Manhattan Mandarin Travel
Immersion Excursion
June 20 - June 30
All High Schoolers + College Students Welcome!
Beijing, Xi'an, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Shanghai
In June 2018 we ran our first Immersion Excursion. We spent two weeks in our favorite spots in China: the French Concession in Shanghai, the ancient tea fields of Hangzhou, the Terracotta Army and ancient city walls of Xi'an, and all the must-see spots of Beijing. We did all this while encouraging our students to speak only in Mandarin, and while also providing a total 25 hours of dedicated Chinese class time!
The Itinerary
Beijing
Day 1
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Check into the hotel
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A Peking duck feast with our friends from Ivy Gate (Jamie's Beijing-based SAT tutoring business)
Day 2: Great Wall, Summer Palace, Kong Fu in the Hutongs
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Morning - Breakfast - Class - Daily Assignments
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Bus ride out to the Great Wall (non-touristy section)
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1 hour class on the Great Wall's history and lunch on top of a watchtower
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Afternoon - A nice afternoon walk around the old Summer Palace
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Aman Hotel for tea
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Evening - Dinner and Kong Fu in the Hutongs
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Cooked by Jamie's friends - 3 generations of kong fu masters still living by the Bell Tower
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Majiang lessons in the local park
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Evening Kong Fu class between the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower
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Day 3: Tian'an'men, Forbidden City, Houhai
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Morning - Breakfast - Class - Daily Assignments
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Walk through the hutongs to Tian'an Men Square
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Tour the Forbidden City and climb JingShan
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Lunch - Mr. Shi's Dumplings (Jamie and Harry's favorite local dumpling spot!
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Afternoon - Class overlooking Hou Hai
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Explore the Nanluoguxiang area - have tea in the courtyard of a Hutong restaurant
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Dinner - Cooking class with The Hutong School
Day 4: To Xi'an!
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Morning - Stroll one last time around the Beijing neighborhood
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Midday - High speed rail to Xi'an
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Mandarin lessons about Xi'an on the train!
Xi'an
Day 4: Arriving in Xi'an
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Check into the hotel
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Evening - Head to Hui Min Jie on the hunt for delicious yang rou pao mo, rou jia mo, and biang biang noodles!
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Cooking class
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Evening stroll around the Bell and Drum tower while learning about the silk road
Day 5: Terracotta Warriors, Biking the city walls, Calligraphy
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Morning - Early morning bike ride around the city wall
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Head out to explore the Terracotta Warriors
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Afternoon - Calligraphy class in the park
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Evening - Dinner with our friend and tour guide Sophia and her family at a mutual friend's family restaurant
Day 6: To Shanghai!
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Morning - Breakfast - Class - Daily Assignments
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Midday - High Speed Rail to Shanghai
Shanghai & Suzhou
Day 6:
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Check into the hotel
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Evening - Head to Old Shanghai for soup dumplings!!
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Evening stroll while learning about the amazing history of Shanghai
Day 7: The French Concession; The Bund
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Morning - Harry's (almost famous) walking tour of the French Concession
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Propaganda Museum, Sun Yatsen's house and more!
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Afternoon - Up we go to the top of the Shanghai Tower
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Evening - Dinner with MMTravel's local food consultant and friend. He always treats our trip to one major dinner (last year with Jean-George's....)
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Walk through the Bund
Day 8: Day Trip To Suzhou
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Morning - People's Park and Shanghai Museum
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Lunch with Expats living in Shanghai - Q&A about living/working in China
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Afternoon - Shopping and a foot massage
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Evening - Final feast and KTV night!
Hangzhou
Day 9
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Check into the hotel
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Evening - Head to Qinghefang for Hangzhou's most famous dishes
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Evening stroll around the ancient street
Day 10: Explore West Lake; Day Trip to Suzhou
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Morning - Bike ride and boat ride around West Lake
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Midday - Explore Suzhou, the 'Venice' of China
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Silk Museum
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Evening - Dinner and sunset while watching the famous West Lake Fountain show
Day 11: Tea picking in the beautiful Long Jing tea fields
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Morning - Tea picking day!
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After picking tea leaves our selves, our hosts show us the process of turning the leaves into delicious tea
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Evening - High Speed Rail to Beijing
Day 12: Travel Day
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Morning - Packing Day
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Evening - Back to USA!