China Exchange

In July every second year, CLS organise what promises to be a trip of a lifetime. China is one of the most exciting destinations on the planet. 

Beginning with a four-day Mandarin workshop at the City of London School, the pupils learn the customs and basics of the Chinese language, before travelling to the people’s Republic of China where they are hosted by families of students at Bayi High School, one of the oldest military schools in Beijing.  During our six days in the capital, we visit the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall of China, the Imperial Tiantan Temple (the most photographed monument in China), the famous Acrobatic Circus, and the Imperial Summer Palace, (not to mention the Jade factory and much more).  

In the second week we bid farewell to our hosts and take a first-class overnight sleeper to the beautiful ancient capital City of Xian, home to the Terracotta Warriors, where we spend two nights savouring the culture of Central China. We climb the oldest standing Pagoda in the world and walk the famous streets and old wall surrounding the ancient city. We visit the recently opened Hua Shan Mountain National Park, accessed via one of the longest single cable-car rides in the world. We then fly to see silkworms in action at the biggest sky-scraper city in the world, Chongqing, the 30 million populated former capital of China during the Japanese occupation.  From there we take the five-star Princess Sheena yacht down the Yangtze River on a four-night luxurious air-conditioned cruise through the Three Gorges and the greatest dam in the world.  At Wuhan, we leave the Yangtze to board a flight to Shanghai, ride the fastest train in the world (432 kph) and stay for two nights in the comfort of a five-star hotel.  We then fly directly to London after savouring the culture and magnificent attractions of that colourful great city.  

This is a young student cultural exchange.  We are invited to be hosted in Beijing by professional Chinese families who send their children to stay with us in London first, over the Chinese New Year Festival in February. They tour England, Scotland and Wales for their second week in Britain (which includes our half-term).  It is intended that communication and cultural relations are well established with families before we pay the return visit to them, during the summer following their visit.