Activities and Field Study Trips

Field Study Trips

Our Field Study Trips allow students to gain a greater understanding of Chinese culture, society, and economic development. As part of their Capstone Projects, students will continue to investigate an area of particular interest during this trip. In addition to the week-long trip, a weekend trip to a nearby city is also organized during the spring and fall terms. The summer programs include a five-day Field Study Trip.

Sichuan Province

To view photos from the recent Sichuan Province Field Study Trip, please click here.
Our trip offers students the opportunity to explore the mysterious lands of Jiuzhaigou, one of the best preserved wild life havens in China, and Emei Mountain, one of China's four famous Buddhist mountains with exquisite natural beauty and a long history of religious culture. Visits to Chengdu or Chongqing allow a glimpse into modern city life in the southwest. On this trip, students discover the contrast in Chinese economic and social development along the coast versus the inland provinces, learn about government policies affecting this region, gain a deeper understanding of Sichuan's minority nationalities, and relish the hot and spicy flavors of Sichuanese cuisine.

Yunnan Province

To view photos from the recent Yunnan Province Field Study Trip, please click here.
Yunnan province in southwestern China offers China's most diverse population of ethnic minority cultures, stunning scenery, and a rich history. Students gain deep insight into Yunnan's local culture and artistic heritage. They have the opportunity to experience urban life in Kunming, visit small Yi and Miao minority villages, and hike Snow Mountain. Participants of the trip may also explore the great natural beauty of the Stone Forest, the rain forest of Xishuangbanna, or participate in an extensive encounter with the Bai minority culture in the ancient town of Dali.

Qinghai Province

Located on the Tibetan Plateau, Qinghai is considered one of the most beautiful regions in China. Students may visit Ta'er Monastery, one of the six most famous Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world, travel to Qinghai Lake, the largest salt water lake in China and one of China’s best bird watching sites, or explore the ancient tombs of Liuwan. Students will behold the breathtaking scenery, witness the contrast in development in the region versus the coastal provinces, and gain a deeper understanding of Qinghai’s minority nationalities.

Weekend Trip

To view photos from the Shaoxing Field Study Trip, please click here. To view the Travel Book, please click here.

Weekend trip destinations change each term.  One recent semester, students visited Shaoxing and Shipu. Shaoxing is one of the most important places reflecting the Jiangnan character—a cultural embranchment in China. Students were immersed in local culture and stayed in the 400-year-old Taimen house hotel, took a local wupeng boat and visited the former residence of Lu Xun (a great Chinese writer). Shipu is famous for its fishing industry and natural island scenery. Students visited the amazing Hua’ao Island (Stone Forest) and spent one night in the local fishing village of Dongmen Island.

Extracurricular Activities

Throughout the semester, students are invited to take part in a full schedule of excursions, events and lectures - all designed to enhance their understanding of China and the historical and modern influences that impact its culture and people. Shanghai program students will visit the famous Yuyuan Park, the historic Bund along the Huangpu River, and the former French concession. Activities may include cultural performances, museum visits, special lectures, visits to artists' studios, architectural walking tours, and many opportunities to meet locals, including students from other campuses.

The Alliance also arranges extracurricular classes which may include Chinese painting, calligraphy, cooking, taiji or other martial arts, seal carving, or paper cutting.  These classes offer a wonderful opportunity to learn more about traditional Chinese culture.  Sample activities from a recent Alliance semester at Fudan are listed below.  Activities for future terms are subject to change.

1. Lantern Festival

The Chinese Lantern Festival marks the end of Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). People usually celebrate with colorful lanterns, dumplings (tang yuan) and riddles.  

 2. Beijing Opera: The Story of the White Snake

The story is adapted from a famous classical Chinese novel and is an example of how the spiritual world often plays a role in the lives of the Chinese.

3. Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center

The art center exhibits selected propaganda posters displayed across China from 1949 to 1979. Founder and owner Mr. Yang Peiming hosted the tour of the facilities and provided an introduction to his poster collection. For more information on the Propaganda Poster Art Centre, please visit http://www.shanghaipropagandaart.com/.

4. Visit Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center

Students learned about Shanghai’s history and development and its ambitious plans for the future. To view pictures of the visit, please click here.

5. Visit to Baosteel in Baoshan District

A site visit to the largest iron and steel conglomerate in China. Baosteel is the sixth-largest steel producer in the world with revenues of $21.5 billion.

6. Yueju (Shaoxing) Opera Performance

This type of opera has a history of about 800 years and was derived from a kind of story-singing. At first, it was performed with a small drum and hardwood clappers for rhythm and later, choral and orchestral accompaniment was added. It drew some musical elements from Shao opera and subsequently formed its own characteristics. Yue opera is noted for its lyricism, and singing is dominant in it. Originally Yue opera was only performed by males and then changed to all female performances. After 1949, male and females performed together.

7. Visit to Xintiandi and the Chinese Communist Party Museum

The excursion was led by the Fudan instructors of the "Issues in Contemporary Society and Culture" and "Contemporary Chinese Politics" courses. Students were encouraged to consider questions about tradition, modernization, and history and to pay attention to the ironies of their setting. Students were also asked to situate "Chinese culture" into a historical context of encountering the west.

8. World AIDS Day Discussion

Shao Jing, author of a very powerful academic article on the politics of HIV / AIDS and the value of bodies under a neoliberal regime, spoke to the Society and Culture class. Shao Jing completed his Ph.D., at the University of Chicago and is now a professor at Nanjing University. Simon Tang, Office Director of the Chi Heng Foundation, also spoke on the work of the Foundation with children affected by AIDS in China.

9. "My Shanghai," Migrant Students’ Photography Exhibit

“My Shanghai” is an exhibit showcasing photographs taken by sixth grade students from Jin Hu Primary School.

10. Calligraphy class

Students learned the basic technique for writing Chinese characters with a brush as well as how to evaluate calligraphy as a work of art. To view photos from an extracurricular calligraphy, please click here.

11. Acrobatics Show: Pu Jiang Qing

Acrobatics is a pearl in the treasure house of the traditional Chinese performing arts and has existed in China for more than two thousand years.

12. Independent Film: Gold of Bund

A contemporary drama directed by Wei Wu about recent university graduates seeking jobs.

13. Visit to the Shouchun Migrant School in Pudong

Students visited classrooms in small groups and communicated with migrant students in Chinese to understand their experiences.

14. Chinese Singing Competition (Final Activity of Chinese Week)

Students were divided into four groups to compete in singing Chinese songs.

15. Visit to Shanghai Roots and Shoots

Participants of this activity got a detailed picture of how an environmental NGO works in Shanghai. Some students even began volunteering for Roots and Shoots programs.

16. Student Cooking Contest

Students were assigned to cooking groups, each led by a Chinese teacher. The teachers took their groups shopping and then each group made a vegetable dish and a meat dish that morning. At lunch everyone gathered in a student apartment to taste and vote on the best dishes. The winning dishes were Dai pineapple rice (presented in the shell of a pineapple) and sweet and sour spareribs, but all the food was fabulous—and there was enough to feed everyone.

17. Chinese Salon

This was an evening activity that was held in the Tonghe Alliance offices. Students went from room to room depending on interest: In one room, they learned and practiced some fundamentals of calligraphy; in another they played the Chinese equivalent of Mafia—a group game where players have to figure out who the murderer is by asking a series of questions; in another, they played Chinese chess; and in the fourth room, they learned some basic phrases in Shanghai dialect.