There has never been a greater opportunity to get some of those Asia sites, such as the Great Wall of China, crossed off your bucket list.
Wayne State College students will be given the opportunity this spring to travel abroad for a reasonable price that includes school fees, housing, most transportation, insurance, field trips and a meal allowance.

Students study in Taiwan for a period of eight weeks, and then they proceed to explore several places in China, such as Shanghai, Jishou, Xi’an and Beijing for two weeks.

What students and faculty may not know, is that they could join the study abroad crew for the last two weeks of the trip as well. They are given the opportunity to take an affordable 14-day tour of China from May 8 to May 22 for only $1,175. This figure does not include airfare.

There are limited seats available for this portion of the trip. Credit hours will not be given to those who simply join in on the last two weeks, but it is still a great opportunity for adventure.

The first site they will visit in Shanghai is the Yu Garden in southern China, which contains chambers, ponds, rockeries and towers. After the garden, the Wayne State group will visit the jade statues from Burma in the Jade Buddha temple which was built in the Guangxu period. They will end their first day in Shanghai enjoying the European -style, famous leisure streets of Xintiandi (the French concession).

Travelers are given free time to make their own memories in Shanghai. Some use this time to visit the Oriental Pearl tower, while others use it to go shopping.

In Jishou, they take tours of Phoenix old town, Aizhai Bridge and Miao Village. The group interacts with students from the Jishou University and then they are given some free time.

“The college we toured was a fun place to be. We got to know some students and they had really good food,” sophomore Alex Ambriz said. “That was probably the most memorable place.”

Xi’an allows students and faculty to get a feel of the diversity in China. They are given a tour of the ancient city, where they come across Islamic people who come to visit the Grand Mosque.

They finish off in Xi’an visiting the famous Terracotta Warriors, who guard the emperor Qin in the afterlife, the Banpo museum and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

“I liked the Old Phoenix Town and Xi’an. Some of the best places are found away from the tourist areas,” said junior Tracy Barnes.

For their final stop abroad, they visit Beijing, the “Celestial City.”

The group is able to visit some of the most famous places, such as the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and the summer palace.

To finish off their trip, they will visit the pandas in the Beijing Zoo and take that nice long walk on the Great Wall of China.

“A year later and I still keep in contact with my friends,” Barnes said. “You can make lifelong friends and connections. I loved the experience and would go again in a heartbeat.”

Anybody interested in going on the two-week trip can contact Gerald Conway, international studies program director, at 402-375-7029. or [email protected].