For two weeks you will have the opportunity to live, learn and share the rich and diverse cultures of China’s ethnic minorities as part of your education abroad. You will have the rare opportunity to participate in homestays in various villages and explore a tropical rainforest. In addition, you will celebrate the Chinese Spring Festival (the Chinese New Year) during this trip and enjoy the tropical climate of Xishuangbanna where you will stay in the villages of the Dai people. The Yunnan Province excursion is included in tuition and is a compulsory part of the spring semester. This itinerary is just to give you a taste of what’s to come and is subject to change.
Kunming 昆明
Explore the “City of Eternal Spring,” home to Yunnan’s earliest inhabitants and the cradle of its first civilization. Known as the City of Eternal Spring for its mild climate and profusion of flowers and plants. Nowadays as the provincial capital of Yunnan, Kunming is a bustling metropolis with an urban population of about 3 million. Seagull watching at Cuihu lake.
Yi Village 彝族村
Be awed by the beauty of traditional dress with intricate embroidery and silver ornaments. Meet the Yi people, the largest minority nationality in Southwest China, a collective term for a large Tibetan-Burman group. A typical Yi village is identified by two-story adobe houses with flat roofs.
Jianshui 建水
Relax and take a break from the tourist route as you visit the historical sights and meet the friendly people of Jianshui. Jianshui has preserved over 100 old temples, academies of classical learning, and large residences. It was once a thriving trading center that connected routes between Vietnam, the Dai kingdom of Xishuangbanna and the edge of the Chinese empire.
Dai Village 傣族村
Take the time to get to know the people of this Dai Village. Traditional Dai homes are located on flat, level embankments, facing rivers or lakes, and are built of bamboo on stilts, with hinged walls, and a trapdoor and ladder leading below. Buddhism plays a central role in their culture, and young men normally spend a period of their youth as monks living in the temples and studying the Buddhist sutras.
Lijiang 丽江
This oasis town on the northern Silk Road lies in the Turpan Depression is largely a Uygur settlement. Dine in a vineyard of a local Uygur family in this easy-going place, famous for its grapes, with mud-brick houses and dusty streets often covered with trellised vines. Escape the summer heat by hailing a local taxi, a donkey cart. After an afternoon of learning the locals dance moves, head to Ai Ding Lake, the lowest place in China and the second lowest place in the world.
Dali 大理
Take a moment to smell the flowers. Dali is famous for being the “Flower Kingdom” of camellia, azalea and orchids, and for the many types of marble it produces, which are used primarily in construction and for decorative objects. Sandwiched between Er Hai Lake to the east and the Cang Shan Mountain range to the west, the picturesque little town of Dali draws many visitors. In the nearby countryside, numerous Bai villages offer a glimpse into traditional culture, and are particularly interesting on market days.
