What are the requirements for participating in the program?

1. The only requirement for the study in China program is a GPA of 2.5. Students with a GPA below 2.5 need to speak to the program director before submitting application.
2. No Chinese language requirement. You do not need to speak Chinese to be in the program.

Who are eligible for the China Program?

1. The program is open to all CUNY students, from freshman to graduate, whether they are from Brooklyn College or any other CUNY campuses;
2. It is also open to students from non-CUNY campuses. In the past we had many students from SUNY, Columbia University, Cornell University, George Mason University, Pace University, Colby College, Manhattan School of Music, etc.
3. CUNY faculty, staff and alumni are also welcome to attend and they make their trip shorter if they are not taking any classes with the group in Nanjing.

How many students participate?

We have been running this program very successfully every summer and winter since 2003. We often have about 50 students and sometimes as many as 61. Although the groups were not small, with help from the students, we managed it very well and everyone had a great experience.

Does the trip cost include tuition?

1． We work very hard to bring the cost down, so that the program can be affordable to many students. It is not possible for this low cost to cover tuition. In fact, CUNY tuition is very inexpensive, too.

2． Ours is an extremely low-priced program in that this low cost covers not only round-trip international airfare, but also travel to 6 famous Chinese cities. In each city, we stay in nice hotels and hire professional travel agencies to help.

What do you think about the study abroad program over-all?

1. Our travel and sightseeing in China are all arranged by professional travel agencies, so that at each stop, our students will not have to worry because all things have been planned well ahead. When we get to the city, the travel agency will meet us at the airport or the train station, with a big charter bus and an English-speaking tour guide, take us to a restaurant and the hotel, and help handle our bags. Food is often covered when we travel to some of the major cities. We manage to provide all these good services so that students will have no worries and can enjoy their study abroad experience.
2. To ensure safety and provide guidance for students, our program is faculty-led. We simply move our classrooms from New York to China where students learn things they cannot explore back in Brooklyn. They adapt to a new cultural setting and a different life. We also require students to keep journals from day one of the trip, hold discussions of the things they have observed during the trip either in groups or with the professors.
3. Although students travel with faculty, they are given a lot of freedom. We want students to have ample opportunities to explore on their own, to experience Chinese society, people and culture first hand by visiting museums, malls, markets, campuses and mingling with the locals. Very often, our students are quick in making friends with Chinese students and the host families. In the process of interacting with the Chinese, they observe Chinese behaviors, learn about Chinese beliefs and values, and, by consulting Chinese scholars, try to analyze cultural differences they have encountered. These are invaluable and irreproducible learning opportunities for all the students.
4. It is amazing that within the period of one month, students can see thousands of years of Chinese history by visiting those historically significant cities. We go to the real sites, see real objects, and hear real stories, so that we can immediately relate to things we read about in the books.
5. Students can also witness China’s recent developments and changes that are being discussed outside China. They are all very excited to see what is going on in those ancient but modern cities of Beijing, Nanjing, Xi’an, and Shanghai, the things we do not normally see in New York City. We can testify that China is a big participant in the globalization trend, with a lot of apparent foreign influences everywhere. In almost all the cities we visit, we see McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Hagen Dazz, StarBucks, Hilton and Sheraton.
6. Finally, we must say, coordinating such a big trip with different parties in the United States and China takes a lot of time and effort. We really appreciate the support and assistance from many friends at Brooklyn College in the Office of the Provost, the Office of Undergraduate Studies, Bursar’s Office, the Department of Speech Communication Arts & Sciences, the Departments of History, Modern Languages and Literatures, Economics & Business, and the Office of Financial Aid. We also appreciate support and assistance from the CUNY STOCS Office, and many friends in the Study Abroad Offices of other CUNY campuses (such as Baruch, Lehman, Hunter, City College, City Tech, York, BMCC, College of Staten Island, etc).

What are the living conditions like?

Throughout the trip, we stay in hotels. The hotels are often situated in the center of the city, so we have easy access to almost all the things we want to get (taxis, buses, subways, gyms, supermarkets, restaurants, banks, ATM machines, fruit stands, grocery stores, laundry room, museums, theatres, phone cards, flower shops, pay phones, internet cafes, coffee shops, tea houses, etc).

How is the program structured?

Please check the itinerary & excursions of this website.

Details of the trip itinerary：

The program is structured in such a way that students, in the one-month period of time, will have the best exposure to Chinese history, culture, business, and language. We first arrive in Beijing, which is the current capital of China and the capital of several dynasties in Chinese history, and stay there for two days with visits to the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City, and the TianAnMen Square. While in Beijing, we also go to the cloisonné factory, visit a jade factory or pearl factory, and watch Peking opera and an acrobatics or kungfu show. Of course, we will not miss Peking Roast Duck.

After Beijing, we visit Xi’an for two days. Xi’an is about 12 hours by train, or two hours by plane, west of Beijing, and it was the capital of many Chinese dynasties. In Xi’an, we see the Terra Cotta Army Museum and many other important historic sites such as the Ancient City Wall, and the Big White Goose Pagoda (The famous Buddhist temple), and the Great Mosque (Xi’an is the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, with a very large Muslim population).

Our next stop is Nanjing, about 12 hours by train or 2 hours by plane, south of Beijing or southeast of Xi’an. In Nanjing, we settle down for our classes for about 3 weeks. While we stay in a very nice hotel, students can also have easy access to Nanjing University, Nanjing Normal University and many other campuses. The Universities are located in the center of the city.

Nanjing is an ideal place for our program. As the capital of several dynasties in Chinese history, Nanjing has a lot to offer. It has the conveniences of big cities and the living cost there is not too high. Students can visit Dr. Sun Yetsun’s Mausoleum, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial, Confucius Temple, and many other art or historical museums. In addition, Nanjing provides easy access, by bus or by train, to many famous cities nearby such as Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Changzhou, Wuxi, Yixin, Hangzhou, and the Yellow Mountain. Our students can visit those beautiful cities on weekends. Nanjing also has a new international airport with flights to every part of the country and the world.

Nanjing is also known for its food, and the prices are very reasonable. Nightclubs in many nice places such as Sheraton and Hilton hotels are also big attractions for the locals and foreigners alike.

After our classes end in Nanjing, we ask a travel agency to take us on big charter buses to Suzhou and Shanghai, which is only three hours east of Nanjing. Suzhou is a city with many beautiful gardens, rivers, and bridges, known as the Oriental Venice or Heaven on Earth. In Suzhou, in addition to some gardens and the Cold Mountain Temple (which, it is said, can give scholars the best of luck), we also visit the silk factory and the embroidery museum.

When we get to Shanghai after one-hour bus ride from Suzhou, students will be let go to explore and experience this exciting modern cosmopolitan, where they can visit the YuYuan garden, shop for gifts, take a boat ride on the Pujiang River, enjoy the fantastic night view of Shanghai at the Bund (called WaiTan in Chinese), climb to the top of the highest buildings of either the Oriental Pearl TV Tower or the JinMao Trade Tower, taste delicious cuisines in different restaurants, visit the Shanghai Museum, or have fun in those fancy pubs on the HengShan Road.

Jewish students often visit the Jewish Synagogue in Shanghai, where thousands of Jews took refuge and were befriended by the Chinese during the World Wars.

By the time when we have to get on the flight back to New York City, many students find it hard to say good-bye: They want to stay in Shanghai or China longer. In the past, many students participated in the trip a second time just to experience China more.