Xi’an became China’s capital when it was first unified in 221 BC, and stayed as such for a major part of the 1st millennium AD until 907 AD – the end of the Tang Dynasty. As opposed to Beijing or Shanghai, Xi’an was indeed the cradle of Chinese civilization. Xi’an will bring students back to the formative and consolidation years of “classic” Chinese culture, which is an important element for understanding the contemporary Chinese people.

In the remote mountains deep behind Quanzhou, the largest world sea port in the 12th century, live the Hakka or “guest” people. Their ancestors fled from China’s heart land and built themselves a living environment so harmonious with the nature that UNESCO has recognized it as a World Heritage in 2008. By staying in one of historical buildings and integrating with the locals in the village, you will learn about the essences of Chinese culture that Hakka people have been striving to preserve over the years, as well as realize how built environment in urban city has been affecting modern communal relationship.

Among the fifty-six ethnic groups identified in China, as many as twenty-six of them can be found in Yunnan province, essentially because in historic times Yunnan was extremely inaccessible due to its remoteness and its rugged terrain. Even in modern time, great diversities among the ethnic groups make it difficult for policy makers to formulate strategies to promote educational and economic development, leaving many members of minority races in higher levels of poverty.

In this trip, we will visit separately a Yi and a Miao rural villages. Through teaching the village kids English, interacting with their families in household survey, and helping them harvesting, we will not only gain insight of their meager lifestyle, but also be surprised by their fulfilling communal and/or spiritual life.

British’s free trade policy in Singapore since 1819 created a more prosperous port which drew in migrants from neighbouring areas and resulted in the decline of Malacca, its neighbour controlled by the Dutch. In this trip, students will learn about how different cultures co-existed, assimilated or acculturated with each other in the past.  Moreover, students will learn about efforts of sustainable development and building national identity i in Singapore .

Strategically located in the sea route connecting the East and West, the rich Melaka Kingdom drew in Chinese, Indian, and, since the Age of Discovery in the 16th century, as well the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonizers. In this trip, students will trace how different ethnic groups and colonial powers mingled and left their marks in a city which is like being frozen for several centuries. This cultural melting pot will certainly stimulate thoughts about how contemporary cultures may interact as globalization intensifies.

Europe was fragmented after the Western Roman Empire was conquered in 476 by the Goths, a Germanic tribe. Charlemagne, the leader of another Germanic tribe, emerged as a stronger power and was crowned by the Pope in 800. The Holy Roman Empire slowly emerged in the following centuries but its feudal system kept it decentralized and politically fragmented.

With a belated unification in 1871,  modern Germany caught up and became a world industrial power. It impressed the world with its areas such as music, science, literature and philosophy, but it also brought the world two devastating world wars, as well as learn about how Germany has faced its own mistakes of the past.