Beijing (ages 8-18½)

Our Mandarin Summer Camp takes place at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). Founded over 40 years ago, this university is unique in China as the only Chinese University founded specifically to teach Chinese language and culture to foreign students. Renowned as a pioneering centre for teaching Chinese as a foreign language, BLCU's teachers are acclaimed as being amongst the best, and can boast 14 foreign ambassadors to China and countless diplomats among their 3000 foreign graduates in Chinese. The same professors and teachers responsible for assuring this level of excellence have designed, and will teach, the curriculum which our students will follow on their summer camp this year.

Our Mandarin language programme caters specially for the needs of both local and international school students. It includes active hands-on lessons that prepare students to quickly speak in sentences, and communicate confidently and effectively in Mandarin in all occasions, whether in school, or outside. Your child will receive a total of 22-25 hours of lessons each week in small classes of 8-10 pupils maximum.  All lessons are taught by highly qualified native teachers holding Masters or PhDs in Chinese or Education, and who are passionate about teaching.

Afternoons are devoted to sports (such as Kung Fu, Tai Chi Chuan, badminton, tennis, table-tennis, football, volleyball, basketball, swimming), and a choice of recreational activities aimed at developing students' interest in Chinese culture and traditions. These include traditional Chinese ink painting, calligraphy, drama, Beijing Opera, Chinese music, folk dancing, Chinese cooking, ceramics, Chinese chess, Chinese arts and crafts (paper cutting, Chinese opera masks painting, knot tying, kite making), and more.
In the evenings and at weekends, there is a full leisure programme, with a selection of off-campus cultural activities such as outings to a Peking Opera and a traditional Chinese acrobatic show, visits to museums and ancient Beijing Hutongs, and excursions to places of interest, including the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, Tian’anmen Square, the Great Wall, the Ming Tombs, the Summer Palace, and so on.

Accommodation is provided in the spacious and modern Tsinghua University campus which features excellent facilities, including a very comfortable and air-conditioned residence; bright and well-equipped modern classrooms; specially appointed activity rooms; a computer lab; a cafeteria; a theatre; a library; sports fields, as well as a large sports complex comprising a gymnasium, a swimming pool, tennis courts, and more.

The staff have all been trained to work with all age groups, and to provide the highest levels of safety, welfare, supervision and care that children and teenagers require when away from home. A group of friendly camp counsellors are available around the clock to provide answers to questions, assist with any arising problem, and chaperon extra-curricular activities and trips. Counsellor/student ratio is as low as 1:6 to ensure ultimate safety beyond the classroom.

To add further to the cultural dimension, your child will be paired with a local student of the same age with whom he/she will share sports competitions and evening conversation practice, and will also have the chance to visit a carefully-selected local family.

All in all, a very unique camp offering an unsurpassed China experience!