|
 While
you are still making up your mind, you might have a lot
of questions regarding the different aspects of the
programs, planning the trip and how will the overall
experience be. We try to address a lot of generic
queries in the sections below. These sections are
divided into specific types of information. Take a look
at different sections depending on your kind of query.
Our Language Programs
Can I study abroad for just two weeks. Can I study for the whole
year?
Can I join the program if I don’t know any Chinese?
What will I learn as a complete beginner? (The syllabus and
schedule for the 8 weeks program)
I want to improve my speaking and overall communication, will
the course work for me?
What’s the deadline
for applying?
Do I have to start class on a particular Monday only?
What topics will
be covered in class?
Can I volunteer
while I am studying?
What process do I need to go through to determine if my credits
will transfer to my university or not? How can I transfer the
college credit to my university?
I am not interested in credits. Can I get a better discount?
Is
there any discount policy for early payment ?
How do you assist in helping students to travel on the weekends?
Would you organize tours to nearby locations?
Our Internship Programs
What is an
internship?
What is the difference between an internship and a job?
Why
should I pay to intern?
What kinds of
internships are available?
How long do internships last?
How many hours a day
will I work?
Since I pay to intern can I take vacations whenever I want?
Can I get college
credit for this?
How do I get a visa?
Will my
visa get extended once I get there?
What if I don’t like the company I’m interning for? Can I
change?
What will my
accommodations be like?
Where will the company be in relation to my house?
How much money
should I bring to China?
Is it possible to teach English, study Chinese, or volunteer
while I intern?
Our Volunteering
programs with Impact Abroad
What
kind of visa do I need for volunteering?
What kind of
volunteer work can I do?
Do I pay to volunteer?
Are
there specific start dates for volunteering?
How long can I volunteer for?
How can
I decide what program is right for me?
What if
I don’t like the place I volunteer at?
Can
I intern, or study Chinese while volunteering?
Can I
choose how many hours I will volunteer?
Will I be the only foreign volunteer at the institution?
Will I
have free time and time to tour China?
Planning the Trip
Does Minds Abroad facilitate the visa application?
How do I book cheap flights to Kunming? Is flight
the best option to reach from Shanghai, Beijing?
Do I
need to buy any travel or health insurance?
What do I need to bring to China?
How much money should I bring?
Is China safe for women travelers?
How far are the apartments from school? I am worried that the
classroom will be far away from my apartment.
Where do I
eat meals?
Could I
arrive before the orientation day?
Can I stay in China for a few days after the program ends?
Minds abroad seems like a fairly new organization? How long has
it been around? Was it something else before? Who owns it,
sponsors it, runs it?
I would really like to talk to some past students or parents of
students that have experienced your school. Could you please put
me in touch with such people?
Attending the programs
and Living in Kunming
How is the weather in
Kunming?
What is
the primary dialect spoken in Kunming?
Does my program price take into consideration the cost of meals?
How would you travel from place to place in Kunming?
How can I withdraw or exchange money while I am in Kunming?
How is money handled say when I am away on an excursion? Where
would my money and valuables ( cameras, laptops, phones, etc) be
kept when I am not using them?
How much
do meals cost?
Could I make International calls on my cell phone from China?
Will I have access
to the Internet?
Where can I do laundry?
Will I have any problems in plugging in electronic equipments I
carry?
The Outside of Class
Experience
Will I
have any free time while I am in China?
What are the activities that I can take up outside class hours?
What are the things I can do on an off day or after class?
What sort of supervision would a child/teenager have? How close
is the classroom to the shared room where he will be staying?
Specific Interests
I am interested in taking cookery classes while studying.
Can you help?
I
have an interest in art, does Kunming have anything to offer art
lovers?
I take interest in history
and culture, what can I look forward to in Kunming?
Our Language Programs
Can I study abroad for just two weeks. Can I study for the whole
year?
Yes, our students
have the flexibility to decide the length of the course, from
two weeks to a year.
Can
I join the program if I don’t know any Chinese?
Yes, anyone who is interested in our programs is welcome.
Through the Week-by-Week Program, students who don’t know any
Chinese can choose the Beginner Level. The One-on-One program
allows students to have a custom designed curriculum that
perfectly suits their own level and the pace they would like to
learn at.
What will I learn as a complete beginner? (The syllabus and
schedule for the 8 weeks program)
Our program is divided into three levels: beginner,
intermediate and advanced. As a first time learner we shall do
our best in making you develop basic skills of oral and written
Mandarin, developing commonly used vocabulary that will help you
speak short and simple sentences for everyday life. Classes
(Mon-Thurs) are generally held for about 4 hours in the morning
and in the afternoons we arrange for Chinese activities like tai
chi and calligraphy classes, all of which are part of the same
class schedule. See
here to know more. Since we are a Chinese
language immersion program, we believe in developing the skills
that you picked up in the classroom through interactions with
the local community. For this reason, we offer a free language
exchange. Learn more about this
here.
I want to improve my speaking and overall communication, will
the course work for me?
While our classes do teach reading and writing skills they are
mainly geared towards what we call "Survival Chinese". Our
programs are about helping students develop the skills they need
to converse in Chinese and have a more complete interactive
experience with Chinese people and Chinese culture. Naturally,
this leads our classes to being more focused on listening and
speaking skills, especially in the introductory levels. I should
also point out that just living in Kunming will give you plenty
of opportunities to practice your listening and speaking skills
every day. To supplement this though, we organize a language
exchange that allows our students to practice the Chinese they
learn in the classroom with a student from a Chinese university.
Please click here for a more complete description of this
program.
What’s the deadline
for applying?
Enrollment
begins anytime. We are flexible and have rolling admissions
throughout the year. You can begin class on any Monday of the
year and continue for as long as you like.
Do I have to start class on a particular Monday only?
We start group classes on Monday as that allows you to get
the full benefit of the particular week’s curriculum and lessons
scheduled for that week.
Click
here to understand better. If
you want more flexibility in terms of curriculum and timing you
can check out the option of One-on-One tutorials. Please click
here to know more about these classes.
What topics will
be covered in class?
Our
program is divided into three levels:
beginner,
intermediate and
advanced. Please check out the pages linked above to see topics
covered in class.
Can I volunteer
while I am studying?
With
Minds Abroad, you can also volunteer outside of your class hours
through our sister organization, Impact Abroad. We offer
volunteer opportunities in the fields of education, community
development, child development and peer impact for disadvantaged
women. Primarily focusing on reaching out to underprivileged
children, we seek to broaden the perspective of the people our
volunteers help as well as the volunteers themselves. Do to let
us know your field of preference. For more information on free
volunteer placement offered by Impact Abroad, please click here.
What process do I need to go through to determine if my credits
will transfer to my university or not? How can I transfer the
college credit to my university?
Yes you can transfer the credit earned at Minds Abroad to
you home institution. The first thing I would like to point out
is that the credits earned in our program will be awarded to you
by our partner institution, Yunnan Nationalities University.
Yunnan Nationalities University is a fully accredited
institution and is one of the top universities in this region of
China.
Another thing I would like to mention to you is
that every school has a different policy on accepting credits a
student earns while studying abroad. The best way to find the
answers you are looking for is to go to your schools study
abroad office. You can check our
Transfer Credit Pre-Approval
Form which you should give to someone in the office to fill out
for you. This is the best way of finding out your school’s study
abroad policy.
I am not interested in credits. Can I get a better discount?
Minds Abroad students that are not interested in earning
credits can choose the not-for-credit option to lower their
costs by as much as $100 per week. See
here for more details.
Is
there any discount policy for early payment ?
For our Chinese language programs, you
can either pay your tuition fees in full before the start of the
program or pay at the beginning of each month. There are
discounts for paying the full program price in advance. Please
see details
here
How do you assist in helping students to travel on the weekends?
Would you organize tours to nearby locations?
We have prices for 4 night/3 day
trips to places like Dali, Lijiang, Xishuangbanna and other
nearby locations. Students can get together and go as group and
we can assist them with arrangements like booking the
transportation and hotels. We can design itineraries for you and
can refer you to hotels and restaurants in different places but
you would have to organize the trip yourself. It is also easy
for you to go by yourself or with someone else at Minds Abroad
or someone else you meet in Kunming. It is very easy to travel
in Yunnan if you only speak English. Kunming is also very close
to fantastic places around Yunnan as well as in surrounding
areas China (like Tibet and Sichuan) and Southeast Asia. Our
program's four day week (Mon-Thurs) makes it easy to explore
these areas. While our program's tuition does not cover the
expense of traveling, the costs tend to be quite low and we can
help arrange trips for you to whichever places interest you the
most. We really want to emphasize that the costs tend to be very
low.
Our Internship Programs
What is an internship?
An internship is a learning experience where you will
actually be immersed and take
part in a given company’s
operations.
What is the difference between an internship and a job?
Internships can be part or full time and are unpaid. With
that being said, you have
more options and flexibility than
an actual employee would. Your compensation comes
in the form
of actual hands on experience that no classroom in the world can
teach you.
Why should I pay to intern?
You aren’t necessarily paying to intern. The fees included
in the program are
for your accommodations, insurance, and
other services. It also costs money to establish
contacts
and arrange assignments to keep the program going.
What kinds of
internships are available?
You can work in marketing, branding, advertising, non-profit
programs for
community outreach, research, editing, writing,
finance, hospitality, and in various other
sectors of both
multinational and Chinese companies.
How
long do internships last?
We need a commitment of at least 4 weeks but you can stay for up
to a year.
The internships usually have set durations of 1
month, 2 months, 3 months, a semester,
a summer (2 months),
6 months, or 1 year.
How many hours a day
will I work?
Most positions
are fulltime, meaning 9-5 Monday thru Friday. However, there are
other positions
available for 20-30 hours a week.
Since I pay to intern can I take vacations whenever I want?
One of the best things about interning abroad is the
opportunity to travel. If you
have an internship of extended
length you will get vacation time. If the internship is
short, it is preferable that you wait until you finish to tour
around. However, you would
have to talk to the company if
you wanted to take random vacations. You might miss
out on
something big.
Can I get college
credit for this?
It is up
to the discretion of your university. We can provide any
material needed
to support your claim that this experience
deserves college credit.
How do I get a visa?
To intern in China, you would need an “F” visa. You must go
to an embassy in
person or mail your documents to a
certified visa agency. We can also provide this
service for
you. You need to fill out an application, have a passport photo,
you must
have a passport with one blank page and an
expiration date greater than 6 months
from applying, and you
need an invitation letter from us.
Will my
visa get extended once I get there?
Once in China, if you want stay longer than your Visa
period, we can help you extend it.
What if I don’t like the company I’m interning for? Can I
change?
With a good reason
you would be able to change but you would have to remember
that with a new assignment there might be new guidelines
regarding hours per week,
location, duties, and internship
duration.
What will my
accommodations be like?
You
can choose your accommodation; it depends on your price range.
You can
live in an apartment with roommates but have your
own room, you can have your own
apartment, or you can do a
home stay with a Chinese family. If these options aren’t to
your liking you can also find your own housing. Check
here for
our different housing options.
Where will the company be in relation to my house?
We try to provide accommodation close to the company you
will be interning at.
How much money
should I bring to China?
It depends on your
lifestyle. China is a relatively cheap place if you look around
for bargains. There are also lots of option to splurge on
meals at fancy restaurants, drinks
at hotel bars, designer
clothes, and if you take a taxi everywhere. Here’s some prices
to
give you an idea: Lunch for 1 at a small local
restaurant: $1-2, a 20 minute taxi ride: $2-3,
bottle of
beer from a convenient store: $0.35, bottle of beer from a
popular club: $6,
subway ride across town: $0.50, T-shirt
that’s not an international designer brand: $3,
weekly
groceries: $5-10, DVD player: $45, DVD’s: $0.75, and 1 hour foot
massage: $2.50.
Is it possible to teach English, study Chinese, or volunteer
while I intern?
There
wouldn’t be enough time for you to teach English with us since
we require
you to be available during the day. You could
study Chinese with us or volunteer in
your free time but it
can’t conflict with your internship schedule.
Our Volunteering
programs with Impact Abroad
What kind
of visa do I need for volunteering?
If you plan on staying for 3 months or less you can get an L
(tourist) visa. If you want to stay longer you would have to get
it renewed.
What kind of
volunteer work can I do?
We
partner with local organizations in Kunming to provide
international volunteers to help teach basic English skills to
homeless children, deaf and mute children, and children from
severely economically disadvantaged families. In general, we now
have programs in the field of education, community development,
children development and peer impact for disadvantaged women.
Your duties are to assist the residents of these welfare centers
with daily tasks, teach them and play with them or provide some
company.
Do I pay to volunteer?
Volunteering is a free service. Impact Abroad, provides
volunteers with the opportunity to broaden the horizon of these
disadvantaged children and an opportunity to give back to this
community. We ask you to pay a deposit of $85 which is
refundable in full on your arrival in Kunming and joining the
program. The reason we require this deposit is because there are
a complicated set of arrangements that need to be made before
your arrival which includes finding an internship placement for
you; preparing for your in-country orientation, obtaining a cell
phone and new SIM card for you, and also booking your apartment.
Are
there specific start dates for volunteering?
No, you can begin year round. You should let us know what
program you want to do at least 4 weeks before you come so we
can make arrangements.
How long can I volunteer
for?
We insist on a minimum
4 weeks commitment. For a good experience you should volunteer
for a couple of weeks but we are aware of the time constraints
that you may have and we do our best to tailor your program
accordingly.
How can
I decide what program is right for me?
We will find a brief introduction to our different volunteer
programs on our website. We cannot guarantee that you will be
placed in the program you chose, however we do our best to meet
your choice. Our choice will depend both on your preference, the
preference of other volunteers we work with, and with the demand
for volunteers in welfare institutions.
What if
I don’t like the place I volunteer at?
We let you choose your field of volunteering, initially. We
try our best to place you in that field. But if you were dislike
a particular place we can try solving the problem and arrange
for you to volunteer somewhere else. You would be here on your
own will so we would not pressure you into doing anything you
don’t want to do.
Can
I intern, or study Chinese while volunteering?
You can learn Chinese in the mornings and volunteer in the
afternoons. If you take up our one-on-one program where you
would have a private teacher, you can enjoy even more
flexibility. Interning would take up a lot of your time but it
is possible to intern for a few hours of the week.
Can I
choose how many hours I will volunteer?
This varies based on the schedule of the volunteer, the
organization they are working for and also on the time of the
year.
Will I be the only foreign volunteer at the institution?
Again this will depend on the organization and the time of
the year. There may be other international volunteers working at
the welfare institution with you. Occasionally, this will not be
the case.
Will I
have free time and time to tour China?
As a volunteer, you will have a lot of free time to
experience China if you’d like. We only ask that you fulfill our
requested commitment to the selected welfare center before you
start traveling.
Planning the Trip
Does
Minds Abroad facilitate the visa application?
We can assure you that it is a very easy and quick process.
You can apply for your visa in one of the four consulates and
one embassy in the US located in Houston, Los Angeles, New York,
San Francisco and Washington DC. Once you are registered with
Minds Abroad, our partner institution, Yunnan Nationalities
University, will send you a letter of invitation. You can take
this letter to your nearest Chinese embassy (or consulate) in
your city and easily get a student visa. Another option is to
just apply for a 3 month tourist visa (called an L visa). You
can do this at the consulate or using a visa service like
www.visaexpress.net that takes care of the entire process for
you.
How do I book cheap flights to Kunming? Is flight
the best option to reach from Shanghai, Beijing?
Before we
guide you to more information about flight fares, we would like
to know where you are in the US and your specific date of
arrival. You should also search on
Kayak.com or some other US
travel search engine, either for flights with a final
destination of Kunming or search for flights to Beijing or
Shanghai. If you fly to Beijing or Shanghai, you should search
for the second flight to Kunming using eLong.com or cTrip.com.
In any event, flights out of the US should be booked only from a
major US airport. There are also bus/train combinations that you
can avail of from Hong Kong. From Hong Kong you could take a
short bus (1-1.5 hours) to Shenzhen. From Shenzhen you can take
a much cheaper flight (typically half price) to Kunming.
Do I
need to buy any travel or health insurance?
All participants on any Minds Abroad program MUST have
up-to-date health insurance. For college students the first bit
of advice we would give is to contact your health insurance
provider to ask them when a graduated student goes off your
family's plan. There are a wide variety of different policies on
this. Some cover people up until the age of 25. Others require
that students are at least enrolled part time in school to be
eligible to stay on their parent's plan. There are many
different answers and only your health care provider knows for
sure.
Please advise if there are any "Mandarin Learning
For Foreigners" scholarships offered by the Chinese government
or the institution itself.
Our programs are low cost and
we offer significant deals for students who study with us for 4
months or more. The Chinese government does have scholarships
for foreigners to learn Chinese but they are generally not given
for short term study at private study abroad programs but we do
award scholarships of up to $500 to qualified students. Kindly
look up our scholarship and financial aid pages of our website
for more detail. Click here to go there. Also check out
http://www.csc.edu.cn/. It is both for Chinese and International
students who are considering studying abroad. All the
scholarships for international students are listed but the
criteria are all different.
What do I need to
bring to China?
Today in
Kunming you can find almost any product and brand that you would
find at home. Soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. are all readily
available. Clothing is also plentiful and very inexpensive. You
will have convenience stores and supermarkets like Walmart
nearby for anything that you need. We recommend that you bring
medications (cold & flu tablets, etc.). We also recommend that
you bring a Mandarin phrase book and a China guidebook. For a
more detailed list of essential items check out our
Pre
Departure list.
How much money should I
bring?
The amount of money
to bring can vary. You should be able to use your ATM cards here
very easily as there are ATM machines all around the city. You
should not be bringing that much cash over here. There is no
need. Also, credit cards can be used in large stores.
Is China safe for
women travelers?
China is
very safe. Serious crimes against foreigners are rare. However,
students should take precautions in crowed places against
pickpockets.
How far are the apartments from school? I am worried that the
classroom will be far away from my apartment.
We arrange for private or shared apartments with another
student of Minds Abroad or homestays within a short distance
from our school (within 20 min walking or 5 min by bus). You
will have convenience stores and supermarkets around you.
Where do I eat meals?
We
provide all students 3 meals on school days. Breakfast, lunch
and dinner are served in our school. We generally have a western
buffet breakfast and Chinese style meals cooked for lunch and
dinner from Mon – Thurs. You will also have lots of options
serving a variety of cuisines just outside the school.
Could I
arrive before the orientation day?
Yes. If you want Minds Abroad to arrange accommodation for
you, please let us know your planned arrival date. We will make
accommodation reservations for you. Please note that you will be
responsible for payment of accommodation fees for any additional
days outside of your course of study.
Can I stay in China for a few days after the program ends?
Yes. If you want, Minds Abroad to arrange accommodation for
you, please let us know your planned departure date, and we will
make accommodation reservations for you. Note that you will be
responsible for payment of accommodation fees for any additional
days outside of your program.
Minds abroad seems like a fairly new
organization? How long has it been around? Was it something else
before? Who owns it, sponsors it, runs it?
Our organization was
originally based in Shanghai in 2005 but decided to move to
Kunming last year. We feel that Kunming is just a far better
environment for a study, intern and volunteer abroad program
than Shanghai is due to its fantastic climate and location in
the center of Yunnan, China's most diverse province. In
addition, we felt that Shanghai is too expensive and too
sprawling a metropolis, where it can be hard to keep track of
students. Kunming is really one of China's most livable cities
and we find students have an easier time adjusting to life here
than in Shanghai. We are run by two educators, one is an
American man who has lived and worked in China and one is
Chinese woman who has lived in the US and earned a Ph D in
education from Columbia.
I would really like to talk to some past students or parents of
students that have experienced your school. Could you please put
me in touch with such people?
We totally understand your caution and would be happy to
arrange for you to speak to someone that attended one of our
programs. Just let us know and we can begin to set this up for
you.
Attending the programs
and Living in Kunming
How is the weather in
Kunming?
Kunming has
year—round pleasant weather that is never too hot in summer nor
too cold in winter. This has led to Kunming being given the name
of ‘Spring City’. The average temperature in Kunming is 10 – 22
℃ (50 – 71 ℉). There is a poem to describe Kunming’s charming
climate “the weather is always like in April and May, February
and March, flowers never cease blossoming all year round.”
Please be cautious about this: temperatures vary greatly from
daytime to nighttime. It would be wise to bring a jacket with
you wherever you go.
What is
the primary dialect spoken in Kunming?
Mandarin is the primary dialect spoken in Kunming. As
Kunming is the capital of China's most diverse province, Yunnan,
there are also small populations who speak minority dialects;
ethnic minority groups (like Tibetan and Thai) but 90% of the
people in Kunming speak Mandarin.
Does my program price take into consideration the cost of meals?
Yes. Minds Abroad provides all students 3 meals on school
days. Breakfast, lunch and Dinner are served in our school. We
generally have a western buffet breakfast and Chinese style
meals cooked for lunch and dinner.
How would you travel from place to place in Kunming?
You would be able to walk from your housing to class and
there are also plenty of taxis (which are incredibly inexpensive
in China, at most 10% of the cost of a taxi in the US) and buses
available. Kunming’s great weather also makes it a beautiful
city to walk in.
How can I withdraw or exchange money while I am in Kunming?
In Kunming and other major cities cash can be easily
exchanged in most banks, which can be found throughout any city,
or by moneychangers, who can be found around tourist sites.
Credit cards can be used to access money at ATM machines, and
are accepted at major hotels, as well as moderate and upscale
restaurants and shops. If you have a Bank Of America ATM card,
you can take cash from China Construction Bank ATMs for free,
and they are everywhere. For the other banks the fees vary and
you should check with your card-issuing bank about the charges
etc.
While Visa and MasterCard now charge around a 2% fee
for overseas transactions, American Express does not. However,
American Express is not widely used in China so we would
recommend you use Visa or MasterCard. Students enrolling for
longer courses may wish to open a bank account through and
transfer funds from accounts in their home country.
How is money handled say when I am away on an excursion? Where
would my money and valuables ( cameras, laptops, phones, etc) be
kept when I am not using them?
You can use your ATM card at nearly all ATM machines in the
city (and they are everywhere). You can also keep your valuables
in a safe at our school if you want to. We want to point out
though that Kunming (and China in general) is VERY safe, much
safer that than many large cities US in our experience. There
are many reasons for this but the large police presence on
streets makes this kind of crime quite rare. We also want to
point out that all of our apartments in Kunming have 24 hour
security.
How much do meals cost?
Minds Abroad provides 3 free meals a day to its students but
if you would like to eat elsewhere you won’t need to spend much
money – meals at local restaurants are typically just a few
dollars or less.
How easy is it for me to find vegetarian
food in China if I am a vegetarian?
Kunming has an incredible
produce of fruits and vegetables and is known for its many light
vegetarian dishes. Lotus root, bamboo shoots, wild mushrooms,
Chinese broccoli and many other fresh organic vegetables growing
in Yunnan are used extensively in local cosine. Finding great
vegetarian food in China is quite easy.
Could I make International calls on my cell phone from China?
It is extremely expensive to make calls on US cell phones
while in China. However, we provide Chinese cell phones for our
students to use free of charge. Cell phones in China are
typically prepaid but the credits are very cheap, especially if
you are just using the phone to call people within Kunmin. In
Chian, recharge credits can be bought at all convenience stores
located throughout major cities. While calls within China cost
just pennies to make, international calls are much more
expensive from cell phones. Therefore, we suggest that if you
will be making international calls, you buy calling cards, which
are widely available.
Will I have access
to the Internet?
Accommodations provided by Minds Abroad all have broadband
internet access as well as WIFI. If you don’t choose to stay in
our apartments you can still access the internet from many
internet cafes surrounding the school. Internet cafes are common
in China, so you can visit them even on trips to other cities.
Where can I do laundry?
Apartments provided by Minds Abroad all have washing
machines. You can also choose to have your laundry taken to
local dry cleaners (this is inexpensive in China).
Will I have any problems in plugging in electronic equipments I
carry?
First regarding the
voltage change, US voltage is 110v, in China it is 220v. And
most computers, laptops or electronics should directly be able
to plug in because most of the converters of these electronics
are designed for 110-220v range. But you could also bring a
converter of the plug shapes just to be very safe.
The Outside of Class
Experience
Will
I have any free time while I am in China?
Yes, programs in Minds Abroad are full of various activities
and classes, but we still arrange some time for students to
relax and explore the city on their own. Typically, students
only take classes 4-days a week and for a total of 15 hours so
they have plenty of time outside of class to explore Kunming and
other nearby areas.
What are the activities that I can take up outside class hours?
In addition to studying Chinese, you would be able to
volunteer in the local community and participate in many
extracurricular activities such as cooking, dancing, martial
arts and calligraphy. Kunming's fantastic weather has led to it
becoming one of China's largest sports centers so there are
facilities for almost any sport you can think of (with the
possible exception of crew). Living here is very comfortable and
people have a relaxed attitude that is a stark contrast from
cities like Beijing and Shanghai. There is even fantastic hiking
right next to the city in the Western Hills. In short, fun
activities are not something Kunming is lacking. There are also
plenty of other exciting activities you can take part in while
studying in Kunming that you can contact us about if you want
more details.
What are the things I can do on an off day or after class?
Kunming’s fantastic weather and beautiful parks make it a
particularly excellent city to walk around in. Additionally,
walking or cycling around is a fantastic way to get an upfront
view of the city’s culture. As a large cosmopolitan city,
Kunming has a lot to offer people of all interests and
backgrounds. Like nearly all of China’s rapidly modernizing
cities, Kunming has nearly all the modern comforts we have come
to expect in the West. There are large indoor and outdoor
shopping centers, art galleries, quiet cafes to sip coffee and
read a book in, and even a few jazz bars here and there. If you
want to, you can get a hamburger and fries for lunch, shop at
Luis Vuitton in the afternoon and then stop by Haagen -Dazs for
an ice cream cone afterwards. Find all your answers on this
topic here.
What makes Kunming special though is
its fantastic geographical location and diverse ethnic
composition. Throughout the city there are bustling markets like
the Flower and Bird Market with handicrafts and Luosiwan, a
sprawling wholesale market that is a major hub of trade between
China and the Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar, Laos,
Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. These aside there are
restaurants that serve the culinary specialties of all of
Yunnan’s ethic groups as well as those from nearby provinces and
Southeast Asian countries. Combine this with Kunming’s pleasant
weather and clean air and it is easy to see why Kunming is an
ideal Chinese city to spend a few weeks in. Check
here for more
places to see in the city.
What sort of supervision would a child/teenager have? How close
is the classroom to the shared room where he will be staying?
For teenagers and children we strongly recommend a homestay.
This arrangement would both provide a fantastic experience for
them and would also offer the most supervision. Chinese families
tend to be very protective over their children and especially of
their adopted "homestay children". We also want to point out
that we carefully screen our families to make sure that they can
provide this kind of experience. In a homestay, your child would
be fully integrated into family life and would be eating meals
with the family and accompanying them on a wide variety of
excursions. The homestay would be very close to our school
(within a 15 minute walk) so getting from the homestay to
classes should not be a problem. We can make sure they have
classes, tutorial, or volunteering projects for most of their
day and their homestay family can engage them in the rest hours
but Minds Abroad is not set up to provide complete round the
clock supervision of our students. We have had young students
without an issue.
Specific Interests
I am interested in taking cookery classes while studying. Can
you help?
For someone
interested in cuisine and cooking, Kunming has to be one of the
best places in the world to spend a few weeks. The primary
reason for this is that every one of Yunnan’s minority groups
has a presence in Kunming and a large part of this is their
cuisines. On the streets of Kunming you can a huge variety of
different kinds of food. The Hui, a Chinese Muslim group, are
famous for their hand cut and hand stretched noodles as well as
their lamb kebabs coated with cumin, chili pepper and garlic.
Throughout Kunming you can also find restaurants serving the
spicy and fresh cuisine of the Dai people from Yunnan’s
Xishuangbanna region. Kunming is also an excellent place to try
Tibetan food due to its significant Tibetan community. Quite
simply, Kunming has some of the most culinary diversity in all
of Asia. Not surprisingly, it is a perfect city for an aspiring
chef to get inspiration and even some hands on training from
local chefs.
I have an interest in art, does Kunming have anything to offer
art lovers?
In addition to
the Yunnan Provincial Museum, Kunming has many other places that
would be of interest to an art lover. Kunming is rapidly
becoming a retreat for artists and the community surrounding
Chuang Ku/LOFT is a testament to this. Art galleries of all
types are springing up in the city. There are many different
kinds of art that are thriving in Kunming. Handicrafts made by
Yunnan’s many ethnic minority groups can be purchased throughout
the city and we can even arrange for handicrafts making lessons.
Weaving and ornament and jewelry making are just a few of the
many handicrafts that are Yunnanese specialties. Modern art is
also beginning to thrive in Kunming. Large complexes like YunArt
and TCG Nordica have opened up in the city to highlight Yunnan’s
new modern art movement. Interestingly, many of these artists
are drawing inspiration from the traditional arts of the
province’s ethnic minority groups.
I take interest in history
and culture, what can I look forward to in Kunming?
One
of the best things to do while in Kunming is to explore the
city’s ancient history and diversity of cultures. As the
provincial capital, Kunming has people from all of Yunnan’s 26
ethnic groups. If you spend time walking around Kunming you can
taste the different cuisines of these cultures as well as
purchase the many types of handicrafts they make. You can visit
the Yunnan Nationalities village for a bird’s eye view.
Additionally, Kunming is a fantastic place to watch traditional
music and dance performances. In addition to getting a feel for
the multiple cultures that make up modern Kunming, you can also
explore Kunming’s ancient past. Throughout the city are pagodas
and temples that date back to an era when Kunming was a major
center of the Nanzhao kingdom, a rival to China from an era
before Yunnan’s annexation by Kublai Khan during the Yuan
dynasty in the 13th century. Anyone interested in the province’s
history can visit Yunnan’s Provincial Museum. The museum is
located in central Kunming and has exhibits that chronicle the
province’s history both before and after it became a part of
China. While Kunming is quickly becoming a modern city, its
cultural diversity and ancient history still have a very visible
presence.
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