Loongbridge China Summer Camp Programs 2009
Loongbridge China Summer Camp 2009
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Day-by-Day Itineray in Volunteer and Culture Camp




Day 1:Take off from home country to Beijing

Day 2: Arrive at Beijing.
Find our greeting staff with big sign of LoongBridge logo. Get accommodating, settle down, get around campus, and shopping for daily necessities.

Day 3: Orientation; Tian'anmen, Forbidden City
Morning: orientation and introduction. Get to know the staffs and other campers.
Afternoon: after lunch, take a walk in Tian'anmen the most sizable square located in the center of Beijing. Visit Forbidden City, home to 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the largest ancient palatial structure in the world. Return to the camp site for dinner and have a good rest, hopefully no jet lag after a full night sleep.

Day 4: Language class, Chinese Geography; Capital Museum, Urban Planning Museum
Morning: First day Chinese language class starts. You'll also learn some knowledge on China geography and several wonders of China.
Afternoon: Take a tour in Beijing Capital Museum to see the ancient bronzes and treasures, and learn about the thousand years of history about Beijing and China. The next stop is to visit Beijing Urban Planning Museum to understand the development of the city and find all places we are about to visit from the huge but very detailed models of a whole Beijing city.

Day 5: Language class, 1-on-1 Study with Chinese Buddy; Erhu (2-string fiddle), Chinese brush painting, Paper-cutting
Today, we'll stay at the camp site for a full day. First, Chinese class in the morning. Then meet your buddy for Chinese study from our host school. The buddy will help you practice Mandarin skills and you can talk for the purpose of culture exchanges. After that, enjoy the chance to practice several Chinese Traditional Art skills: Erhu (2-string fiddle), Chinese brush painting, Paper-cutting.

Day 6: Language class, 1-on-1 Study with Chinese Buddy, Kung-fu class; Field trip to Panjiayuan Flea Market, Beijing Hutong walk, Eat in one resident's home, Wangfujing Night Market
Morning: Chinese language class and then study together with your buddy. Today, you'll meet the instructor teaching Chinese Kung fu.
Afternoon: We go to Panjiayuan Flea Market selling Chinese arts, crafts, souvenirs etc. Shopping or not, practice your bargain skills there! After that, we'll have Beijing Hutong walk to learn traditional lifestyles of Beijingers and eat in one resident's home for dinner. Then, we'll walk in Wangfujing Night Market for street snacks and shopping, as well as have a glimpse of a typical Beijinger's colorful nightlife.

Day 7: Morning Park visit, Language class, Chinese music, Visit a Chinese Buddy's home, Learn Tie-dye skill and design your art work
Early this morning, we'll have a short visit to a local park where most senior people gather for Tai-chi, opera, dancing, and board games. Talk to them or even join in their activities for fun.
In today's class, besides language study, you'll also learn a popular Chinese song and get to know some Chinese top pop stars and their music. After the class, you'll leave in groups with some of the Chinese buddies to their homes. Talk more to these Chinese students about how his/her student life is in China, see how it looks like inside the home of a typical Beijinger's family and have a home lunch with his/her parents. After returning back to the camp site, we'll learn an exciting skill "Tie-dye": design a coloring pattern, and make a unique style scarf or handkerchief or T-shirt by yourself.



Day 8: Language class and Calligraphy; Kung Fu class, Summer Palace
Morning: Chinese class and also try the fun of calligraphy: use ink brushes to write Chinese characters and your name! You'll have a second time Kung Fu class before lunch.
Afternoon: Visit the Summer Palace to see the huge garden where the Imperial Family used to stay in the hot summer. It's the best preserved imperial garden in the world.

Day 9: Great Wall, Peking Duck dinner, Watch shows of Peking Opera, Tea-art Performance etc.
Today, we're climbing up the Great Wall! The Great Wall, extending 4,000 miles westward, was first built in the 7th century B.C. to protect the Chinese Empire from invaders north-side. Climb up the Great Wall and learn some history. We'll have Peking Duck for dinner as a reward. After dinner, we're going to Laoshe Teahouse to watch amazing shows such as Peking Opera, Chinese acrobatic, Tea-art performance and more.

Day 10 - 14: Community Service in SOS Children's Village and in Sun Village
You will give one-week community service in SOS Children's Village and in Sun Village. The works are to help and teach English to children in village, help housework, farm works, organize recreational and sports activities for the children etc., jointly with local Chinese student volunteers from university or high schools. While staying in the Villages, you will know the stories behind the children, and find that the children had all become very independent and are growing happily and healthily under the Villages' cares.




Day 15: Last day of Community Service. Farewell meal with Children in village. Visit Olympic Park and/or the 798 Art Zone if time allows.
Today is the last day of community service in Children's Village. We'll have a farewell lunch together with the children in the village and say good-byes to them.
After that, we will visit a couple of sites: Olympic Park and/or the 798 Art Zone if time allows. China was the host for 2008 Olympic Games. We'll walk on the large Olympic Park square and see the Bird's Nest, and the Water Cube stadiums. The 798 Art Zone used to be a military factory zone built by the Russians in early 1950. Since 2002, artists moved in this area and built individual workshops and studios. It has now become a huge center for contemporary arts including sculpture, paintings and architectures.

Day 16: Graduation Ceremony; Leave for Xi'an, Luoyang and Zhengzhou
Morning: Graduation ceremony and activities with local students.
Afternoon: get packed for the travel to Xi'an, Luoyang and Zhengzhou by train.

Day 17-20: Xi'an, Luoyang and Zhengzhou
This is an eye-opening tour to ancient capitals of China, Xi'an, Luoyang and Zhengzhou.
In Xi'an, the capital of at least 13 ancient Chinese dynasties, you will see Emperor Qin's 8000 Terracotta Warriors and horses, walk down or along the most complete ancient City Wall build 700 years ago in Ming Dynasty, watch the music show at the Music Fountain in Big Wild Goose Pagoda square, visit Drum and Bell Towers for drum and bell shows, take a tour of Shaanxi Historical Museum to learn more history of China.
In Luoyang, capital of 13 ancient Chinese dynasties since Xia, you will visit Longmen Grottoes, one of China's three most precious treasure houses of stone sculptures and inscriptions.
From Zhengzhou, we will visit Shaolin Temple, Pagoda Forest, and watch Martial Arts Performance by the Shaolin Monks.

Day 21: Back to Beijing, Shopping, Farewell party
Arrival back to Beijing. Today is a shopping day. We'll visit Liulichang Culture Street and Hongqiao Market where you may buy jewelry, antiques, ancient calligraphy and paintings, toys, clothes or any other souvenirs. In the evening, we'll have a Farewell Dinner and Party.

Day 22: Departure on flight to home country.

*Note: Occasionally, under the condition of minimum or no changes to class contents, the schedule of the courses and tours maybe subject to change for unforeseen circumstances, such as restrictions of weather, local event, short term regulations and other unforeseen cases.
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