Instructor Wang Miaomiao (R) prepares materials for study tours with her colleague at a study base in Bishan Village of Huangshan City, east
Parents across China are having a greater interest in arranging for their children to go on short-term study tours to help the young generation develop a deeper understanding of traditional Chinese culture during the summer vacation.
A study base in Bishan Village of Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province, has been packed with children from all over the country since the beginning of the summer holiday.
In the base, transformed from a century-old ancestral hall, instructor Wang Miaomiao is teaching the students to experience various craftsmanship, such as making fish lanterns and woodcutting.
"Courses during the summer vacation had been fully booked in early May. And we have arranged multiple activities basically every day from late June to the end of August," Wang said, adding the demand for study tour instructors is also mounting.
In June 2022, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced 18 new occupations, among which "study tour instructor" was listed. It specifies that the study tour instructor refers to the personnel who plan, formulate, and implement the travel plan and organize activities for these study tours.
"Unlike traditional tour guides and chaperone teachers, study tour instructors not only need to draft the routes and contents in combination with the courses of students of different ages but also have the knowledge and ability to teach in the process, so that the students can absorb effectively," Wang said. "This requires them to keep updating their store of knowledge and constantly innovate in practical education."
Wang is among the first to pitch into educational tourism, also known as experiential education or even field trips in a broader scope.
After returning home in 2010, she turned the obsolete ancestral hall into the current study base covering almost 2,000 square meters, offering nearly 20 courses for children featuring the skills of local intangible cultural heritages with local veteran artists.
With more spotlight and efforts put on cultural inheritance in recent years, the market size of educational tourism is also rapidly expanding.
A report released by China Tourism Academy shows that in 2022, 93 vocational colleges set up a major related to educational tourism. Data from Huangshan Bureau of Culture and Tourism shows that the city of Huangshan alone is currently home to 26 national-and-provincial level study tour bases.
Wang herself feels the vogue for study tours. The number of their partners has expanded from about 20 to more than 400, and the team of instructors has grown to almost 20 from just two.
"The first half of this year has been very busy. We received nearly 1,000 visitors on average every day in March and April, and had to arrange six or seven activities daily to meet the soaring demand," said Wang, who is eyeing more growth space in the industry.
Same as Wang, Shen Yixin, a B&B housekeeper, is also busy greeting a flood of summer tourists. Five years ago, Shen, a native of southwest China's Sichuan Province, came to Longjiang Village for its poetic rusticity and consummate ink-making technique.
The services Shen provides as a housekeeper are much broader than conventional cognition.
He introduces to the guests the processes of ink-making, performs a molten iron fireworks show, recommends tour routes, and makes vlogs, in addition to his routine work. Now during the summer holiday, the family tour has become a major force of consumption.
"With the increasing demand for personalized and in-depth travel experience, we should not only provide guests with meticulous and thoughtful accommodation and catering services but also allow them to have a deeper taste of the local culture and lifestyle," said Shen, who enjoys much introducing the traditional ink-making technique under the pleasant summer breeze.
"As the concept of travel shifts from a cursory tour to a more in-depth and customized one, we should also conform to the trend by continuously improving our services, and injecting new vitality into the cultural tourism industry," Shen added.
B&B housekeeper Shen Yixin introduces the technique of ink-making to the guests in Yixian County of Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province, June 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Haiyue)
