At YCIS Chongqing, real learning isn’t restricted to just inside of the classrooms. On May 3 and 4, our Year 7-9 students have had their Chinese Excursion in the Expo Garden, the HuGuang Guild Hall of Chongqing and at The Three Gorges Museum. Guided tours were provided for students to learn about important cultural elements and stories. Students were highly engaged in activities designed by teachers to enhance their understanding of the local culture.

Year 7 Expo Garden

The day kicked off with a group competition. Students arrived at the ‘Viewing on the Top of the Cloud’ and took a group photo with “Tong Xin Stone”. Our group walked to the ‘Double Pavilions and the Boat’, where they gathered and sketched the area. JiangNan Garden area was the third stop of the day, after exploring in the big beautiful Expo garden for about half an hour. A guided tour in the JiangNan Garden area was offered for students to learn about the essential elements in the garden as well as in Chinese culture. The students were then given a task to make a sequel to Mulan. Students worked in groups during their acting and presented wonderful performances. The students were rewarded with a relaxing boat ride around the Expo Garden at the end of the trip. After lunch, the students played traditional games, including Chinese hacky-sack, ball throwing.

Year 8 Huguang Guild Hall of Chongqing

Year 8 spent their one-day trip in Huguang Guild Hall of Chongqing to experience the unique Bashu culture. Located near Jiefangbei, Huguang Guild Hall has typical traditional Chinese architecture. Within the exhibitions, there are rich displays of the immigration into the Sichuan area during the Qing dynasty as well as various examples of traditional embroidery and Chinese fine arts. The trip started from the Yangtze River cableway, a unique means of transportation in Chongqing, which enabled students to overlook the HuGuang Guild Hall. Following that, students continued their exploration of the HuGuang Guild Hall with a series of activities prepared by teachers. They learned about the history of modern Chongqing with a t guide’s explanation and designed cloth-paste painting with Chongqing landmarks. At the end of the trip, each of the students got a memorable souvenir of Chongqing, which has recently been one of the most popular cities online, after images of tourists flooding Hongyadong appeared on social media platforms across China.

Year 9 The Three Gorges Museum

The Three Gorges Museum is located near the Chongqing People’s Hall. It aims to undertake education, preservation, and scientific research with respect to the cultural heritage and natural environment of the Three Gorges region of the Yangtze River. The professional guide from the Three Gorges Museum presented a comprehensive and meticulous introduction for the group. Through a shadow puppetry workshop, the students learned about the history and fabrication methods of the puppets and also performed traditional Chinese stories with the shadow puppets. After lunch, students became treasure hunters to exploring the museum's top ten treasures. In the end, the students made a short film about their "journey to the museum" as a guide.