS Shanghai

“The Hutong is the best group I have had the opportunity to work with in my 16 years of doing Week Without Walls programs. They are safety oriented, engaging to students, understand the importance of building solid relationships, great communicators, detail oriented, problem solvers, and an all around fun group of people work with.” Craig Gingerich, Concordia International School Shanghai

“In 32 years of teaching, I have accompanied many school trips all over the world and used many companies. This trip was one of the best and The Hutong deserve to be ranked at the top!” Beryl Scott Rous, Utahloy International School Guangzhou

SHANDONG OCTOBER 2018 10 ABOUT THE HUTONG

At The Hutong, we offer a range of interactive, educational, unique, and fun Each year we expand our destinations and topics. Our goal is to work closely activities to students and school groups of all different ages. Our interactive with schools to incorporate their curriculum and learning objectives in our programs are designed to broaden participants’ understanding of Chinese educational travels, and give the students and staff exceptional experiences. culture and allow them to experience an authentic side of China. We aim to The Hutong is happy to propose customized offsite programs that build upon adapt our programs and work closely with schools and teachers to create the units of inquiry taught in your school. customized cultural activities for various Grade Levels and subject areas. By incorporating grade and subject-specific learning targets into the design of our The Hutong places particular emphasis on experiential learning, and works onsite and offsite excursions, The Hutong strives to offer top-notch activities increasingly to give its students the opportunity to service the communities that are engaging and relevant. they visit. Students who attend Hutong trips engage with global issues by collaborating to plan and execute community service programs. They leave Combining our staff’s expertise in both and education, we have been the trip with a renewed sense of their strengths and abilities, as well as a more running unique and creative study tours to off-the-beaten-track destinations solid understanding of ethical tourism and global development. since 2009, with thorough professionalism and maintaining an impeccable safety record. We aim to broaden students’ horizons by exposing them to memorable experiences throughout China. Our typical educational tours focus on a combination of cultural immersion and outdoor education. We place an important emphasis on experiential learning. We do not just visit tourist spots, but we experience the places we visit and take a step deeper. The majority of our team has a background in both travel and education and this is where we look to excel.

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