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

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

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 

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 exciting and fun. (back to top)

Excel China Courses of Study
 

Major Courses

Introduction to Mandarin: 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: 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: 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: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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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.