China

China's Southwest: Culture, Society, and Environment

June 5-17, 2005

Rationale
China’s southwestern provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan have been relatively unexplored compared to China’s coastal areas. However, this region has often been described as the “real China” for its rich indigenous customs, colorful ethnic minority cultures, charming small towns and villages, and stunning landscape. Sichuan is one of China’s most populous provinces—more than 100 million people living in a land area equal to that of France. Long protected from the outside by a ring of mountains, the province has not been easily accessible and thus its rich traditions have been preserved: religious practices of Buddhism and Daoism, world-renowned cuisine, the refuge for the Panda, and the popular teahouse culture. Yunnan, geographically positioned at the crossroads between Southeast Asia, Tibet, and the rest of China, is ethnically the richest and most varied of all of China’s provinces. Historically, Yunnan was an outpost of the Chinese empire until relatively modern times, and so many of its unique and colorful indigenous traditions have survived intact. This seminar is designed to access this fascinating region of China, focusing on the issues of cultural diversity, social change, and environmental conservation.

Host Institution
The University of Sichuan: Established in 1896 and located in the provincial capital of Chengdu, Sichuan University is one of China’s oldest and largest public universities. The university has exchange relations with many higher institutions in the world. Some 400 foreign students are now studying at Sichuan University.

The University of Yunnan: Founded in 1922 and situated in the regional capital of
Kunming, Yunnan University is a comprehensive university serving the southwestern region of China and beyond. Because of its geographical proximity, Yunnan University has developed close ties with universities of Southeast Asian countries.

Seminar Leadership
Dr. Mingzheng Shi has a Ph.D. in modern Chinese history from Columbia University. He taught at the University of Houston and at the University of Hawaii. For the past five years, Dr. Shi has been Director of CIEE’s Study Center and teach program based in Shanghai. Dr. Shi’s academic research interest focuses on the history of Chinese cities and he has published a number of works exploring the dynamics of culture and modernity in Chinese urban history and society. This will be the seventh seminar in China that Dr. Shi has developed and led with CIEE.

Academic Content
Following are the tentative lectures, site visits, and study tours for this seminar:

Lectures:

• Buddhism and Daoism as Represented in China’s Sacred Mountains
• Minority Peoples and Cultures in China’s Southwestern Frontiers
• Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection in China
• Popular Culture and Local Society in China
• Higher Education in Contemporary China
• Vernacular Architecture and Town Planning
• Regionalism vs. Globalization: the Case of China’s Southwest
• Face to Face with the Chinese: Tips on Verbal, Non-Verbal, and Cross-Cultural Communication

Site Visits/Study Tours:

• Buddhist mountain at Emei & Daoist mountain at Qingcheng, Sichuan Province
• Ancient irrigation project of Du Jiang Yan Sichuan Province
• Home of Tang-Dynasty literary giant Du Fu, Chengdu
• Giant Panda Research Institute, Chengdu
• World’s largest Buddha statue at Leshan, Sichuan Province
• The old town of Dali, once an important trading stop on the Southern Silk Road nestled between the Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake, Yunnan Province
• The old Town of Lijing, the home of Naxi (descendents of Tibet) ethnic minority group. Town made up of a maze of cobbled streets, rickety old wooden buildings and canals, Yunnan Province
• Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the world’s deepest gorges, Yunnan Province
• Songzanlin Tibetan Monastery, Yunnan Province
• Sichuan opera at local teahouse in Chengdu
• Traditional and ethnic music in Lijiang

Itinerary
This 13-day seminar begins with a day of orientation in Shanghai, 4 days in Sichuan Province, 6 days in Yunnan Province, and returns to Shanghai.

Seminar Fee
2005 China seminar fee: $2,850