This past summer, students from Loyola Blakefield high school and Boston College High School travelled to Yunnan Province with the company of TBC staff. The experience was very different from the busy metropolitan area in Beijing, as students got the opportunity to immerse themselves in a much more rural area with diverse ethnic culture and daily life practices. At Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, students observed the culture of the Yi ethnic group, who wore traditional Yi attire. Students got to witness a traditional ceremonial folk dance, the Huayao Yi dragon dance, before being led on a tour around the Mushan Village, where they learned about traditional customs of the Yi people. Students then also got to see the traditional “Yanhe” dance, meaning “smoke box” dance, which involves sophisticated footwork and athleticism.
Among the local cultures experienced at the village, students had the opportunity to make soymilk and tofu, and they went into fields to help local farmers with weeding. It was many of the American students’ first time ever doing farm work, and these outdoor activities brought them lots of new perspectives about hard work. Under the hot sun, students still enthusiastically participated and helped locals with weeding. The students really appreciated the simple and honest character of these rural Chinese communities and the tight-knit connections between the farmers.
The students also visited a local high school in Shilin County to exchange culture with local Chinese students. The American and Chinese students paired up in groups to tour the campus and share stories about each other’s lives at school. After the tour, the students engaged in multiple dance activities together. The school’s ethnic arts program performed solo dances for all the students, which incorporated many local minority traditions. Afterwards, the American students were also invited to show off their own dance skills on stage. Lastly, the local teachers led all students in learning the traditional Bai “Bawangbian” or “King’s whip” dance, which they performed a unity dance in at the end.
The atmosphere at Yunnan was full of life and joy. Students both from America and China got to exchange culture with each other, and deepened their intercultural understanding through music, dance, and conversation. During this process, students gained a profound appreciation for the vibrant local culture of the minority ethnic groups in Yunnan.
This past summer at The Beijing Center (TBC), students from Marquette University took TBC’s Chinese language courses for college credit. TBC’s program offers an intensive, immersive curriculum in the heart of Beijing.
This past summer in China, TBC connected students from Notre Dame School of Manhattan and Xavier High School with some of Beijing’s local elementary students. The young children were shy at first, but they eventually loved interacting with their new American friends.
Last summer, The Beijing Center (TBC) hosted Loyola Blakefield High School, Boston College High School, Xavier High School, and Notre Dame High School in China.
This past summer, The Beijing Center (TBC) accompanied Loyola Blakefield High School, Boston College High School, Xavier High School, and Notre Dame High School to tour multiple famous attractions in China, including Beijing’s Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, and Great Wall.