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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 – a
destination for Chinese tourists for over 1,000 years. 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. These
often meet for a full day in order to provide ample time for
travel and extended visits to sites of interest, as well as
to explore in-depth, and a chance for discussion. 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 whose ornate depictions of heaven and hell
seem at odds with the traditional sages’ focus on
simplicity. Students in the Chinese Cuisine minor course
might visit a food market to learn about specific
ingredients, 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 relax on a shady park
bench on campus and talk with Chinese students, to play a
pick-up game of basketball, frisbee, or chess, or to get a
glimpse of everyday life on the side streets and alleys
adjacent to the CUEB campus. After dinner on campus, 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 coffee house 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
non-competitive, creative atmosphere that makes learning
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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.
Beijing 2008 - Modern China and the Summer Games:
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There has never been a
more inspiring and complex time to experience Beijing as it
prepares for the 2008 Summer Games. The Olympics mark
China’s modern day debut on the international stage, but
along with the excitement and pagentry comes increased
scrutiny of issues such as human rights, and the one child
policy. What does an iconic structure like the “Birds Nest”
Olympic Stadium tell us about current values? How does
China’s relationship with its centuries-old cultural
traditions relate to its future in the world arena? This is
an active, field-based course which uses films, short
readings, round table discussions, and frequent excursions
into the city to come to a more complete understanding of a
rapidly evolving China.
Minor Courses
China in Words:
(back to course list) From the
simple but profound works of the classical poets, to the
epic adventure stories of the Ming dynasty, to modern
descriptions of individual struggles in the turmoil of
recent history, literature provides deep insights into the
lives and thoughts of Chinese people. The ability of words
to create history also becomes apparent in the giant red
characters of Communist slogans and the poetry of China’s
modern leaders. Students may reflect on the enigmatic 4th
Century B.C. classic, the Tao Te Ching, while walking among
the monks of Beijing’s White Cloud Temple; or sip tea in a
Shanghai teahouse while reading aloud a modern play. Through
review of carefully selected short works and excerpts, and
by collecting their own observations on contemporary life,
students prepare personal responses to China in the form of
creative writing. Reading, discussion and composition are
balanced and integrated into a class that supports students
while they work to not only understand China, but also to
articulate their own vision of it.
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.
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.
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