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About
Excel China:
After decades of
stagnation, China is emerging as a world superpower.
Extraordinary growth in its production of industrial and
commercial goods has affected markets, tilted trade
balances, and increased competitive pressures
 across
the globe. Foreign companies are seeking access to China’s
one billion potential customers. Military strategists argue
about the country’s effect on international relations in
Asia and beyond. Chinese films draw wide audiences and
attract attention to the nation’s rich contemporary and
traditional arts. Though China demands the world’s
attention, few Americans understand it beyond the most
superficial level. Excel China provides an opportunity for
motivated students who want to take a first step in their
study, and an in-depth experience for those who have already
begun to focus their interest. The program challenges
students to learn and live outside their comfort zones; to
explore a new culture with an adventurous and curious
spirit; and to constantly try new things.
The Program: Excel China is based at the Capital
University of Economics and Business (CUEB), located within
Beijing’s Central Business Area. The campus is near
important historical sites, expansive parks, and the city’s
cosmopolitan embassy district. Founded in 1956, CUEB is part
of Beijing’s network of leading, well-established
universities. The campus offers a vibrant student community
and a quiet space within the bustling capital where
opportunities abound for interaction with Chinese students
over lunch or on the basketball court.
Beijing offers students
an amazing array of fascinating sights and activities that
form the basis of the program’s courses and excursions. Walk
below the enormous portrait of Mao into the vast courtyards
and lavishly decorated temples, gardens, and passageways of
the Forbidden City – home to China’s emperors. Spin prayer
wheels or make an incense offering at the largest Tibetan
Buddhist temple in China. Explore the narrow streets and
tiny shops of a traditional hutong neighborhood. Shop for
anything from revolutionary memorabilia to original
calligraphy at the massive Panjiayuan market (also known as
the Dirt Market). Enjoy an evening stage performance
combining acrobatics with kung fu and traditional dance.
Learn just how spicy Szechwan food really is!
After two weeks in
Beijing, the group takes a week-long excursion so that
students can gain perspective on China from outside of its
capital. Courses continue during this trip. The group first
flies 1,000 miles southeast to Hangzhou, the beautiful
former capital built on the scenic shores of West Lake.
After three nights here, a short bus and boat ride takes the
group to Putuoshan Island in the China Sea to see its
remarkable Buddhist shrines, and to relax on its attractive
beaches. Then the group travels by overnight boat to
Shanghai for a visit to this metropolis of 17 million that
seeks to rival New York as the center of world trade. After
an overnight train ride to Beijing, students spend the final
week of the program continuing their in-depth exploration of
the city, and working together to prepare for their courses’
culminating presentations.
A Typical Day
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After breakfast on
campus, students join their major or minor class for a full
day in order to provide ample time for travel and extended
visits to sites of interest. Courses are field-based and use
China’s local resources for course content. The religion
course might begin a day discussing early Taoist
philosophical writings, and then visit the Dongyue Temple in
the afternoon. Students in the Chinese Cuisine minor course
might visit a food market, sample a particular regional
cuisine at a local restaurant, and then help prepare
northern Chinese dumplings under the watchful eye of a
traditional cook. The China in Words course might visit the
Lao She Tea House, using a centuries old tea ceremony and a
reading of 20th century master Lu Xun as inspiration for
their own reflections on China.
Late in the afternoon,
students often have an hour or two of free time before
dinner. This is an opportunity to talk with Chinese
students, to play a pickup game of basketball, frisbee, or
chess, or to get a glimpse of everyday life near the CUEB
campus. After dinner, the group holds its evening meeting.
This is a time to share the experiences of the day, to
discuss future plans, and to build the sense of community
that is a key feature of every Excel program. After the
meeting, organized evening activities include off-campus
options (always led by an instructor or other staff member),
and on-campus events such as a coffeehouse with student
performers.
Excursions
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Heeding Mao’s admonition
that “He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true
man,” the group goes on an overnight hiking trip to one of
the less-visited portions of the Great Wall for a moonlight
or sunrise view. Students enjoy a canal boat ride to the
imperial family’s Summer Palace which is surrounded by a
vast park featuring lakes, temples, and interesting oddities
like the Dowager Empress’ marble boat, built with funds
intended to create a modern navy. A bike tour of Beijing’s
traditional neighborhoods, and a hike in Fragrant Hills Park
are other options. During the program’s week-long excursion,
students have a chance for a real change of pace, enjoying
the parks, temples, and wooded hills of beautiful Hangzhou,
the beaches of Putuoshan, and the high octane ambiance of
booming Shanghai.
Courses of Study
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Excel China’s seminars
are limited to 12 students, allowing for an active and
interactive format taking advantage of the range of
fascinating learning opportunities that China has to offer.
Highly qualified and energetic instructors live with the
students in the dorm, and are engaged in all aspects of the
program, not just classes. All students choose one major
course and one minor course. Major courses meet three full
days per week, minors meet two full days. Excel China’s
courses set high academic standards, but do so in a
noncompetitive, creative atmosphere that makes learning
exciting and fun.
Excel
China Courses of Study
Major Courses
Introduction to Mandarin: (back
to course list) Designed for students who have a strong
interest in getting a start on spoken Mandarin but who have
had no significant training, this seminar provides an
introduction to the challenges of this tonal language.
Students participate in active exercises that help them
understand how Mandarin differs from English, and provide
them with basic conversational skills that they use in daily
interactions with local people in shops, markets, and
restaurants, on the buses and subways, in parks, and around
the CUEB campus. While the focus is on oral language skills,
students are introduced to Chinese characters, learning a
small group of those they most often encounter and find most
useful as travelers.
Intermediate & Advanced Mandarin: (back
to course list) Secondary students who have had the
opportunity to study Mandarin during the academic year
benefit greatly from the chance to improve their oral
language skills by focused study and daily interaction with
native speakers. With class size limited to 12, the
instructor is able to identify weak or underdeveloped areas
in students’ knowledge and to customize exercises to fill in
gaps and foster breakthroughs. A significant part of each
lesson involves interaction with native speakers in
real-life situations where effective language skills are
required. Even experienced students should expect to be
challenged in order to make significant strides in their
language learning. While not the focus of instruction,
learning and practicing key written characters is part of
coursework. Note that placement
into Intermediate or Advanced Mandarin will be determined
based on assessments during the first days of the program.
China and the World
Economy: (back to course
list) In the space of only a few years, China has become
a major force in the world economy. This has made
interactions with China increasingly crucial in
international relations, and has had a particular effect on
U.S. policy. Students in this course examine the origin of
the U.S. trade imbalance with China, and the many issues and
implications relating to Chinese purchase of U.S. government
debt, currency valuation, U.S. and Chinese savings rates,
and Chinese domestic spending. A related issue that recently
received focused attention in the U.S. was Beijing’s
purchase of a three billion dollar stake in a U.S. private
equity firm. Should American politicians be concerned about
Chinese ownership of basic U.S. industry? Students also
explore the political, financial, and demographic bases of
China’s explosive economic growth, and consider its many
positive and negative by-products.
Chinese
Religion – The Tao to Mao:
(back to course list) Through their study of the
principal traditional religions of China - Taoism, Buddhism,
and Confucianism – students in this course explore the range
of religious experience from the mystical simplicity of Lao-tzu’s
philosophical writings, to the complex and colorful pantheon
of deities of Mahayana Buddhism, to the orderly codes of
conduct of Confucianism. They also have a chance to follow
the fascinating historical development of each of these ways
of thought as they interacted and competed. Students discuss
fundamental texts, visit temples filled with images of
arhats, bodhisattvas and richly imagined heavens and hells,
and explore the implications each belief holds for the way
individuals live their lives and order their societies.
There is time, too, to explore fascinating topics like the
Taiping Rebellion of the 1850’s, led by a man who claimed to
be Jesus’ younger brother, and the personality cult
surrounding Mao.
Issues Facing Modern
China:
(back to course list) The extraordinary growth and
development China has seen in the last three decades is
simultaneously revitalizing, remolding, challenging and, in
many cases, threatening centuries old traditions. Students
examine these changes through the lens of key issues such
as: the one-child policy, the 2008 Beijing Olympics,
government controls on speech and religious freedoms,
migrant workers, the Three Gorges Dam and other energy
sources, and China's changing relationships with neighboring
countries and Western governments. This is an active,
field-based course which uses films, short-readings, round
table discussions, and frequent trips into the city to come
to a more complete understanding of a rapidly evolving
China.
Travel
Photography: China in Focus (Major):
(back to course list)
The visual array of China's cultural
richness, development issues and centuries-old traditions
makes it a favorite destination for photographers. Contrasts
between religion and economic development, east and west,
urban and rural...the list of potential subjects is
unlimited. In this in-depth course, students learn to
observe and capture their surroundings using digital
photography in ways that allow them as artists and allow
others as viewers of their work to see the world anew.
Topics of discussion include the fundamental elements of
photography (such as light, composition, and perspective),
methods of approaching strangers, and candid versus
"directed" photography. Visits to exhibitions and structured
projects and assignments mesh with students' own interests
in the creation of a portfolio for display at the end of the
program. Students must provide their own digital camera with
a pixel depth of at least 3 megapixels and should have
experience using the camera.
There is a supplemental fee of $250
for this course.
Minor Courses
Modern Chinese History:
(back to course list) Few
nations have had as tumultuous a recent history as China.
Through visits to historic sites and museums, discussions,
and debates, students explore personalities, philosophies,
and conflicts that have shaped China beginning with the
disruptions caused by the First Opium War in the 1840’s. The
decline and fall of the 00 year-old Qing dynasty, the
democratic revolution of 1911, the disintegration of the
nation as the Communists struggled with the Kuomintang, and
the horrible abuses of the Japanese occupation of the 190’s,
eventually led to the Communists’ victory in 1949.
Unfortunately for the Chinese people, this did not result in
immediate peace and prosperity, as the famine of the Great
Leap Forward and the sometimes bizarre disruptions of the
Cultural Revolution prolonged their hardships. Students
explore how recent events continue to affect the perceptions
of the Chinese and their leaders, and provide insights into
many present day issues and attitudes.
Survival Mandarin:
(back to course list) Off the
beaten-track, travelers in China quickly learn that few
Chinese speak even rudimentary English. Far more than is the
case in Europe, a basic knowledge of the local language is a
tremendous advantage in making your way around, completing
minor transactions, and communicating politely. A series of
fun, dynamic drills and field exercises on topics including
greetings, directions, transportation, and food provide
students with basic language skills that greatly increase
their enjoyment of their stay in China.
Art of the Sketch:
(back to course list) As
travelers through the ages have discovered, sketching is a
way to etch permanently in one’s mind the memory of a place.
It is a way to savor the travel experience, to interpret it,
and to make it one’s own. Students visit some of China’s
most beautiful and lively places, pencil in hand, to record
their experiences through a series of sketches. This course
is meant for students wishing to develop their artistic
skills as well as those who simply want to add depth to
their experience in China. Students
must provide their own sketchbooks and colored or graphite
pencils.
The Secrets of Real Chinese Cuisine
(back to course list) What’s
your favorite? Beijing duck? Pan-fried dumplings? Whole fish
in hoi sin sauce? Kung pao chicken? Szechwan pork with tiny,
fiery peppers? The variety of regional cuisines makes an
exploration of Chinese food a series of distinct, memorable
experiences. In this course, students visit markets to learn
about the extraordinary range of Chinese ingredients, sample
representative regional cuisines, and learn how to prepare
several dishes under the guidance of local cooks. While not
everyone comes away as a five-star chef, the study of
Chinese culinary skills is a fun, stimulating and delicious
experience. Note that this not a cooking class, but a
multi-faceted exploration of Chinese Cuisine.
Note that this not a cooking class,
but a multi-faceted exploration of Chinese Cuisine.
Travel Photography: China in Focus (Minor):
(back to course list)
The visual array of China's cultural
richness, development issues and centuries-old traditions
makes it a favorite destination for photographers. Contrasts
between religion and economic development, east and west,
urban and rural...the list of potential subjects is
unlimited. In this in-depth course, students learn to
observe and capture their surroundings using digital
photography in ways that allow them as artists and allow
others as viewers of their work to see the world anew.
Topics of discussion include the fundamental elements of
photography (such as light, composition, and perspective),
methods of approaching strangers, and candid versus
"directed" photography. Visits to exhibitions and structured
projects and assignments mesh with students' own interests
in the creation of a portfolio for display at the end of the
program. Students must provide their own digital camera with
a pixel depth of at least 3 megapixels and should have
experience using the camera.
There is a supplemental fee of $150
for this course.
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