During the China program, Arc students work primarily toward developing their Mandarin Language skills both in a language school in Beijing but also in practice, as students have the opportunity to work alongside our Lifeworks service program team working with physically disabled children in privately funded orphanages. Between class and service projects, students will explore Beijing and visit the Great Wall, Forbidden City and the Terra cotta warriors at Xi'an.

This program offers a strong educational curriculum through it's language development component as well as it's unique cultural exposure yet it is not supported by an accredited academic curriculum at this time.

The China program is one of our smaller programs with between 8 and 12 students and two staff members..

Most Arc students live together in apartment housing or in a guesthouse near the language school and the children's home. Rooms are usually dorm-style, with 2 to 4 students sharing a room. Bathrooms may be private or shared, and usually have a western-style toilet and a simple shower. Not all housing is equipped with a washing machine, so be prepared to do your laundry by hand. Heat, power, air conditioning and hot water may be limited or intermittent, so do not count on them always being available! When living in apartment housing, we will take our meals there. At other times, we may eat at nearby restaurants or in dining halls. Most meals are simple, home-style local Chinese cooking, but you will certainly be treated to the occasional lavish Chinese banquet! You will be able to supplement your meals by shopping locally for fresh fruit, bread and other baked goods, milk, juice, yogurt and snacks. For the more adventurous, there are numerous delicacies available at small restaurants. If you have food allergies or special dietary requirements (such as vegetarian preferences) please let us know in advance.

Two staff members travel with you full-time and others may come and go for specific portions of the trip. Take a look through the staff FAQs for more information on the Arc staff.

During the summer months, the average temperatures in Taiyuan are highs of 84-88oF and lows of 63-67oF. Beijing has a very similar climate and is perhaps a little warmer still than Taiyuan.

The easiest way is for students to place a quick call home to let Mom and Dad know what's going on! Sometimes this doesn't happen though, so we also have a trip update system in which, at the end of each day, the "leader of the day" journals the day's activities and stories in our "program log." When time and local internet service is on our side, we type up student entries and post them, along with photographs, on the Arc website. On certain occasions, we are able to post podcasts as part of these blogs as well.

Although vaccinations for this region are not required, the CDC recommends that travelers have the Typhoid, Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B immunizations. Arc strongly recommends immunizations against both Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B. If you do not have time to finish the series before you travel, then having at least the first two shots will offer some protection. You may also consider a chicken pox immunization if you have never contracted or been immunized against chicken pox. We suggest checking with your physician or travel health professional for his/her recommendation on immunizations, as well as the CDC's website for the most up-to-date information. Allow plenty of time before your trip (CDC suggests 4-6 weeks) to see your health care provider. More information is given when enrolling.

Students come from all points of the compass, so coordinated air travel is of vital importance. For this reason, we ask that all students flying to China book through Reservation Services International as they regularly obtain the best fares available, arrange group seating, and provide close monitoring on travel days in case of flight difficulties. As airlines often change their schedules, Arc cannot be responsible for the coordination of air flights that are not booked through Reservation Services International.

For those booking through Reservation Services International, an Arc representative will meet the group at the Chicago O'Hare (ORD) airport to help with this transfer. In most cases, this representative will also be a guide for the program and will fly to Beijing with the group. Additionally, it's often possible for us to help families connect with other families in their area to coordinate students flying together on the domestic portions of their itineraries.

For more information on flight itineraries and travel information, please contact...

Leah Hernandez
Reservation Services International
1.800.329.9000
(Texas +1.281.528.7727)
leahctn68@hotmail.com

Everyone traveling to China must do so with a passport valid for a minimum of six months after the date of departure. Additionally, Arc students need a visa issued by the nearest Chinese embassy or consulate in order to travel to China. Visas are not hard to acquire, though you need to either apply in person or use a visa service agency to process the visa for you, such as www.visa-chinese.com (Chinese visa service agency) or www.zvs.com (passport and visa service). More information is provided when enrolling in the program.