Destinations: Shanghai, Hangzhou
This interdisciplinary winter heritage camp connects Shanghai's modern port history with Hangzhou's profound ancient civilizations, perfectly suited for students studying archaeology, world history, art and literature. Winter brings misty, serene scenery around West Lake, avoiding heavy summer crowds and creating an ideal quiet environment for studying ancient Chinese poetry and heritage sites. The journey begins in Shanghai, exploring modern museum collections and port history before boarding high-speed trains to Hangzhou, home to the UNESCO Liangzhu Archaeological Site, the 5,000-year-old Neolithic kingdom, and West Lake, famous for Chinese classical poems and landscape aesthetics. Students will walk through Liangzhu ruins and museum to learn about early Chinese state formation, jade culture and ancient agricultural society. Around West Lake, students study poetry stories, landscape philosophy and experience traditional Longjing tea culture. Combining archaeological field tasks, poetry reading, tea workshops and comparative history discussions, students gain a full picture of how 5,000 years of Chinese civilization developed from prehistoric societies into today's modern cities.
Day 1: Arrival in Shanghai & Heritage Camp Opening Airport arrival, hotel check-in, winter safety briefing. Opening lecture introduces the timeline of Yangtze River civilization and camp learning objectives. Distribute archaeology study notebooks and artifact observation worksheets.
Day 2: Shanghai Museum & Huangpu River Cultural Study Morning in-depth guided tour of Shanghai Museum, focusing on jade, bronze and ceramic relics. Students analyze artifact craftsmanship and record observations in notebooks. Afternoon Huangpu river cruise to understand Shanghai's history as an international trading port. Evening group discussion comparing river civilizations worldwide.
Day 3: Bullet Train to Hangzhou & West Lake Introductory Tour Take high-speed train to Hangzhou. Afternoon winter West Lake walking tour. Listen to English explanations of famous poems, legends and historical events connected to West Lake. Students complete landscape sketching and poetry reading activities. Evening check-in at Hangzhou hotel.
Day 4: Liangzhu UNESCO Archaeological Site Full-Day Study Full-day academic field trip to Liangzhu site and museum. Walk the ancient city ruins, royal cemetery and water conservation relics. Professional archaeology educator explains Liangzhu jade ritual culture, ancient farming and early state system. Students finish archaeological field recording tasks.
Day 5: Longjing Tea Village Visit & Tea Culture Workshop Morning travel to Longjing tea mountain village. Tour winter tea plantations and learn about tea growing, picking and roasting techniques. Afternoon hands-on Chinese tea ceremony workshop, learning tea etiquette and cultural symbolism. Students prepare tea and practice related cultural vocabulary.
Day 6: Hangzhou Grand Canal Study & Return to Shanghai Morning visit the Grand Canal museum, learn about the world's longest artificial canal and ancient transport economy. Take bullet train back to Shanghai in the afternoon. Evening prepare final heritage presentation and group sharing materials.
Day 7: Closing Ceremony, Presentation & Departure Student presentation of Liangzhu and Jiangnan civilization discoveries. Award camp certificates and handcraft souvenirs. Cultural feedback session and airport transfer.
