Traveling Seminar to CHINA

May 16-30, 2005 (tentative)
Kansas State University

A Trip of a Lifetime

The Office of International Programs and the K-State Department of Geography invite you to participate in a Traveling Seminar to China, a program that provides students with a unique opportunity to study the ancient culture in China and the profound changes that are taking place in the country as it experiences the transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy.

It promises to be a trip of a lifetime. Every city, historical site and landscape across the country has a story to tell. Stories about people, their adventures and ideas, struggles and victories, discoveries and beliefs. The trip brings these stories to life for you like no textbook can. You will discover the places where remarkable events unfolded and extraordinary people lived. You will explore the wonders of the natural world and gaze upon treasured monuments and artistic masterpieces. Travel with us and give yourself a firsthand learning adventure that will forever change your view of the country.

The group tour begins in Shanghai, China’s largest city, view the Bund, a beautifully landscaped promenade. We will visit the famous Jade Buddha Temple and the beautiful Yu Yuan Garden. Then we will travel by bus to Suzhou, a bustling, medium sized city. Over a dozen exquisite historic gardens - small worlds of ponds, plants and stones - await behind the walls in Suzhou. We will tour the Zhuozheng Garden - the largest private garden in the city. Then on to Nanjing, home to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Mausoleum, Confucious Temple. From Nanjing, we will fly to Wuhan. After a brief local tour, we will embark on our ship to begin our Yangtze River Cruize. We will flow through tableaux of incredible beauty, including the spectacular Three Gorges! And many of the scenes we will see along the Three Gorges will soon be a thing of the past because China is building an enormous dam on the river that will cause much of the area submerged (This is another reason we call this "a trip of a lifetime"). We will visit the site of the controversial Yangtze Dam project. The cruise will end in Chongqing, an important city in inland China's Sichuan Province. After a city tour, featuring a visit to the city zoo (yes, we will see Pandas), we will fly to Xi’an in the afternoon. Xian is the former capital of eleven dynasties and a must-see in China. We will see the 2,200-year-old Terra Cotta Army - 6,400 sculpted life-sized soldiers, horses, and ministers that guard the tomb of China's first emperor Win Shi Huangdi. The final stop of the trip will be Beijing, the capital of China. Our tour will showcase monumental Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City - a maze of more than 9,000 treasure-filled chambers and hundreds of hidden courtyards. We will also stroll the pavilions, lakes, and gardens of the Summer Palace. But we will also tour Beijing's hutong. These squat, ancient residential quarters, crisscrossed by narrow lanes, offer a glimpse of everyday Chinese life as it has been lived for generations. While in Beijing, you will also be treated to a festive, authentic Peking Duck dinner and enjoy an acrobatics show. No China tour would be complete without visiting the fabled Great Wall. We will visit the section at the Badaling Hills. As you walk along its ramparts, imagine the scenes of battle and ceremony that have taken place along its 3,900-mile path to the sea….

Course Credit

Students participating in the course can earn three hours of undergraduate or graduate credit in Geography 680: Seminar in Regional Geography. Students earning the credit will write a paper based on the trip as part of the course requirements. In addition, they are also expected to attend two briefing sessions before the trip.

Costs

The projected cost of the trip is approximately $2900, which includes:

· Round-trip airfare (Air China) and all transportation inside China

· 4-star hotels (very nice accommodation) and tourist level cruise

· 3 meals daily in upscale restaurants

· All admission fees to special attractions/shows

· Bilingual local guides

· Tuition for the K-State credit

The cost of the trip does not cover passport, visa, medical or other insurances, tips for local tour guides, travel to and from Kansas City or additional personal expenses. However we can get the visa for you

For More Information

1. To sign up for the trip and to apply for financial loan for the trip, please contact:

Elfrieda Nafziger

Office of International Programs

304 Fairchild Hall

Manhattan, KS 66506-1111

(785)532-5990

elfrieda@ksu.edu

2. To learn more about the trip, contact

Dr. Max Lu

Department of Geography

301E Dickens Hall

Manhattan, KS66506

(785) 532-3413

maxlu@ksu.edu