What an amazing fall season! By the numbers, it was our busiest season yet. Between our fall training in early September and our last trip at the end of September, we somehow managed to squeeze in 51 discrete programs involving 2,040 students.
The majority of our trips were repeat programs with repeat clients, in familiar locations: Yangshuo, Sichuan (Chengdu), Yunnan (Dali), Hangzhou, Beijing, Fujian, and Guangdong. That being said, all of them involved new elements, including upgraded accommodation and improved activity sites. We added new locations in Qingdao and southeastern Guizhou (Zhaoxing), as well as new routes and activities in existing locations. Some of our clients challenged us to develop more meaningful enhanced community service options, and we responded with new service learning projects that deepened our relationships with clients and local communities, alike. Students on our fall programs improved trails in Moganshan, helped upgrade a campsite near Hangzhou, repaired a community center in rural Fujian, spackled houses for the rural poor in Sichuan, engaged in panda conservation efforts, and more.
So much has changed since 2010, since we organized our first trip for an international school. I still remember that the cost for the 3-day trip was 600CNY/student, and somehow including everything except for travel to/from the school and the program location! We were grateful that the school was willing to work with us, and we made sure that what we lacked in experience, we more than made up for in our enthusiasm and dedication.
In those days, accommodation options in the countryside were cheap and simple. The roads (especially in Yunnan) were terrible, and it took forever to get anywhere. At the same time, hidden gems abounded; despite (or maybe because of!) of a lack of tourist infrastructure, many of our locations felt uncrowded and slow-paced.
Fast forward 10 years, and my, how things have changed! Tens of thousands of miles of new highways and high-speed train lines have streamlined travel and opened up lots of hitherto inaccessible locations. Rural infrastructure has made it easier to visit and run activities in the countryside. Urban-transplants-turned-entrepreneurs have opened guesthouses and restaurants in out-of-the-way places by the thousands, catering to the hundreds of millions of Chinese families that now own automobiles. Campsites and outdoor bases have upgraded their facilities, while traditional scenic areas have added now offerings, all to appeal to the surging interest in summer-camp experiences.
And yet, while China has changed immensely, our company spirit has changed very little. We still think of ourselves as a scrappy little company, staffed with the most passionate and enthusiastic group of professionals that I have ever had the privilege of knowing. Our goal is still the same – to show students a side of China, and a side of themselves, that they needed to see to believe. (Pic below was our first-ever staff photo, taken in 2010).
Thanks to our staff for their hard work, and thanks to our clients for their trust and loyalty. We look forward to serving you in 2020 and beyond.