Sign-ups for our Global Citizenship Summer Camp in Songyang are now open!
Summer, long warm sunny days, an open schedule and no government body telling us to go online then offline then online again. Whatever might be going on with our spring camps, we’re excited about our summer camps and the summertime – you should be too.
Best Summer Camp in Songyang, China
We’re giving you one of the programs that has been most popular with our international school partners, our Songyang Global Citizenship Camp. We invite you to join our rural revitalization project in the sleepy mountain villages of Songyang.
If you would like to make enquiries for your school or organization, please email education@wildchina.com. For private and family groups, please contact our wechat assistant account by adding “wildchina-education”.
What is Songyang?
Described as “the last secret region in the south of the Yangtze River” by National Geographic China, Songyang county has, in many ways, remained unchanged for centuries. Here, nestled away in Zhejiang’s misty and mountainous southwest, artisans cast traditional iron knives in street-side stores, and communities participate in ancient fengshui practices. Local chefs steam hand-cut noodles and farmers grow local green tea that is now thought of as some of the best in China.
Village in the Clouds
Songyang’s villages are scattered amongst the dramatic hills and valleys of Zhejiang. Each village is comprised of a few traditional houses and miles of trails wind their way through the mountains connecting them. Places like Xikeng, at 700m above sea level, are perpetually lined with thick fluffy clouds. While, Pingtian, another hamlet of traditional homes peek through dense bamboo forests.
Rich Biomes and Ecodiversity
We invited a forest ranger with three decades of experience to trek the rolling hills of Songyang with us. We traced the tracks of hedgehogs (a sub-species native to the area), spotted cuckoos, and identified thousands of species of plants. It’s an incredibly compelling destination for students wanting to study biodiversity in old-forest settings.
Architecture Through the Ages
As part of the rural revitalization project Songyang has been attracting architects to rejuvenate the dynastic and classical buildings holding over from generations past. For example, the abandoned ‘city-god temple’ now moonlights as an open air theatre. Buildings which are used only seasonally like the sugar factory now take double shifts to serve as a stage playing traditional operas and plays.
Unique Cultural Crafts & Traditions
Songyang is home to the ‘She’ people of China. The techniques and traditions that they have been passing on for generations include weaving with hand-looms, throwing coal stoves, tea arts, and so much more. Chinese director Chenxiaoqing says: “the most delicious flavor is human” and we agree. Songyang’s people and their crafts is what makes Songyang more than just a geographical ‘destination.’
Highlights
Join us in revitalizing the rural communities of Songyang!
This is an open classroom, our destination is your starting point.
Songyang in the summer time offers learners the perfect retreat to be immersed in verdant forests, sit with a tea master as they tell their stories, learn to pick out the game trails that weave through the woods, work side-by-side with architects as they actualize their designs.
Individual effort matters, but we must learn how to enact at the systemic level too.
WildChina works in Songyang 365 days a year, as part of a formal relationship with the government, to raise awareness about this beautiful location, which is a part of a larger rural revitalization scheme from the central government. How do we support the aging population? How do we provide them with medical care? How can we ensure that valuable trades & traditions are passed on to the next generation? How do we pay for the maintenance of old buildings? Students see the details that drive the government’s regulatory decisions and present their own opinions about what should be done.
On the final day, students make formal presentations and receive feedback from the government representatives allocating budgets and resources to the districts.
Global citizenship has become a buzzword in international education. The IB curriculum stresses this concept and instills the belief in educators and students about the worthiness of being globally aware, and an understanding of how daily actions have an impact on the larger world. This is a vital first step, but too often schools use the term Global Citizen as a catch all for personal development and fail to truly help their students see the impact of their actions on a greater world. To truly be global citizens, students need classroom instruction where they learn the theory, but it is vital to take the next step and put these concepts into practice; students must experience the real world.
WildChina uses the classical theory of experiential education: experiencing, reflecting, thinking, experimenting. Our facilitators are trained specifically in experiential learning and guide students to learn from their surroundings, to discover new things, and explore their own identities. Global citizenship starts from learning to see that me is a part of we.
Program Details
Day 1 | Arrive and hike around the local villages in the mountains, enjoy a campfire and camp out under the stars
Day 2 | Local specialty food fried tofu cooking workshop, lunch, serve tea to elders and do interviews with them, evening: debrief about the day & prepare for presentations
Day 3 | Learn fenglu, make lunch for elders and eat together with them, hike, evening: debrief about the day and prepare for presentations
Day 4 | Learn chaihuhua, old building repair, evening: prepare for presentations
Day 5 | Learn biancaidai, forest ecodiversity cataloging, evening: prepare for presentations
Day 6 | Presentations to local government, return home
Participants
Language | Bilingual
Age | students from 8 to 13+ years old
“Overall, the activities were engaging and fun opportunities for our students to learn about Chinese culture. If we return to Songyang then I would like to incorporate a variety of these activities into our itinerary as they were enjoyable for all of our students.” —— Nanjing International School
About Our Team
We have been running innovative, custom-crafted educational tours since 2000 with responsible professionalism, and while maintaining an exemplary safety record. We are the curator of experiential learning experiences for the world’s leading institutions including Harvard, Stanford, Dulwich, Nord Anglia, Wellington, Harrow and many more. Our commitment to safety, sustainability, and creative high-quality itineraries has made us Asia’s oldest and most established leader in educational travel.
Health and Safety
At WildChina, we are committed to ensuring that all our programs meet the latest health and safety standards, and these are available to your administration and parents upon request. To do this, we adhere to the British School Travel Forum’s strict code of practice and safety standards to vet accommodations, transport, activities and food service providers used on your trip. Our program audits are available to your administration once your program is confirmed.
WildChina is Covered
Insurance & Medical Assistance
As a fully licensed Travel Company we maintain General Liability Insurance for all our clients. For all programs, an emergency vehicle is provided to enable swift transfers to the closest hospital. For extremely remote locations, WildChina staff have the contact details of the appropriate ‘airlift’ medical evacuation services. At least one member of the WildChina staff carries a functioning GPS phone to contact emergency services.
WildChina Maintains
Incident & Near Miss Reports
Using specialized software and systems, WildChina Education maintains constant contact in times of near misses and incidents with our crisis management team. Our team then takes these near miss reports and integrates them into our preventative measures to ensure next-level safety.
WildChina Has Risk Expertise
Experts
On our crisis management team are veterans in the industry and include Mr. Simon Drayton, a former international search and rescue professional corp member and former British Coastguard manager. Our team then takes these near miss reports and integrates them into our preventative measures to ensure next level safety.
COVID-19: WildChina Measures
Additional Training
Our team practices social distancing outside of working hours and every staff member has received additional training on identifying risk factors linked to COVID-19 and the symptoms that accompany the virus. Your guide will seamlessly adjust your itinerary to avoid anywhere that is crowded and if you feel unwell, will quickly escort you to the nearest hospital.
China’s Green Health Code:
Prior to every journey, we ensure all WildChina team members you’ll meet along the way holds a green health code from the Chinese government. This code is official notice that a person has not been to an area of high COVID-19 risk in the past 14 days and is not showing any symptoms of the virus. In addition to this, we will hold a briefing with each guide and ensure they have been fever-free for 4 weeks prior to the travel date.
Face masks and hand sanitizer:
Even with a green health code, our staff will wear a face mask for the duration of your journey – even if they are not in an area or province that requires it. This is for your safety and theirs. They will carry hand sanitizer that is at least 65% alcohol proof and also regularly wash their hands using soap and water.
COVID-19 SOP
1. Comply with all local government recommendations and requirements for any program that we operate
2. Complete full risk assessments prior-to, during, and after a program
3. All of our staff and crisis management teams will undergo training in COVID-19 awareness and management
4. Ensure that our programs take place within a reasonable distance from medical facilities and maintain our emergency response protocols
5. Continue to ensure that all of our staff has up-to-date first-aid training and that we are carrying a digital thermometer in every first aid kit
6. Any of our staff coming into contact with students will have had health checks before the trip and be fever-free prior to the start of the program
7. Ensure that all accommodations and transportation undergo thorough cleaning and disinfection and that they are well ventilated prior to use
8. Ensure that programs are facilitated where running water and soap is accessible
9. Continue to provide meals and snacks on-trip that are hygienic, safe, and cooked thoroughly
10. Continue to provide masks and disposable gloves for students/staff on our programs as needed
11. Strive to avoid crowded areas which are enclosed and poorly ventilated
12. Offer pre-trip health and hygiene guidance sessions to schools, either in person or online
13. Brief students not to touch any wildlife or domestic animals
14. Brief students not to touch their face prior to washing their hands
15. Reinforce handwashing procedures (at least 20 seconds with soap) with students throughout a program
16. Provide hand sanitizer for students as needed
17.In packing lists and during pre-trip briefings, we will continue to emphasize that an adequate amount of tissues should be carried by students in case they need to sneeze, cough, or blow their nose. Our staff will always carry extra tissues to provide to students as needed
How To Apply
While it sounds cliché, students today will create the world we live in, and their exposure to situations outside of the classroom to build true Global Citizenship is vital to our future world.
Join us this summer, practicing Global Citizenship in the last secret region in the south of the Yangtze River. Be the change you want to make!
We can offer tailor-made camp proposal for corporate and school partnership, please contact education@wildchina.com. For private and family group, please contact our assistant account via “wildchina-education” or scan below QR code.
