China Community Service Tour

Your guide will meet you at the airport on your arrival and escort you to your hotel. You can leave the hotel check-in to the guide and adjust for jet lag for the rest of the time.

Beijing Capital International Airport at nightfall

After breakfast, your trip starts with a visit to Tian’anmen Square. If you are interested, you can get up earlier to attend the flag raising ceremony there at around 05:00 am.Stroll around in Tiananmen Square and make sure that you notice the famous Five-Star Flag fluttering in the wind.And then you will enter the Forbidden City, which is the largest wooden architecturalstructure in the world and listed by the UNESCO, looking both solemn and majestic. Its houses are overflowing with extraordinary collections. Have lunch at a local restaurant.

Tian’anmen Square - Where Can Watch the Flag Raising Ceremony

We will drive you to Mutianyu Great Wall for around 1.5 hours by road.As one of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall, and it used to serve as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs. It’s known for its beautiful surroundings – dense woods and rich pastures changing colors with the seasons of the year. You will be back to the city to have Haidilao hot pot for dinner.

Mutianyu Great Wall

Recommended activity:
1. The Legend of Kungfu’ premiered in 2004. In contrast to the traditional Kungfu show, itdemonstratesKungfu throughdramatic stories. The group also tours abroad and hasa good reputation.
2. Acrobatics at Chaoyang Theatre was founded in 1984. Their performanceshave won more than 30 awards at home and abroad. "Blue And White Porcelain" (balancing a stack of bowls on the head), which is one of them, was on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala in 2015.
3. Peking Opera is one of five major operas in China and the quintessence of Chinese culture with a history of nearly 200 years. In the beginning it was seen asentertainmentonly for the court and then slowly opened to common people as well.

Actor of Peking Opera

Today’s itinerary is full of fun. Your guide will lead you to a local school.You can visit the campus, learn how to cook, have Chinese cuisine, and participate in a sports match.You will gain so much more than you can learn fromthe text books. Have lunch at school.

Communicate With Chinese Child

After lunch, you will move on to an orphanage in Tongzhou.This orphanage is situated in a villa, and some of the childrenhave cerebral palsy. The visit includes meeting the person who is in charge of the orphanage, and learning about the basic conditions. If you like, you can help with cooking dinner, taking care of orphaned babies and playing with children as well as making a donation. Have dumplings for dinner.

After breakfast, you are going to visit the Temple of Heaven, which is an imperial complex of religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of Beijing. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is the venue where the emperors used to pray for fruitful harvests.Nowadays, it has become a park, where local people do exercises every day. You can learn Tai Chi for half an hour with a master. And then enjoy your lunch at a local restaurant.

Temple of Heaven - a Symbole of Beijing

The guide and driver will take you to the railway station for boarding your speed train to Xi'an.

Enjoy a scenic ride and arrive in Xi’an.Your guide will welcome you, holding your name board at the exit, and accompany you to your hotel.Hotel check in, and sleep tight.

Travel to a children’s home outside the city. This home was founded for children for whom all known legal guardians have been incarcerated. Please note that all of our service projects are approved by the organization and any projects that are not deemed helpful towards the children and the organization will not be facilitated. We recommend a building project (usually shelving or furniture of some sort) for secondary students, and a more interactive learning-teaching project for younger students on the program.

Doing Activities with Children

Recommended activity:
1. The music fountain at the north square of Big Wild Goose Pagoda is free to the public. You can stroll around it after dinner to experience local life.
2. Tang-Dynasty Palace Music and Dances is a performance that was re-created by many famous artists in Shaanxi province, displaying the essence of music, rhythm, and dance art in the Tang Dynasty.

The music fountain at the north square of Big Wild Goose Pagoda

After breakfast, we spend the morning finishing up the service project and donating the created items to the children/home. Have a simple lunch there.

We return to Xi’an for students to participate in a traditional Calligraphy Lesson (got something specific you’d like to write? Let us know in advance) near the Small Goose Pagoda. The Small Goose Pagoda has a fascinating architectural history. In 1487, a violent earthquake created a large crack down the middle of the pagoda. A subsequent earthquake in 1521 caused the crack to magically disappear overnight! Due to its unique hemisphere foundations, the pagoda is the architectural version of a never-fall doll. We finish off the day with a reflection session to discuss the lessons learned and experienced. Dinner is served at a local restaurant.

Calligraphy Lesson - Create Your Own Work

The most appealing attraction in Xi’an is the Terracotta Warriors and Horses. You will be amazed by the stunning sight.Qin Shi Huang was the first Emperor of China; this museum is considered one of the most priceless ancient tombs in the world. There are three pits containing Warriors and Horses, bronze weapons and chariots. The huge underground army unfolds in front of you. Have lunch nearby.

The Terracotta Warriors and Horses

Afterwards, you continue to explore the Xi’an City Wall. The complete city wall was an effective defense. On top of the city wall is a wide and flat road; you can not only walk along the road, but also ride a bicycle to enjoy the splendid scenery. If there is enough time, you can stop over the Muslim Quarter where you can enjoy a feast both for your eyes and your mouth.A lot of food lovers are lured to the bustling street with its long history. It is time to take a late afternoon speed train to Chengdu.

Muslim's foods in Muslim Quarter

On arrival, you will meet your Chengdu guide and be transferred to your hotel. Hotel check in with your passport and take a good rest tonight.

Early morning, you will head to Giant Panda Protection and Research Center of Dujiangyan. It takes around 1.5 hours to drive there by road.This unique one-day tour is about the panda keeper program. Under guidance, you will quickly learn how to take care of pandas, and have a memorable experience of getting close to this lovely creature.Have lunch at the base.

Giant Panda in Panda Protection and Research Center

Here you will experience a series of programs, learning about the history and facts about pandas, cleaning the outdoor and indoor enclosures, washing bamboo and carrot to prepare food and fruit cakes for the pandas. You will be awarded with a volunteer certificate after finishing all of this work. You will be back at Chengdu in the late afternoon and it will bethe right time to have dinner in the city.

Recommended activity:
Shu Feng Ya Yun Sichuan Opera offersthe wondrous authentic west Sichuan folk classical opera,presented in a large-scale multi-functional Liyuantheater which integrates traditional Chinese art performance, unique folk performance, opera, and drama supplies. The programs are Sichuan opera, stick-puppet shows, hand shadow plays, Chinese Acrobatics and face changing shows.

Sichuan Opera - "changing countenance"

After breakfast, you will visit a local vegetable market. It is a very old market where local people buy their daily necessities like meat, vegetables, traditional Chinese medicine, beverages etc.You can taste freshly made Spring Rolls and drink a cup of Baijiu(pronounced “Bye Joe”) ,a kind of alcohol made from rice. After that, you are going to the Leshan Giant Buddha which is about 2 hours away from Chengdu.The Leshan Giant Buddha is a huge statue of Maitreya carved into the mountain side. It is made up of elaborate cliff-side sculptures from the Tang Dynasty and is the biggest seated Maitreya Buddha in the world.Have lunch there on your arrival.

People buy things in a Local Market

You will have a chance to climb the famous "nine plank road" which is on the right handside of the Buddha. and was built around the same time as the Buddha. Today's highlight is taking a boat ride to view the Leshan Buddha Statue. It's only a short ride to the Buddha and each boat takes its turn directly in front of the Buddha, so get your camera ready. The Buddha is awesome and it's really only from the water that you can trulyappreciate how HUGE it is. We will drive you back to Chengdu after the tour ends. Enjoy traditional hot pot for dinner.

Climbing beside the Leshan Giant Buddha

Your guide and driver will transport you to the airport on time. We wish you a nice journey home.