201002 SYA Students' Visit to Southern Yunnan

School Year Abroad, SYA for short, is an American project which has been undertaken since 1994, they send high school students chosen from around 28 famous high schools in US, normally every year only 40-60, to Beijing for 1 year study before their university education in United States. SYA enjoys good reputation for their unique way of giving their students knowledge about China, besides normal schooling with basic courses, in order to give kids more chances to know about China, they don't accommodate students in dorms of school, but put each of them into local Beijing families, to live with a typical Chinese family helps them understand China better, apart from it, SYA would also organize their students to travel around China several times during their stay, mostly to some remote places, to let them learn more about different parts of China by their own eyes and their own experiences.

Xishuangbanna region became SYA's spring travel destination in 2003, and we have been providing them with tour suggestions and service every year since then, at very beginning our work focus was only in Xishuangbanna, duration was only about 1 week, from 2009, their itinerary was extended to Jianshui and Yuanyang areas in southeast of Yunnan,  combined with Xishuangbanna, trip duration was prolonged to be about 3 weeks, their travel included ethnic village home stays, free exploration at some places, visiting ethnic markets, hiking through rice terraces, hiking through ethnic regions, rafting along the Mekong, exchange with local high school, etc.

Here below is SYA's Spring Trip we worked for in February of 2010, let's share their happiness!

Feb. 20, 2010 - Mar. 12, 2010

Fly from Beijing to Kunming - Shiping - Jianshui and Yuanyang areas - Jinghong, Xishuangbanna - Fly back to Beijing!
　
Good weather! Spring trip began from Kunming 　 Stone Forest near Kunming, nice, but noisy and crowded
　 　 　
　
Arrival at some Yi Minority Village, welcome by villagers 　 Village party, Yi ethnic women giving a folk performance
　 　 　
　
Active SYA students giving performance to villagers 　 Students learning Yi people's ants-walking dance
　 　 　
　
Yi women's traditional dragon dance, very lively 　 Students learning to do dragon dance
　 　 　
　
Learning how to do Yi people's traditional embroidery 　 Tuan Shan Village, many old houses and buildings
　 　 　
　
Chao Yang Archway Gate in Jianshui 　 Zhu Family's Property and Garden in Jianshui
　 　 　
　
In a family workshop, people busy making tofu 　 Ancient well of Jianshui, still feeding people
　 　 　
　
Confucius Temple, the second biggest through country 　 Students on the ethnic market of Yuanyang
　 　 　
　
Dai woman on Yuanyang Market 　 Yi women on Yuanyang Market
　 　 　
　
Hiking across the biggest rice terrace area near Yuanyang 　 View on our way of hiking, rice terraces everywhere
　 　 　
　
View on our way of hiking, rice terraces everywhere 　 Photo in front of rice terraces, students and their guide
　 　 　
　
Different times of day, rice terraces looking different 　 Yao ethnic women on Laomeng Market
　 　 　
　
Hani woman doing shopping on the market 　 Miao women in crowded Laomeng Market
　 　 　
　
Market was colorful because of different ethnic groups 　 Arrival in Jinghong, drinking and chatting by the Mekong
　 　 　
　
Rafting along the Mekong to Ganlanba 　 A break on the way of rafting, playing on sand beach
　 　 　
　
A basket ball match with Dai villagers 　 Dai women giving traditional folk performance
　 　 　
　
During village party, students playing games for fun 　 Letting off traditional flying lantern, for good luck
　 　 　
　
Flying lantern, the most primitive hot-air balloon 　 On a small Aini ethnic market in the west of the area
　 　 　
　
Hiking to Aini village, across nice tea plantation 　 Welcome by Aini women at the entrance of village
　 　 　
　
Another basket ball match, with Aini villagers 　 Aini villagers giving a folk performance in the evening
　 　 　
　
Playing game with villagers, fun for both visitors and hosts 　 Learning to do bamboo dance of Aini people
　 　 　
　
Aini women in traditional costumes 　 Group dance, interesting evening in Aini village
　 　 　
　
Picnic lunch on the way of hiking, getting recharged 　 A short break on the way of hiking, nice weather
　 　 　
　
We stayed one night in Dai paper-making village 　 Listening to pupil monks' evening chant in temple
　 　 　
　
Exchange with local high school students 　 Local students giving show to welcome SYA
　 　 　
　
SYA students were also very active on the stage 　 SYA students and local students were making friends

A pretty long trip! Some tiring, but very interesting and changeable, students got a lot of different experiences.

 RELATED TOUR.....to be customized.