Shandong Cultural Tour

In the morning, the driver will pick up students from the station and take them to Baotu Spring, known as "the No.1 Spring Under Heaven". Students can observe the spectacular scene of three springs gushing up at close range, and learn about the geological formation and historical allusions of Baotu Spring. They can also visit the nearby Memorial Hall of Chinese Historical Celebrities to understand the deeds and historical stories of famous figures. Later, they will walk to the nearby Quancheng Square, a place where local residents relax. Here, students can intuitively experience the characteristics of Jinan as a "Spring City". They can take a short break here to learn about the daily life of local people and the unique features of the city.

Learning the Geological Origin of Baotu Spring

After lunch, students will go to Daming Lake, known as the "Pearl of the Spring City". They can take a boat or walk along the lake to enjoy the scenery by the lake, while learning about the connections between Daming Lake and Jinan's historical celebrities as well as folk legends. Then, they will head to Shandong Museum. By viewing the cultural relics in the collection, such as ceramics, bronze wares, calligraphy and painting works, and ancient books, students can understand the historical development and culture of Shandong from ancient times to the modern era. Finally, they will return to the hotel to rest, concluding the day's itinerary.

Your Journey’s Rewards:

By visiting Baotu Spring, Quancheng Square, Daming Lake and Shandong Museum, students can learn about Jinan's urban characteristics as a "Spring City", its historical development and current development status.

Educational Focus:

Why is Jinan called the "Spring City"?

Takeaway:

Jinan is called the "Spring City" because it has a large number of springs with high popularity, and these springs are closely connected with urban life. Jinan is a veritable "City of a Thousand Springs" — currently, there are 1,209 natural springs in the city, which are not only large in quantity but also widely distributed. Jinan is home to Baotu Spring, known as "the No.1 Spring Under Heaven", which ranks first among the top ten spring groups in Jinan. It attracts many tourists who come specially for it, and many literati and scholars have written many works praising it.

Thought Challenge:

Why is Jinan the only city in China with dense clear springs and worthy of the title "Spring City"? While Zhengzhou, also a city along the Yellow River, has almost no springs?

After breakfast, we depart for Heihu Spring, one of the four major spring groups in Jinan. Students will witness the turbulent spring water gushing out from the tiger-head spring mouths with their own eyes, intuitively feel the majestic vitality of the natural spring veins, and further understand the characteristics of Jinan as the "Spring City". Later, we move to the adjacent Kuanhouli Old Street, a long-standing historical street in Jinan. It gathers Shandong-style handcraft shops, intangible cultural heritage (ICH) experience workshops and time-honored stores. Here, students can experience the integration of historical culture and modern fashion. Immediately after that, we head to Furong Street, Jinan’s most famous food street with a variety of delicacies. Students can eat while exploring, and personally experience Jinan's food culture.

Feeling the Vitality of Natural Spring Veins at Heihu Spring

Feel the Historical Culture at Kuanhouli Old Street

In the afternoon, we start the ICH craft research activity — learning the traditional "hairy monkey" art from Master Yang Fengyan, a renowned maker of hairy monkeys. Hairy monkeys are small and vivid in shape, often depicting folk scenes and life stories, and are known as "miniature treasures" of Chinese folk art. Under the master’s guidance, students will start with recognizing materials, learning cutting, and assembling, and personally complete a hairy monkey work. During the process, students will master the basic techniques of making hairy monkeys, feel their unique artistic charm and profound cultural heritage, while improving their manual skills and artistic accomplishment.

Your Journey’s Rewards:

By visiting Heihu Spring, wandering around Kuanhouli Old Street and Furong Street, students can personally experience Jinan’s life and culture. Furthermore, by learning the traditional hairy monkey making from Master Yang Fengyan, they master the basic techniques of hairy monkey craftsmanship, feel its unique artistic charm and profound cultural heritage, and at the same time enhance their manual skills and artistic cultivation.

Educational Focus:

What is the artistic value of hairy monkeys?

Takeaway:

The "hairy monkey", with a history of over a hundred years, its greatest artistic charm lies in vividly recording all aspects of human life through humorous and lively body language. It truly reproduces the marketplace culture with rich Chinese local flavor, and perfectly integrates the natural charm of monkeys with art, thus possessing a strong sense of life and profound practical significance. Its creation requires not only skills, but also imagination and life experience. Hairy monkey works usually take marketplace life as the theme, showing unique local customs and traditions.

Thought Challenge:

Hairy monkeys are facing inheritance challenges, with low participation of the younger generation. How to promote their dissemination in the contemporary era?

In the morning, Students gather to participate in an intangible cultural heritage (ICH) activity — the making of Jinan Hou’s Shehuo Facial Masks. Hou’s Shehuo Facial Masks are precious traditional handcrafted artworks of Shandong Province and a part of China’s intangible cultural heritage. On the day, the sixth-generation inheritor of Hou’s Shehuo Facial Masks will personally give lessons, guiding students from recognizing the core raw materials for making the masks to understanding key processes such as "fire painting", "line drawing" and "color filling". During the process, students will experience the unique artistic value and profound cultural connotation of Hou’s Shehuo Facial Masks.

Facial Masks Making

Students' Mask Works

In the afternoon, we head to Qianfo Mountain, another iconic scenic spot in Jinan. Students can climb along the mountain path; along the way, they can not only enjoy the beautiful natural scenery, but also observe the mortise and tenon structure of the temple buildings and the artistic style of the Buddha statue carvings, which are of great value for the study of Chinese Buddhism in the Sui Dynasty. After reaching the top, students can overlook the panoramic view of Jinan’s urban area, intuitively feel the geographical features and humanistic heritage of Jinan, and understand the symbiotic relationship between natural landscapes and urban development. After dinner, students will take a vehicle to Tai’an and check into a local hotel upon arrival.

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Jinan Hou’s Shehuo Facial Masks are a product of the combination of folk beliefs and art, and an important witness to Qilu culture. In the process of learning to make Jinan Hou’s Shehuo Facial Masks, students can experience their unique artistic value and profound cultural connotation. During the climb up Qianfo Mountain, they can intuitively feel Jinan’s geographical features and humanistic heritage, and understand the symbiotic relationship between natural landscapes and urban development.

Educational Focus:

What are the characteristics of Hou’s Shehuo Facial Masks?

Takeaway:

Hou’s Shehuo Facial Masks mostly take folk beliefs in Jinan and Tai’an areas of Shandong as their themes, and each mask is full of solemnity and elegance. Their characteristics lie in the use of cinnabar (which is believed to ward off evil spirits) and the two colors of black and red; their compositions are exaggerated, their shapes are bold and unconstrained, and their colors are intense, giving a striking visual impact. The materials used are mostly gourds, wood boards, silk and so on, and the craft has later developed into forms such as carving and three-dimensional relief. Hou’s Shehuo Facial Masks are not only purely handcrafted, but also integrate the rich Qilu culture.

Thought Challenge:

How can Hou’s Shehuo Facial Masks achieve both inheritance and innovation?

After breakfast in the early morning, students will start a full-day exploration journey of Mount Tai, the most prestigious among the "Five Great Mountains" in China and known as "the Unrivaled Mountain of the Five Great Mountains". Students will take the scenic area's eco-friendly bus to Zhongtianmen (the Second Heavenly Gate of Mount Tai), and then take the cable car up the mountain. Along the way, they can visit the Wudafu Pine (a pine tree conferred by the First Emperor of Qin), the Shibapan Stairway (also called "the Heavenly Stairway" — with a vertical height of over 400 meters, it looks like a ladder hanging down from the sky and a silver river flowing backward, forming a spectacular scene), and the majestic Nantianmen (the Heavenly South Gate, known as the "Gate to Heaven"). After reaching the mountain top, students can stroll along the Tianjie (Heavenly Street) and view the grand Tang Dynasty Cliff Carvings, from which they can feel the lofty ambitions of a great emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

The cultural highlight of the day's study tour focuses on the Tang Dynasty Cliff Carvings. These carvings, engraved on the cliff face of Mount Tai, center on "The Inscription Commemorating Mount Tai" written in the imperial calligraphy of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (Li Longji). The content records the grand ceremony of Emperor Xuanzong's Fengshan Ritual (a grand ceremony where emperors worshipped heaven and earth at Mount Tai) and his governing philosophy. Students can observe the texture of the characters on the carvings up close, listen to the guide explain the background and significance of the Fengshan Culture in the Tang Dynasty, as well as the lofty ambitions that Emperor Xuanzong (a renowned great emperor) conveyed through the carvings, thereby gaining an understanding of Mount Tai culture.

Exploring Mount Tai Culture

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Through this in-depth experience of Mount Tai, students can not only appreciate the unique and spectacular natural wonders, but also feel the culture of Mount Tai from the historical traces such as the First Emperor of Qin's conferral of the Wudafu Pine and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty's stone carvings.

Educational Focus:

Why is Mount Tai called "the Unrivaled Mountain of the Five Great Mountains"?

Takeaway:

The main peak of Mount Tai is located in the northern part of Tai'an City, Shandong Province, with an altitude of 1,545 meters. Mount Tai has been renowned as "the First of the Five Great Mountains" since ancient times. Due to its majestic and grand terrain, long history, the Fengshan rituals and sacrifices held by emperors of successive dynasties, and the poems, inscriptions and carvings left by literati and scholars, it boasts a large number of cultural relics and historic sites. It is praised as a partial epitome of China's cultural history and is recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

Thought Challenge:

What impact does Mount Tai culture have on traditional Chinese culture?

Today, a full-day exploration of Confucian culture will begin. In the morning, we gather and take a bus to Qufu, the hometown of Confucius, to visit the Confucius Museum — the only thematic museum in China that comprehensively interprets Confucius' thoughts and Confucian culture through cultural relics. Through different exhibition halls, students can learn about Confucius' life, his wisdom, the relationship between Confucius and Chinese civilization, and the connection between Confucius and world civilization, thereby gaining a deeper understanding of Confucius' Confucian thoughts and Confucian culture.

After lunch, students will attend the Kaibi Ceremony (the traditional Chinese enlightenment ritual for children to start learning characters and etiquette) in front of the Wanren Palace Wall of the Confucian Temple. Under professional guidance, they will participate in this traditional form of enlightenment education. After the ceremony, they will start visiting the Confucian Temple, known as "the First Temple Under Heaven" and the largest temple in the world. Inside the Confucian Temple, students can see a large number of stone inscriptions covering various dynasties from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. These inscriptions are rich in content and diverse in calligraphy styles, serving as precious materials for studying Chinese history, culture and calligraphy art.

Next, they will visit the Confucian Mansion, the most well-preserved and longest-standing typical noble manor in the world featuring the "combination of government office and residence". Through the furniture, calligraphy and painting works, and daily necessities displayed indoors, students can learn about the lifestyle of ancient noble families. Inside the Confucian Mansion, there are also plaques and couplets embodying Confucian thoughts, which reflect the unique value of the Confucian Mansion as a carrier of Confucian culture. Finally, they will visit the Confucian Cemetery, the largest clan cemetery in China. Students can carefully study the inscriptions on the tombstones, which contain the family's history and inheritance, allowing them to deeply understand the profound influence of Confucius' thoughts on Chinese society.

Kaibi Ceremony Held in Front of the Confucian Temple

Exploring Confucian Culture Inside Confucius Temple

Visit Calligraphy Works to Learn Confucian Culture

Your Journey’s Rewards:

By visiting the Confucius Museum, Confucian Temple, Confucian Mansion and Confucian Cemetery in Qufu, students can learn about the origin and development of Confucian culture, as well as the profound influence of Confucius' thoughts on Chinese society. During the tour, students will also study Chinese history, culture and calligraphy art through various stone inscriptions, calligraphy and painting works.

Educational Focus:

What impact did Confucius' thoughts have on ancient Chinese education?

Takeaway:

Confucius advocated the concept of "Education for All Without Discrimination", which broke the monopoly of education by nobles. Regardless of students' social status and economic background, they could receive education. This concept enabled more people to have the opportunity to access education in ancient Chinese society, cultivating a large number of talents for the society. Confucius also proposed the idea of "Teaching Students in Accordance with Their Aptitude", that is, educating students according to their different characteristics and abilities. This personalized educational method was also widely applied in ancient Chinese education. In addition, Confucius emphasized that education should not only impart knowledge, but also cultivate students' moral character — paying attention to fostering virtues such as benevolence, loyalty and filial piety in the education process. This kind of moral education has become an important part of traditional Chinese culture.

Thought Challenge:

In the process of protecting and inheriting Confucian cultural heritage represented by the Confucian Temple, Confucian Mansion and Confucian Cemetery, how to balance the protection needs of the original cultural atmosphere and historical relics of the heritage site with the needs of modern tourism development?

After breakfast, students visit the Han-Wei Stone Inscription Museum to view stone inscription relics from the Han and Wei dynasties. By touring the museum and listening to the guide's detailed explanations of the inscriptions, they learn about the historical background, content of the inscriptions, and calligraphic features of each stone tablet. This allows students to not only appreciate the exquisite calligraphic art but also gain an in-depth understanding of the relevant historical stories.

In the afternoon, the first activity is a rubbing experience. Under the guidance of professional teachers, students can personally carry out each step of the rubbing process, experiencing the ingenuity of the rubbing technique and the charm of traditional culture. Next is the guqin (a traditional Chinese zither) experience. Under the teachers' instruction, students learn basic knowledge about the guqin, including its history, characteristics, and playing techniques, and improve their artistic appreciation during the experience. Finally, there is an archery experience. Students learn basic movements such as holding the bow, nocking the arrow, and aiming, understand historical stories related to archery, and feel the charm of traditional culture while practicing archery.

Rubbing Experience

Guqin Experience

Your Journey’s Rewards:

By visiting the Han-Wei Stone Inscription Museum, students gain an in-depth understanding of the development of stone inscription culture and the evolution of calligraphic art in China during the Han and Wei dynasties. Through the three experiences of rubbing, guqin, and archery, students can acquire knowledge related to traditional crafts, feel the charm of traditional Chinese craftsmanship, and enhance their artistic appreciation.

Educational Focus:

What is the significance of inheriting traditional crafts?

Takeaway:

Many traditional crafts often take historical stories and folk scenes as themes, subtly inheriting moral concepts, values, and life wisdom. They convey traditional Chinese virtues through their works, which helps cultivate the moral character and aesthetic literacy of members of society.

Thought Challenge:

How to inherit and protect traditional crafts?

After having breakfast at the hotel, students depart for Nishan Sacred Land. Upon arrival, the first thing that catches their eye is the towering and solemn statue of Confucius. The 72-meter-high statue embodies students' respect for Confucius and the profound influence of Confucian culture. Afterwards, they visit the Daxue Hall (University Hall), one of the landmark buildings of Nishan Sacred Land. Inside the Daxue Hall, students view classic works of traditional Chinese art such as Dongyang wood carvings, Shanxi clay sculptures, Suzhou embroidery, Fuzhou lacquer paintings, and Jingdezhen ceramic paintings, and learn about different cultural themes. Later, they can also visit the Fuzi Cave and Nishan Academy within Nishan Sacred Land to gain a deeper understanding of Confucian culture.

Nishan Sacred Land

Visit Nishan Academy

The rich cultural knowledge acquired during the 7-day Shandong cultural study tour has broadened students' global perspective and enhanced their cultural literacy. Students will return home with a wealth of knowledge, reflecting on and organizing the key points learned during the journey back.

Your Journey’s Rewards:

By visiting Nishan Sacred Land, students gain an in-depth understanding of the historical origin of Nishan as the birthplace of Confucius, feel the profound heritage of the cradle of Confucian culture, and intuitively comprehend the connotation of Confucian thought.

Educational Focus:

How does Nishan Sacred Land inherit and innovate Confucian culture?

Takeaway:

During important traditional Chinese festivals (such as the Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Dragon Boat Festival) or solar terms, the scenic area holds corresponding themed cultural activities integrated with Confucian cultural elements, such as blessing ceremonies, moon-worshipping gatherings, poetry recitals, and folk custom exhibitions. The Confucius Worship Ceremony is the most important and grand ritual event at Nishan Sacred Land, serving as a significant form of honoring the ancient mentor and inheriting culture. Additionally, Nishan Sacred Land hosts a variety of Confucian cultural experience activities, allowing visitors to personally experience the "Six Arts of Confucianism" (rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics) and traditional culture.

Thought Challenge:

While creating an immersive Confucian cultural experience, how can Nishan Sacred Land avoid the impact of excessive commercialization on the historical solemnity and cultural purity of its identity as "the birthplace of Confucian culture"?