experience the capital -...

EXPERIENCE THE CAPITAL

PREPARED BY THE HUTONG FOR YCIS SHANGHAI- GUBEI CAMPUS

BEIJING: OCTOBER 2018

2EXPERIENCE THE CAPITAL BEIJING

KEY CONCEPTS CULTURAL IMMERSIONWe aim to provide fun, exceptional, and engaging learning experiences that empower students to build a bridge between their classroom and the world around them. More than travel providers of guided tours, our leaders and our programs challenge students to reckon with the heady issues faced by the communities they travel to and take them to a deeper level of understanding about the world around them. Innovative and interactive activities engage students and ensure they are supported to engage critically with the issues of the communities they visit and are challenged to think outside the box.

HISTORY AND MODERNIZATION Students will experience some of Beijing’s most traditional culture through nontraditional means. Hutong-designed scavenger hunts get students interacting with local shopkeepers, historical characters and examining ancient architecture, all while motivating them to explore on their own. Students will discover some of Beijing’s most innovative districts and meet the trendsetters who drive creativity in Beijing while examining how both the ancient and modern survive and thrive in China’s capital.

TEAM BUILDINGMany activities naturally lend themselves to aiding the students to break down barriers, work as teams and develop leadership qualities, but none more so than hiking on the Great Wall of China and conquering Via Ferrata. The Hutong practices responsible tourism in far flung areas of the Great Wall with pristine hiking opportunities. Here, students will hone their communication and team-building skills while living rustically. The activities will encourage the students to push their physical and cultural boundaries.

CHINESE LANGUAGEStudents will experience the capital and get behind Beijing’s red curtain, while also having a language goal or component built into most of their activities. The objective of the language components will be to enable students to comfortably apply their Chinese language skills regardless of level, with The Hutong working closely with school staff to ensure activities are properly calibrated to their Chinese language program


DESTINATION BEIJING 北京Welcome to the capital of China! As the last of the Four Great Ancient Capitals ofChina, Beijing has been the political center of the country for most of the past eightcenturies. The city is renowned for its imperial palaces, temples, parks, gardens,tombs, walls and gates, and its art treasures and universities have made it a centerof Chinese culture and arts. From the historic Forbidden City to the breathtaking Great Wall of China, Beijing has something for everyone.

We at The Hutong have called Beijing home for the past decade with our own courtyard buried deep in Beijing’s old network of alleyways that we use as our base to help visitors go beyond Beijing’s must-see spots to experience this vibrant capital in a distinct new way. A stay in Beijing with The Hutong offers much more than just a visit to Beijing’s main attractions; we work with you to create a memorable cultural experience


ITINERARY & DAILY SCHEDULEMeals provided indicated in schedule as Breakfast (B), Lunch (L), and Dinner (D)

DAY LOCATION ACTIVITIESDay 1

Shanghai - Beijing - Tianxianyu

Accommodation: Village Guesthouse

Meals: D

Morning: Train from Shanghai to Beijing

Packed lunch on the train

Afternoon:Transfer to Tianxianyu Village

Guesthouse Check-In

Village Exploration

Dinner at local farmhouse

Program Introduction

Day 2Tianxianyu-

Huanghuacheng -Beijing

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals: B, L, D

Morning: Breakfast & Check Out

Short Transfer to Huanghuacheng Wild Great Wall

Conquer the Wall at Huanghuacheng

Afternoon: Late Lunch Overlooking the Great Wall

Transfer to Beijing

Evening:Hotel Check–in

Showers and clean-up

Beijing Dinner Story

Presentations and Debrief



Day 3Tianxianyu - Beijing


Meals: B, L, D

Morning: Breakfast at hotel

Split into two groups

Group A:

Transfer to The Hutong Venue

Small Team Cooking Competition a.k.a Hook’n’Cook

Lunch at The Hutong Venue

Break

Group B:

The Hutong Amazing Race

Lunch at Local Restaurant

Break

Evening: Group B:

Transfer to The Hutong Venue

Small Team Cooking Competition a.k.a Hook’n’Cook

Dinner at The Hutong Venue

*Visit to Nanluguoxiang Night Market (Optional)

Return to Hotel

Daily Reflections and Debrief

Group A:

The Hutong Amazing Race

Dinner at Local Restaurant

*Visit to Nanluguoxiang Night Market (Optional)

Return to Hotel




Day 4Beijing


Meals: B, L, D

Morning: Breakfast at hotel

Walk to Ditan Park

Rotational Activities in Ditan Park

-Geriatric Gymnastics

-Laowai Street Theater

Afternoon: Transfer to 798 Art District

Lunch in 798

Rotational Activities in 798 Art District

-Sketching in 798

-Gallery Visits

*798 Scavenger Hunt (Optional)

Evening: Peking Duck Dinner

Chinese Acrobats Show

Return to Hotel


Day 5Beijing - Shanghai


Meals: B

Morning: Breakfast and hotel Check-Out

Transfer to Temple of Heaven Park

Kung Fu Workshop in Temple of Heaven Park

Transfer to Beijing South Station

Afternoon: Lunch on your own at Station

Take early afternoon train to Shanghai


TRIP HIGHLIGHTS: EXPERIENCE BEIJING

HIKE ON THE GREAT WALL

Like the Mongolian armies of centuries past, arduous journeys were made before attacks could be commenced against the Han forces guarding the Great Wall. The Hutong Education facilitators will take the students on a journey through the most turbulent eras of the Great Wall of China. They will learn terminology to describe their surroundings and the basic history of The Wall.

VILLAGE EXPLORATION

Students will participate in an exciting adventure race through the narrow streets and winding alleys surrounding the village. Working in small groups, students will interview local shop-keepers, search for artifacts, and use creative problem-solving in order to successfully complete a series of interactive challenges.



VILLAGE HOMESTAYS

Snuggled warmly into traditional courtyard homes, Students will have the opportunity to really experience what life is like for local residents by staying in local village. With home cooked meals, and traditional games, and sleeping in the shadow of the great wall, the village homestay is sure to be a fan favorite!

798 ART DISTRICT

This flourishing art district on the surface offers a mixture of internationally renowned giants of the art world such as UCCA and also small local galleries. However, beneath the surface we will investigate the fascinating story behind the area’s original purpose and it’s gradual change to the top Beijing destination we know today. Here students will have the opportunity to hone their creative sketching skills as well as think critically about some of the exciting exhibitions happening within the district.



BEIJING DINNER STORY

An incredibly fun, interactive evening activity, The Hutong’s Beijing Dinner Story gets students out into the narrow hutong alleyways around their hotel, interacting with friendly locals, and tasting some of the capital’s most delicious dishes. Their mission will be to work in small teams to learn about specific dishes and be able to tell the storied history of those dishes to their peers back at the hotel.

TEMPLE OF EARTH (DITAN PARK)

More than just an iconic site in Beijing’s landscape, The Temple of Earth provides an exciting opportunity to watch and join in with the city’s elderly residents performing their morning rituals from martial arts, to ball room dancing, to music and singing to geriatric gymnastics! To help fully engage in the experience, The Hutong staff will help lead students in a variety of activities aimed at maximizing participation.

CHINESE ACROBATS SHOW

Question – How many people can you fit on one bicycle? Come to this show and find out! The skill and dexterity – often verging on the impossible – of these incredible acrobats is not to be missed and offers a fitting climax to the trip.



HOOK’N’COOK

The Hook ’n’ Cook is our trademark “iron chef” style culinary challenge. You’ll unwind, roll up your sleeves, and come together while creating something personal and delicious. It’s a culinary team building experience that helps develop skills such as positive collaboration, rapid decision making, creativity, and communication.

THE HUTONG AMAZING RACE

Amazing Race Scavenger Hunt: Students will be required to use team- work, creative thinking, human ingenuity and navigation skills to complete this hutong challenge. The hunt brings students through the winding alleys, local markets and quirky neighborhoods of the ancient capital.



TEMPLE OF HEAVEN

Not only is it the grandest, most iconic, ancient site of worship in Beijing’s landscape, the magni cent Temple of Heaven also provides an exciting opportunity to watch and join in with the city’s elderly residents performing their morning rituals from martial arts, to ballroom dancing, to music and singing to geriatric gymnastics! Following this our sta will facilitate rotational activities such as Qi Gong and Jianzi (keepy-uppies with traditional feather shuttle cocks).

KUNG FU WORKSHOP

Our residential Kung-Fu Master will lead the students through the fundamental forms of ancient Shaolin martial arts, in the beautiful surroundings of the galleries of Caochangdi.


VALUES AND CHALLENGES

Throughout our programs, we challenge students to not only push their boundaries and explore their surrounding culture but we encourage them to take responsibility for their actions through embracing sustainable travel, making good decisions and supporting their classmates. These notions are born out of our own company Core Values:

1. Be a good egg!

2. Embrace diversity!

3. Light a spark!

4. Go the extra ‘li’ (mile)!

5. Seek challenge!

6. Smile more!

We like to challenge students to adopt these practices and award those who demonstrate such values during the trip, through initiatives such as:

THE CHOPSTICK CHALLENGE

Each student is given their very own set of sustainable bamboo chopsticks with a stylish pouch to keep them in. Why? Forests are being chopped down for producing chopsticks – 20 million trees per year to produce 80 billion disposable chopsticks for China alone. To discourage deforestation and wasteful consumption we avoid using disposable chopsticks and encourage responsibility for possessions. Students who demonstrate best sustainability practices will earn the ‘Golden Chopstick Award.’

THE HUTONG HELMSMAN

Mao Zedong was known as “The Great Helmsman” because of his ability to 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 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.


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] of Co-Curricular Activities, ISF Academy Hong Kong

Colleen Drisner [email protected] School Principal, Beijing City International School

Heidi Witt-Williams [email protected] of Secondary School, British School of Nanjing

Brenda Petersen [email protected] Head of School, Concordia International School, Shanghai

Greg Ladner [email protected] Principal, Hong Kong International School

Fred Runkel [email protected], 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


ABOUT THE HUTONG

At The Hutong, we offer a range of interactive, educational, unique, and fun activities to students and school groups of all different ages. Our interactive programs are designed to broaden participants’ understanding of Chinese culture and allow them to experience an authentic side of China. We aim to adapt our programs and work closely with schools and teachers to create customized cultural activities for various Grade Levels and subject areas. By incorporating grade and subject-specific learning targets into the design of our onsite and offsite excursions, The Hutong strives to offer top-notch activities that are engaging and relevant.

Combining our staff ’s expertise in both tourism and education, we have been running unique and creative study tours to off-the-beaten-track destinations 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.

Each year we expand our destinations and topics. Our goal is to work closely with schools to incorporate their curriculum and learning objectives in our educational travels, and give the students and staff exceptional experiences. The Hutong is happy to propose customized offsite programs that build upon the units of inquiry taught in your school.

The Hutong places particular emphasis on experiential learning, and works increasingly to give its students the opportunity to service the communities they visit. Students who attend Hutong trips engage with global issues by collaborating to plan and execute community service programs. They leave the trip with a renewed sense of their strengths and abilities, as well as a more solid understanding of ethical tourism and global development.


CONTACT INFORMATION

Charlotte Ashford [email protected]

Tel: +86 131 6293 8579Address: #1 Jiudaowan Zhong Xiang Hutong, Beixinqiao (Line 5

Metro), Dongcheng District, 100007 Web: www.thehutong.com | www.thehutongeducation.com

1BEIJING OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018

CLIMATE AND PACKING LIST

Ask any local Beijinger when the best time of year to visit the capital, the answer will always be Autumn. Besides being less overwhlemed by tourists, Beijing and its surrounding hills are covered in the colorful fall leaves throughout the month. However, November is the time when a dry cold sets in and temperatures begin crawling towards winter. While some late-October/early-November days may still be a bit warmer, be prepared for wintery ones and much chillier nights. Though rain is unlikley at this time of year, come prepared. Our activities will take be a mixture of indoors and outdoors and it is important to bring comfortable, warm, breathable clothes and good walking shoes. There is no need to bring any formal wear.

RECOMMENDED BAGS- 1x large backpack (Medium size is sufficient 35L-50L)- 1x smaller day pack

RECOMMENDED CLOTHING

- 2-3x pair of long trousers- 5x t-shirts- 2x lightweight fleece/vest/jumper/hoodie/sweatshirt- 1x warm down coat/jacket- 1x breathable warm waterproof jacket or poncho- 5x underwear- 5x socks- 1x sunhat/cap- 1x warm hat & pair of gloves- 2x pair of comfortable walking/sports shoes or hiking boots

RECOMMENDED TOILETRIES - Sun screen- Small bottle of insect repellant- Toiletries, including soap or body wash- Toothpaste and Toothbrush- Any required medication- Antibacterial hand gel- Wet wipes

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS

- Sunglasses- Pens & Notebook- Camera- Re-useable Water bottle (1 Litre)

REMINDERS - Passport!- Pocket Money (recommended 400-500RMB)

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, please use your own judgment when packing. PLEASE KEEP PACKING TO A MINIMUM and pay attention to bolded items!

CITY MONTH AVERAGE HIGH AVERAGE LOW

Beijing Early November 15 5

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