Dragons 2018 CHINA: Student Programs

CHINA 2018-19

THE LEADER IN CROSS-CULTURAL + EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION SINCE 1993

CHINA: MANDARIN LANGUAGE INTENSIVE 4-Week & 6-Week Summer Programs, Ages 15–18

“

CHINA 6-We

With outstanding Chinese language teachers and an average class size of three students,

“Amy returned from the Silk Road program

Drag

Dragons Yunnan-based language programs offer unparalleled language instruction. Three

inspired. She has changed her studies in

adv

to five hours a day of classroom instruction are complemented by language immersion in

college to China-focused courses. She has

we

homestays, both in the city of Kunming and rural villages in western Yunnan. Independent

returned from China with a new curiosity and

Study Projects along with group excursions and guest speakers provide additional opportunities for students to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom and navigate daily

reg

devotion to learning more about the culture

an

and people of the Far East.”

thro

life in China.

June 28 - July 28, 2018; June 28 - August 8, 2018

Tian DE NISE STAFFORD, PARENT

Taklim

China: The Silk Road

oasis tow

We experien

Hui, Dongxiang, T

to understand their illustrious heritage and the com June 28 - August 8, 2018

CHINA: THE YANGTZE RIVER 4-Week Summer Program, Ages 16–18

Traveling the length of Asia’s longest river, through

heartland, we spend an incredible month exploring breadth of this immense country. On our Yangtze River course we learn about China’s cultural history while surveying ethnic minority issues and engaging in a curriculum that delves deeply into the environmental challenges of a rapidly

CHINA: CHANGE & TRADITION 6-Week Summer Program, Ages 16–18

modernizing China. This journey begins in the mega-city of Shanghai, the world’s busiest port, and ends at the river’s headwaters

Engaging with this vast and diverse country in remote villages and massive cities, in Han

in the Tibetan Kingdom of Amdo. The vast

ethnic majority areas as well as many minority communities, traversing mountains and

picture of China we take in is sure to provide an

pastureland, rivers and farmland—the Change and Tradition program explores key issues at

enlightening, comprehensive overview to anyone

the center of changing Chinese culture and life. Our students develop an understanding of

interested in the critical issues facing China today.

how modern historical events have shaped life for people in China today and how China’s ongoing economic transformation continues to reshape society, families, and individual choices.

June 28 - August 8, 2018

June 28 - July 28, 2018

eek Summer Program, Ages 16–18

A: THE SILK ROAD

CHINA & LAOS: FROM HOLY MOUNTAIN TO HIDDEN KINGDOM NEW THIS YEAR! 6-Week Summer Program, Ages 16–18

agons Silk Road program is a rugged

From the base of sacred Kawagebo mountain on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, the mighty

dventure that combines travel in China’s far

est with meaningful investigations of the

Mekong River courses through gorges and mega-dams through the Himalayas, gradually widening into the tropical rainforests of Laos. The China and Laos summer program splits time

egion’s many cultures, fascinating history,

between China’s Yunnan province and northern Laos as we explore the diverse landscapes,

nd religious traditions. Our journey takes us

spiritual traditions, and critical issues connected to life along the Mekong River. Offering students

rough awe-inspiring natural landscapes: the

an opportunity to explore the region through a transnational lens, this program delves into the

nshan and Pamir mountain ranges, Gobi and

economic, environmental, and cultural mosaic of Laos and China.

makan deserts, the Tibetan Plateau, ancient

June 28 - August 8, 2018

wns, nomadic pasturelands and alpine forests.

ence daily life among Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz,

Tibetan, Mongol and Han people as we strive

mplex challenges of the present.

h China’s

g the

SEMESTER OFFERING CHINA: SOUTH OF THE CLOUDS 12-Week Fall & Spring Semesters, Ages 17+ Dragons China semester allows for much deeper immersion through longer homestays, intensive language instruction, wide-ranging travel and in-depth Independent Study Projects. Students often use this semester as a vehicle for exploration of China’s cultural traditions, mastering fundamentals of healing arts, cooking, calligraphy, painting, or a body discipline (such as qi gong or taijiquan). The semester includes exploration of China’s western reaches, to ancient Silk Road trading posts, nomadic Tibetan communities, development projects, boom towns, and areas of spectacular natural beauty.

September 15 - December 6, 2018; February 12 - May 6, 2019

*This semester is available for college credit, see our website for more information.

L E A R N M O R E : W H E R E T H E R E B E D R AG O N S .CO M /ST U D E N TS

LEADING THE WAY FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS When Dragons began running programs in 1993, the few existing programs in China traveled by chartered bus to stock tourism sites. We were the first organization to take students to remote areas of western China and the Tibetan Plateau; we were the first organization to travel deeply into rural and minority areas of Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu and Xinjiang; and we were the first organization to offer homestays in both urban and rural communities. Since that time, we’ve continued to seek opportunities for connection and engagement across China, in places and with people that give our students the most direct experience of China’s diversity, depth, and complexity.

UNMATCHED QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION & INDIVIDUAL STUDENT ATTENTION Dragons programs are limited in size to 12 students and are guided by three instructors. Our instructors are mature and experienced adults who teach to China’s history, arts, culture, economy, politics and development.

With an average age of 30, our instructors include career teachers, graduate researchers, and wilderness guides, while others have a background in development, journalism or ecology. Instructors work in teams of three to complement one another’s knowledge and skills and provide students with a comprehensive view of China today.

MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT We have worked over many years with local and international academics, experts, and guides to build one-ofa-kind programs with dynamic itineraries. All of the experiences we facilitate and the relationships we share with students have been cultivated by Dragons staff, exclusively for our programs. From village homestay families, to service project partners, to our independently recruited and trained language teachers, we connect students directly to the people who can teach them the most about life in China and help them develop the skills to learn independently.

A BROAD & HOLISTIC EXPERIENCE On a Dragons China program, students might hike through the countryside and visit remote Buddhist monasteries, learn about artistic traditions through hands-on classes in calligraphy and thangka painting, see how ecological farming projects are responding to environmental damage, talk to migrant workers in rapidly expanding cities, and live in the homes of families whose ancestors arrived with the invading armies of Genghis Khan. All students engage in Independent Study Projects, designed to meet their needs and interests, with topics that range from the study of Chinese cooking and food culture, to the impact of hydropower in Yunnan, martial arts, pop music, or Chinese history. Dragons China students play an active role in determining the course and outcomes of their experience, engaging fully with the places and people they visit.

L E A R N M O R E : W H E R E T H E R E B E D R AG O N S .CO M /ST U D E N TS