For any enquiries please visit 1-440-975-9691
© 2024 Rustic Pathways LCC. All Rights Reserved.
Learn more
Read & Watch Their Stories
Shop the programs
Participant, CLF 2022-2023 Director, CLF 2023-2025 Harvard College Class of 2029
June 19, 2025
June 7, 2025
Visit the Great Wall of China, participate in service at the world-renowned Panda Conservation Center, and be immersed in Chinese culture.
Join this fast-paced tour of China’s most incredible cultural gems. This two-week program takes you from the imperial glory of ancient Beijing, with visits to the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China, to the new-age hustle and bustle of modern Shanghai, one of the world’s largest cities. Experience both the China of new and old while also giving back by volunteering at a world-renowned Panda Conservation Center. During your adventure, you’ll also taste some of China’s most famous culinary delights, including Sichuan hot pot and Shanghai-syle soup dumplings.
Ecuador: Wild Galápagos Eco-Service
Once-in-a-lifetime eco-adventure
Age 14-19
$6095 plus Airfare
Greece: Island Turtle Conservation
Conservation in the Mediterranean
Age 14-18
$3495 plus Airfare
Wonders of China
Arrive at Los Angeles Airport (LAX) where you’ll meet your Rustic Pathways Flight Leader, who will help get you checked in and through security before traveling with your group to China. Get acquainted with fellow Rustic travelers before boarding your flight.
Arrive at Beijing International Airport (PEK) and meet your Program Leaders who will be with you for the duration of the program. Head to your hotel in Beijing and settle in, relaxing after your long flight. Join the group for an orientation discussion about the week ahead, expectations for your adventure, and an introduction to the local culture.
You’ll spend your first two nights at a hotel with shared twin rooms and Western-style amenities.
Start the morning with a visit to the Temple of Heaven, where you’ll get to learn the ancient Chinese art of Taichi with the local master there. Visit Tiananmen Square and explore the Forbidden City, then see it from above at Jingshan Park with its stunning birdseye view. After lunch, go on a walking Hutong tour through Beijing’s ancient streets and alleys. Later, enjoy a group dinner and optional Kungfu show.
Take a bus ride to Gubeikou, where you’ll find an unexploited section of the Great Wall. Take a paper making class with a famous Chinese artisan from Hebei. Continue this day of learning by making dumplings with our host family. Rest up tonight before our trek tomorrow!
Get up early and head to a remote section of the Great Wall, away from the tourists and the cities. Enjoy hiking along this picturesque section of the Great Wall before making the drive back to Beijing.
Experience a ride on a bullet train on the way to Xi’an, home of the famous terracotta warriors. After getting settled, take a walking tour of the Muslim Quarter and enjoy a finger food tasting.
Stay two nights in a hotel with shared twin rooms and Western-style amenities.
Wander through the archaeological wonder of the terracotta army, thousands of clay sculptures of soldiers that were part of the tomb of China’s first emperor. Have a local lunch and visit Gao courtyard to enjoy a shadow puppetry show.
Take another bullet train on your way to Chengdu then drive to the Panda Center. Join your group for a mid-trip discussion where you will begin to reflect on what you’ve experienced and learned so far and prepare for your service with pandas.
Spend the next three nights at a local guesthouse with shared rooms and Western-style amenities.
On your first day at the center, receive a quick orientation and tour and then it’s time to meet the pandas! Your days at the Panda Conservation will be divided between direct interaction with the pandas and spending time with your group learning about conservation, participating in discussions about the panda breeding program, and learning how scientists conduct research at centers like this one. Your staff members will go over each day’s schedule and divide you into groups of three or four with the other students on your trip. Each group will be paired with specific pandas and researchers for your service work. In addition to working with the pandas, you’ll also get to take a calligraphy class and enjoy a traditional Hotpot dinner.
Catch a quick flight to Shanghai, where you’ll go on a walking tour of the Bund, a beautiful waterfront area in central Shanghai. Tonight at dinner, try Shanghai’s specialty: Xiaolongbao, Shanghai-style soup dumplings.
You’ll stay in a hotel with shared twin rooms and Wester-style amenities.
Drive to Xitang, a famous town with thousands of years of history.
Stay in a guesthouse with shared rooms and Western-style toilets.
Stroll through the beautiful water town of Xitang along the well-preserved buildings of the Ming Dynasty. Later, take a boat tour on the Huangpu River.
Spend today on a city tour through Shanghai: visit the People’s Park, a beautiful public green space and home to Shanghai’s Urban Planning Exhibition Center, and Yuyuan Garden, a classical Chinese Garden. Stroll through nongtangs, shop at ancient markets, and explore the French Concession. This evening, enjoy an evening acrobatic show and farewell dinner.
At the end of each program, students reflect on their experiences and the issues they engaged with, and talk about how to apply this new understanding to their own worlds. During or after their closing discussion, groups participate in Rustic Ties, a unique and powerful activity that allows students to capture the memories and learning moments of their program to process and share with their communities back home.
Your Program Leaders will take you to the airport for your flight home or to your next Rustic program as you say goodbyes and reflect on your adventure.
If you’re staying in China, your Program Leaders will take you to your next accommodation to meet your new group. If you’re continuing on to another Rustic Pathways destination, you’ll board a connecting flight to that country.
A small backpack is ideal as it will be used for day trips.
A 50-70 Liter duffel bag or backpack is ideal. A wheeled bag is suitable if it can be carried like a duffel bag over rough terrain.
Clothing Items
Toiletries
(Travel size bottles in Ziploc bags)
Miscellaneous
Optional Items
Most of the accommodations are hotels with flush toilets. When in hotels, there will be two or three students per room. All of those hotels will have showers and electricity.
When we stay in Danba, we stay in a guesthouse with squat toilets. The guesthouse is dorm style and there will be 4 – 6 students per room. This guesthouse is remote with little electricity, no showers, and no internet.
Throughout the days in China, public toilets will be squat toilets.
Rustic Pathways works with local community leaders and organizations to identify and prioritize the needs of each community. Please note that while we try our best to ensure we provide our advertised projects, some changes may occur due to the communities and project partners we work with.
Your days at the Panda Conservation will be divided between direct interaction with the pandas and spending time with your group learning about conservation, participating in discussions about the panda breeding program, and learning how scientists conduct research at centers like this one. Your staff members will go over each day’s schedule and divide you into groups of three or four with the other students on your trip. Each group will be paired with specific pandas and researchers for your service work.
This program involves service that requires students to be physically active.
We will be eating a variety of Chinese food on this program. When we are in the rural areas of China, there will be less variety in the dishes. Breakfast includes steamed buns, fried rice, and fried vegetables. Lunches and dinners are shared dishes of rice, vegetable dishes, chicken and pork dishes, tofu dishes, and noodles. Food in the Sichuan Province tends to be spicy, but your Program Leaders know how to order non-spicy food.
Dietary Requirements/Food Allergies – We can easily accommodate vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and other common dietary requirements on this program. Please make sure to include this in your medical form so that our staff can prepare and we recommend bringing along some of your own favorite snacks!
Water from the tap is safe to use for brushing teeth etc, but, students will be provided as much bottled water as they can drink. Don’t forget to bring along your own reusable water bottle, so we can minimize our plastic usage.
Students should be prepared for hot, humid weather in the 90s (Fahrenheit) during the day with occasional rain showers. Since Danba is located in the mountains, the temperature will go down into the 60s in the evenings. The weather does not vary much between June and August. Make sure to pack sunscreen, bug spray, and your rain jacket.
Flights – The group flight is a direct flight from LAX to Beijing. The advertised dates for this program include travel time from the USA. The program within China runs from Thursday to Wednesday. Please refer to the itinerary for further details.
Visa – Students traveling on United States passports must obtain a Chinese visa prior to traveling to China. Information about acquiring your visa will be provided to you prior to your trip. Students traveling with Rustic Pathways on passports not issued by the United States are responsible for determining their own visa requirements. Please check with the appropriate consulate or embassy.
Internal Travel – This program will have one flight within China from Beijing to Chengdu. It is included in the program price. This program travels to a few core places while moving every 3-4 days. This offers a good chance to get to know a few places well. Rustic Pathways’ program leaders will drive students in 8-seater or 12-seater vans throughout the program.
We want to encourage students to disconnect in order to fully immerse themselves in the experience and get the most out of their program. Thus, students will not have access to wifi. Reception for international plans is spotty and we do not recommend purchasing one for this trip. Parents will have access to our 24/7 emergency number and will also receive updates from our staff once your student is in country. Students can bring phones, but are not allowed to use their phones during group activities, nor at any other time where it is disruptive to the group dynamic. If students are unable to abide by this policy, disciplinary action may be taken.
Wifi in China can be spotty. With the internet blocks in China (not because of Rustic Pathways), students will not be able to access Google, Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or WhatsApp.
Checked luggage fees, personal gifts, laundry, phone calls, and snacks are not included in the program price. Students will have the chance to visit two markets during this itinerary, in addition to small snack shops and purchasing handicrafts from the local community. We recommend $150 per week to cover souvenirs and incidentals.
This is a fast-paced program and students will not have time to do laundry.
In general, Chinese dress modestly, and as polite visitors, we will dress accordingly. While Beijing can be a little more relaxed, it is important that we show respect at all times, particularly in the rural areas of Sichuan. The requirements are fairly straightforward and the same for any gender:
Shorts: Rule of thumb is that the bottom of the shorts should be mid thigh or longer. Leggings or yoga pants: Only if paired with shorts over top because they are too form-fitting. Loose-fitting pants, capris, and long skirts: Acceptable and preferred. While in rural Sichuan, you will want to wear pants because that is more culturally appropriate and it is chilly in the mountains. Tops: Shoulders must be covered – No tank tops or spaghetti straps.
If you arrive and your clothing is deemed unacceptable by your Program Leaders, you’ll have to purchase appropriate clothing before service work begins in the village.