China
TRAV 110.2 TR: Global Citizenship
Bubble Tea, Labubu, TikTok, & the Great Wall: Cultural Immersion Experience in Beijing, Shanghai & Xian
Course meets during Summer Term: 8 Week Session I. Course term begins May 10 and ends July 3, 2027 with specific meeting times to be announced.
Travel occurs during from June 10 to June 25, 2027
Night markets, Labubu, AI campuses, and the Great Wallwhat if China wasnt something you watched, but something you walked, tasted, and lived? Well roam buzzing markets and financial districts, hunt Labubu and designer toys, and visit cuttingedge tech campuses shaping the digital future. Well see the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army, and the Bund. Along the way, well share hotpot with locals, drink kungfu tea, stroll historic neighborhoods, and watch fivethousandyear history meet hightech innovation. This is for students curious about culture, technology, media, food, and daily lifeand for those who want to understand China not as an abstract global power, but as a place of people, creativity, contradictions, and surprises.
Did the program fill on the AMOS Travel Portal ("Create Your Profile" link below) already?
Travel Program Leaders
Dr. Huijing Wen
Education
Dr. Dorothee Hou
Modern Languages & Literatures
Cost
- Self-Pay Travel Cost (Students who are not Elevate Credit Eligible): $4,100
- Your Out-Of-Pocket Cost After Elevate Credit has been Applied (Valued at $2,800 for eligible students): $1,300
- For all travelers:
- Insurance Fee: $65 charged directly to your Student Account
- Recommended for Meals & Personal Funds: $400
- Tuition: $435
- Visa Fee for US Citizens: $140+
Quick Facts
- Travel Agreement Deadline: October 15, 2026
- Program Length: 14 Days
- Units: 0.5
- Eligibility: 2.0+ GPA, completed two consecutive semesters at MU, valid passport, completion of steps 1-3 in AMOS Travel Portal.
- Accessibility: Ability to walk 5+ miles per day. Contact Dr. Hou to discuss accommodation possibilities.
- Language: English
TENTATIVE Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival and meet our partner school at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications ( BUPT); Campus tour
Day 2: Morning: Opening ceremony & Experience the innovative communication technology and computer science on campus: visit State Key Lab of Information Photonics and optical communications; visit Student innovation and entrepreneurship center; Afternoon: attend the workshop & lecture on AI and its application in education and the digital economy.
Day 3: Morning: Visit Museums in Beijing; Afternoon: Attend a workshop/lecture on 5G/6G, Visit Internet enterprises
Day 4: Morning: Cultural Immersion for Peking Opera; Afternoon: Lectures on Fine Chinese Traditional Culture
Day 5: Day trip to Great Wall and taste Peking Duck
Day 6: Day trip to the Forbidden City ( The summer Palace) & QIanmen Street; Try local delicacies (hotpot or tea house)
Day 7: Morning: Attend lecture on Modern Beijing & Closing Ceremony; Late Afternoon: depart and arrive in Xian
Day 8: Morning: visit Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum (Terracotta Army)嚗Afternoon: visit Muslim Culture Street
Day 9: Visit Giant Wild Goose Pagoda and Ancient City Wall嚗Late Afternoon: Depart for and Arrive in Shanghai
Day 10: Morning: Nanjing Road; Afternoon: Visit the Bund, Financial District at Lujiazhui; Night cruise on Huangpu River
Day 11: Day trip to nearby Ancient Water Town ( Xitang or Zhouzhuang)
Day 12: Morning: Visit Chenghuang Temple, Yu Garden, taste local delicacies; Afternoon: shopping at Tianzi Fang
Day 13: Depart from Shanghai to JFK or EWR
Day 14: Arrive in New York; Back home