Location
  • China
    • Shanghai
    • Kunming
    • Beijing
Term
Summer
Subject Areas
Asian Studies International Business Service Learning

Program Details

Program Type
Provider
Degree Level
High School Diploma Bachelors
Housing
Apartment Host Family
Language
Chinese

Pricing

Starting Price
2000
Price Details
The program price is $2885 with an optional Beijing trip for $985. Our program fee does not include visa fees or the cost of international airfare to Asia and back home.

Items Included in the Program Price

- Morning class or language exchange (two - four students)

- Afternoon activities

- Weekend academic excursions listed in the program, including admission tickets

- Accommodations

- Meals all day (except on weekends)

- A cellphone, SIM card and a small credit for in-country calling

- All domestic airfare and ground transportation to sites in the itinerary

- Unlimited public transport for all program activities while in Kunming

- Detailed in-country orientation within the first days

- 24/7 staff support
Nov 16, 2019
Mar 15, 2022
8 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

To understand China as a whole, a student must go beyond the modern and highly developed cities of Beijing and Shanghai and visit cities in the heart of China's vast interior, like Kunming. Here, during weekdays, all students will participate in language classes. During afternoons, students will participate in one of the activities like volunteer service learning in local non-profit organizations, internships, language exchange or one-one tutorial sessions.

While during weekends, students will spend many days exploring Yunnan, Lonely Planet's top choice in the country. They will visit ancient towns of historic and cultural importance within Yunnan. Students will see many locations in Yunnan; to the ancient walled city of Dali, Lijiang, a UNESCO World Heritage, Tiger Leaping Gorge, a magnificent canyon on the Jinsha and Western Hills, a sacred Daoist mountains.

This program is currently not being promoted on Go Overseas by its provider. Check with Minds Abroad for the most up-to-date information regarding the status of this program.

Program Reviews

4.89 Rating
based on 9 reviews
  • 5 rating 88.89%
  • 4 rating 11.11%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Academics 4.55
  • Support 4.9
  • Fun 4.7
  • Housing 5
  • Safety 5
Showing 1 - 8 of 9 reviews
Default avatar
Leo
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

finally had a chance to study mandarin in china, had a great august in kunming

I attended Minds Abroad in 2019 and had a great experience. my main goal was on language immersion as i'd been studying mandarin for a couple of years and though i knew a lot it didn't all click together and i coudln't really have a conversation. so spending a solid month in an intensive chinese program, with chinese native teachers and also chinese students on the program, was just what i needed. i was also placed in a volunteer site in the afternoon where no one spoke english (aside from the chinese student peers that were taking part in the program too). but that was an enviorment where all the kids and teachers at the ngo we were volunteering at could only really understand chinese so i was able to practice. weekends were fun traveling around the province, very eye opening. .

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?
Scorpions on a stick on the optional Beijing weekend. It was in Wangfujing walking street area.
119 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
samuel
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Great experience in Kunming, glad I went before Corona

I had a great summer 2019 with Minds Abroad in Kunming. I did their Study+Travel program in Kunming and we travelled all around Yunnan Province. I made a lot of friends not only from the US but from China, which was great. It was awesome being able to get to know and spend a lot of time with local Chinese kids who are a similar age to me, we've kept in touch though now no one can travel back and forth. This was a really fantastic experience, something I will always remember and I'm really glad to have gone before the pandemic hit.

What was your funniest moment?
Definitely hiking Tiger Leaping Gorge was amazing. It was a slog getting up to the upper gorge but an incredible experience once I was there
124 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Jennifer
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A life changing and amazing experience for my two girls..I recommend this program without any reservation..:):)

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139 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Jordan
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Once in a lifetime experience

Being able to immerse myself into the Yunnan culture with Minds Abroad, for a month, was one of the best experiences of my life. The staff on the program made me feel at home from the day that I got to Kunming to the day I left. I really enjoyed being able to teaching English to kids in poverished areas because it really opened my eyes to see the lifestyle people live in those parts of Kunming. The places we visited were beyond anything that I have ever seen and being able to experience the beauty of Yunnan everyday was outstanding. My favorite weekend trip away from Kunming was the Tiger Leaping Gorge because I was able to hike through mindblowing, snow caped mountains with all of my friends that I had made on the program. I became very close with many of my friends on the program and being able to experience everything with them made the experience even better. The only part of the experience I didn't like was leaving but I will never forget my once in a lifetime experience.

143 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Noah
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Could It Really Be Done?

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What would you improve about this program?
Looking back, there is very little I would change about this program. There were times when I felt that there was not a concrete plan, like when we were trying to coordinate a meeting time and place for our trip to Tiger Leaping Gorge, but every doubt or misunderstanding I had was quickly cleared up. I also think that it takes a little while to acclimate yourself to a new city, and to learn to operate in a different culture. This change in environment may have affected my feelings about planning, because things were not always conducted in the way I was used to. Overall, there are no glaring problems that I feel need changing.
155 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Michael
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Minds Abroad Kunming Study and Travel Program

Minds Abroad was an absolutely amazing program. Most weekdays started with a Mandarin class in the morning, taught by a teacher who produced a great environment for learning Mandarin. This class would be followed a meaningful internship, in my case it was teaching English in an impoverished area. Then we'd usually finish up the day with some sort of fun activity. The best part of the program though, would have to be the weekend excursions, the best excursion being our two day hike through Tiger Leaping Gorge (breathtakingly beautiful). Also, the staff needs to be mentioned- the Minds Abroad staff were all super charismatic and intelligent allowing for an extremely enjoyable experience for the full duration of the program.

154 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
multilinguist
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

perfect combination of classes, weekend travel, and volunteering

The layout of this program was great. It was a very nice combination of morning classes wherea were taught Mandarin, going to volunteer in afternoons and weekend trips to places in the himalayas like dali, lijiang and shangrila. The mix was perfect. You would be ready for a break from intensive classes and then you go to do some amazing travel. I am thinking of staying in kunming a while maybe teaching English, I really enjoy it here

147 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Matthew
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

China/Vietnam with Minds Abroad

I took part in a similar trip last summer! We traveled to Vietnam for an extended weekend, and it was one of the highlights of the trip. Sapa was absolutely beautiful, and it was interesting to experience both the very different Vietnamese and Chinese settings as part of the same travel experience. The other excursions I went on were also incredible: Shangri La, Lijiang, Dali, Shanghai, and of course, Beijing. Classes were intense, but fun, and my Mandarin improved greatly during my four weeks overseas with Minds Abroad. Overall, a definite highlight of my life.

What would you improve about this program?
Minds Abroad participants in Kunming live in different places throughout the city, and during the evenings in Kunming, time was very, very open and unstructured. I wish that either there had been more people in my apartment with me, that I had done a home-stay instead (which they offer), or that I had taken advantage of more available opportunities to do stuff within the city of Kunming itself.
125 people found this review helpful.
Response from Minds Abroad

Dear Matthew,

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experiences online. We are so happy that you enjoyed your trip to Vietnam with Minds Abroad! It is also great to know that your Mandarin improved a lot.

Your feedback on our apartment location is really helpful, we will try our best to arrange our student apartments in the same area and put the students in the same apartment with their group. Thanks again for your suggestion. We would love to see you again.

Minds Abroad

Questions & Answers

"The Mandarin lessons put together for my daughters were customized according to their needs, levels and age group. The class size was limited to only 5 students, which was great in a way. This ensured one-on-one, individual attention." That answer is from our community member Jennifer. It looks like depending on your prior language knowledge and which afternoon project you work on, this will vary...