BROWN-CUHK SUMMER INSTITUTE

Extracurricular Activities, Excursions and Tours

Programme Duration
From 2-7 July, 2011, CUHK and Brown students will participate in a 6-day fieldtrip to Beijing. While at Brown, all students will take weekend excursions to New York City and Boston.

At Brown, participants will work at the Greene Farm Archaeology Project in Rhode Island; work with oral history interviews in the diverse Fox Point neighborhood of Providence and explore local resources such as the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Plimoth Plantation.

Excursions to Boston and New York
Boston is an historically well-preserved city and students will explore the African American Heritage Trail and Freedom Trail, along with a private tour of the new American wing on the Museum of Fine Arts. In New York City, the focus will be on "ethnic heritage" and exploring the preservation of some of the US's larger ethnic groups and how they preserve their cultures within wider American Society. Students will visit the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, the Eldridge Street synagogue and the Museum of Chinese in America.

6-Day Excursion Tour to Beijing
Date: 2-7 July, 2010 (Students will leave Beijing on 7 July, 2011)
Participants: All 20 students from CUHK and Brown University
Tour Leader: Professor Jenny So, Programme Director, Brown-CUHK Summer Institute

As an extension activity of the Programme, the 6-day Beijing trip will allow students to immerse in an ancient culture by applying and reflecting on what they have learnt from their 4-week stay at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

As an integral part of the students' experience of one of the world's oldest cultures, students will sample typical Chinese cuisines e.g. dumplings, Peking duck, Mongolian hotpot, etc.

Mandatory excursions (Two days)

Tiananmen Square and vicinity:

The world's largest city square and enduring symbol of China's national pride, surrounded by heritage buildings including the Forbidden City, Chairman Mao's Mausoleum, Liulichang (antique row), traditional hutongs (residential alley ways) and newly revitalized districts of old Beijing.

798 Art Zone

Beijing 798 Art Zone, named after the 798 factory built in 1950s, is located in the northeast corner of Beijing city. Referred to as Mainland China's Greenwich Village or SoHo, 798 Art Zone has become one of the trendiest landmarks in Beijing housing a thriving community of local and foreign artists who are there to create and display their works in unique galleries, studios and exhibition spaces.

Students will be led behind-the-scenes by conservation specialists at specified locations and be able to meet artists in their studios.

Optional tours (One Day)

a. China and its neighbours - The Great Wall of China at Mutianyu
b. Contemporary Beijing Architecture - avante-garde structures built for the Beijing Olympics ("Birds' Nest", "Egg", etc.)
c. Beijing Universities - Peking University, Tsinghua University, etc.

Independent Exploration (1.5 Days)

Students will be given maps and other kits to help them navigate their own way through the intriguing mazes in Beijing.