Destinations: Experience shadow puppetry, paper cutting, pottery, calligraphy
This art-focused winter camp is designed for international students who love visual art, craft and cultural anthropology. Xi'an and Shaanxi province preserve rich living intangible heritage traditions that have survived for hundreds of years, and winter is a wonderful time to meet local folk masters and focus on slow handcraft creation without large tourist crowds. The program balances museum art appreciation, live folk performance viewing and hands-on creation guided by certified heritage inheritors. Students watch Qinqiang opera and shadow puppet theatre, learn paper cutting, clay sculpture and brush calligraphy, and explore how folk art carries stories of daily life, festivals and ancient beliefs. Students will create multiple handmade artworks during the camp and hold a small student art exhibition on the final day. Through observing, listening and making art themselves, international learners gain direct insight into how ordinary people in Shaanxi keep traditional culture alive from one generation to the next.
Day 1: Arrival & Art Camp Opening Orientation Airport transfer and hotel check-in. Opening ceremony for art camp. Folk art tutor introduces Shaanxi intangible heritage, winter folk traditions and camp creation themes. Distribute art supplies and daily creative tasks.
Day 2: Folk Art Museum & Paper Cutting Workshop Morning guided tour of Shaanxi folk art museum, study folk paintings, paper cut art and ritual crafts. Analyze the symbolic patterns used in traditional Shaanxi folk art. Afternoon paper cutting workshop led by intangible heritage master; students create winter and festival themed cuttings.
Day 3: Shadow Puppet Theatre Visit & Puppet Making Workshop Morning watch authentic live Shaanxi shadow puppet show, learn the storytelling tradition behind shadow theatre. Afternoon hands-on workshop: students paint leather puppet characters and assemble their own puppets to perform simple skits in groups.
Day 4: Pottery & Calligraphy Workshop, Qinqiang Opera Appreciation Morning clay pottery workshop to craft small Qin-style clay figurines, plus brush calligraphy class to practice Chinese character art. Evening Qinqiang opera appreciation, study opera masks and costume design, design your own opera mask draft.
Day 5: Student Art Exhibition, Closing & Departure Prepare and open the camp art exhibition. Students display all handmade artworks, share creative ideas and cross-cultural reflections. Teachers evaluate artworks and award creation certificates. Closing ceremony and airport transfer for departure.
