IUN and IUSB will jointly lead a study-abroad trip to China from May 18 to June 1, 2025. The theme of the trip is Past and Present – Chinese History, Culture, Architecture, and Economy. The trip will be part of two Summer I 2025 courses: HIST T190, Literary and Intellectual Traditions in China, and BUS D300, International Business, or BUS B399, Business and Society. Students from all IU campuses are eligible and encouraged to enroll in these courses and participate in the trip. Please watch a 12-minute introduction to the trip, and after that, continue to read detailed descriptions of the trip itinerary, cost, related courses, the procedure to apply for the trip, and scholarships to help fund the trip.

This is the second China trip that IUN and IUSB will jointly conduct, following our first successful trip in May 2024. Scroll down to the end of this section for photos and web pages of or by our students from the May 2024 China trip before the “Complete itinerary of the 2025 trip” section. For trip application information and portal, scroll down to “Information on course registration and trip application”.

During the China trip, we will visit four Chinese cities: Beijing, Changchun, Xi’an, and Shanghai. Each city has its unique characteristics!

Beijing

Beijing is the capital of China. It has many historical sites, including imperial palaces and the Great Wall. There is also much modern architecture. We will visit traditional Beijing alleyways, and parks built from imperial palaces: the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, and the Forbidden City. We will also visit the Great Wall. Here are some pictures of Beijing taken from our 2024 China trip, including one from a boat ride in the Summer Palace, and another against the Bird’s Nest that hosted the 2008 Olympic Games.

 

Changchun

We will take a high-speed train from Beijing to Changchun. Changchun is a city in northeastern China, an area called Manchuria. It was the land of the Manchus, an ethnic group that invaded China and succeeded in taking over the Chinese throne in 1644. The Manchu Dynasty, as they were called, ended in 1912, when China became a republic. Manchuria momentarily became an independent Manchukuo with Japanese maneuvering between 1932 and 1945. The last Chinese emperor was summoned to be its king, headquartered in Changchun.

We will visit Jilin University in Changchun and interact with their students. We will also visit the Manchukuo puppet regime museum. And, we will visit the First Automotive Works, the first Chinese automobile factory in China, in Changchun.

The following are internet pictures of the Museum of the Imperial Palace of Manchukuo and Jilin University.

Xi’an

We will fly from Changchun to Xi’an. Xi’an, in northwestern China, was the capital of many Chinese dynasties and like Beijing, has city gates and city walls. We will visit the Terra-Cotta Warriors Museum, with unearthed terra-cotta warriors from the tomb of the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE), among other activities. The following are pictures of the terra-cotta warriors on display, and the Xi’an city wall.

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest and most commercial city in China with a population of 27 million. It is a very cosmopolitan city, often called the New York City of China. While in Shanghai, we will visit both traditional sites such as the God’s Temple shopping area, and Zhujiajiao Water Town, and modern places such as the Oriental Pearl Tower, and the Bund, and, we will tour the headquarters of Yuantong Express, a large Chinese logistics company with offices in the US, and they are actively hiring!

The following are pictures we took at the God’s Temple shopping area and Tianzifang from the 2024 China trip.

For more photos from our 2024 China trip, check out the IUN East Asian Studies Gateway past events page here. Also, check out the web pages created by students from the May 2024 China trip: 1, 2, 3,  4, 5, 6.

Complete itinerary of the 2025 China trip (subject to modification)

Date	Itinerary
May 18-20 (including flight time)	Beijing Arrive at Beijing Capital Airport at 8:30 am. Rickshaw tour in Beijing’s narrow Street, home visit, free time around Shichahai lake（什刹海）, Nanluoguxiang （南锣鼓巷）and Yandaixiejie (烟袋斜街).  Dinner and check in hotel
May 21	Beijing Visit the Temple of Heaven （天坛）in the morning.  After lunch, visit the Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City.
May 22	Beijing Visit IU Beijing office（西直门首钢大厦）and the Summer Palace. Visit the Badaling Great Wall.   2008’ Beijing Olympic Games Park (the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube)
May 23	Beijing – Changchun Morning: visit the 798 Art Zone. Afternoon: Take Bullet train to Changchun in the late afternoon (around 4.5 hours on the train). Arrive in Changchun around 9:30 p.m.  Check in hotel.
May 24	Jilin University Exchange: visit with Jilin University students
May 25	Jilin University Exchange: visit with Jilin University students; visit the First Automobile Works
May 26	Changchun Visit Jingyuetan Park （净月潭）， Museum of the Imperial Palace of Manchu State （伪满皇宫）and , Zheyoushan Shopping Zone (这有山).
May 27	Jilin – Xi’an Fly to Xi’an in the morning.  After lunch, visit Little Wild Goose Pagoda (Xi’an Museum, Little Wild Goose Pagoda, Dang Dynasty Music show).  After dinner, free time at the Great Tang Everbright City. Check in hotel.
May 28	Xi’an Visit the Xi’an City Wall in the morning (bicycle riding on the Wall).  Leave for Terri-Cotta Warriors.  After lunch visit the Terri-Cotta Warriors.  Back to downtown, free time at Muslim Area.
May 29	Xi’an – Shanghai Fly to Shanghai, arrival and lunch.  Visit Shanghai History Museum, Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Nanjing Road and the Bund.  After dinner, Huangpu River Cruise tour.
May 30	Shanghai Full day visit at the Yuantong Express.
May 31	Breakfast and check out.  Visit the City’s God Temple Shopping area, After lunch, visit the Zhujiajiao Water Town. Leave for Shanghai Pudong airport. Flight for USA at 11:35 pm. Arriving in Chicago on June 1, 12:40 pm.

Information on course registration and trip application:

 Information for course registration and trip application is available at the IUSB academic affairs website: https://academics.iusb.edu/international-programs/china-2025.html. Here is a quick summary of the information from that website:

1. Trip charge: The total charge for the trip is $3,500, with a $300 deposit down by Jan. 15, 2025. Due to subsidies from Jilin University, we will provide a more extended trip than 2024 at the same cost. The price covers the round-trip flight from Chicago O’Hare Airport to Beijing on May 18 through our flight back from Shanghai to Chicago O’Hare on June 1, including most meals and all activities, hotel rooms, admission tickets to parks and museums, high-speed train and airfare while in China. It also includes health coverage while in China, and all other charges associated with the trip such as a chartered bus in each city we visit, and tour guides. The trip charge does not include application fees for a passport or the China visa; nor trips to and from the O’Hare Airport.
2. Students will file an application for the trip by Dec. 2, 2024. The online application portal is open now. The portal link is also available under “Apply for the study-abroad in China program” below. Interested students can apply for the trip online through the portal.
3. Students on the trip must register for both HIST T190 Literary and Intellectual Traditions in China, taught by Dr. Chen Lin from IU Northwest, and BUS D300 International Business (BUS D301 for IUN students),  or BUS B399, Business and Society, taught by Dr. Yin from IU South Bend. Both courses are offered in Summer 1, 2025. Non-IUN and non-IUSB students need to register as a transient IUN or IUSB student for summer I, 2025 to sign up for these two courses.
4. The trip charge of $3,500 will be counted as a lab fee for one of the two courses you register for the China trip and will be billed to your bursar’s account.
5. Check with your campus for funding for study-abroad fellowships, which will partially offset the travel cost.
6. Undergraduates of all years are welcome to apply. Freshmen who apply in fall 2024 are rising sophomores in summer 2025, and qualify for the China trip.
7. For general questions about the China trip or other study abroad programs, contact Lisa Zwicker, director of international programs at IUSB: zwicker@iu.edu. For general questions, you can also inquire at iusbintp@iu.edu.

Applying for the study-abroad in China program

The program application is administered by the IUSB Academic Affairs Office of International Programs. Please fill out an online application, submit an essay, and complete the agreement and release form by clicking here (https://academics.iusb.edu/international-programs/study-abroad-application.html). The deadline for application is Dec. 2, 2024. A deposit of $300 is due by Jan. 15, 2025.

Scholarships and financial aid

Scholarships and financial aid may be available to all applicants. Please contact your campus student affairs for information on how to apply for financial aid and scholarships from your campus.

Students should apply for scholarships immediately after they complete their online application for the China trip. For IUN students, the website for scholarship application is https://one.iu.edu/task/iu/scholarships. Your application will be directed to the scholarship committee which will find study-abroad scholarships that match your criteria.

For IUSB students, the online site for scholarship application is https://students.iusb.edu/scholarships/iu-south-bend-scholarships/study-abroad.html.

Students at other IU campuses should check with your campus financial aid office to find out how to apply for study abroad scholarships.

Students from all IU campuses can also directly contact the trip’s co-leaders and the director of international programs at IUSB below.

General contact information

Trip co-leaders:

Diana Chen Lin, professor of history, IU Northwest: dchenlin@iu.edu

Haiyan Yin, professor of international business and finance, IU South Bend: haiyin@iu.edu

Trip administration:

Lisa Zwicker, Director of International Programs at IUSB: zwicker@iu.edu.

IUSB International Programs Office:

Mia Washington, iusbintp@iu.edu