RICH Chinese Summer Camp: Beijing, Shanghai, China

We sent our 14 year old son on this camp from Australia to China, all on his own (out of his own wish)! We dropped him off to the airport, and hugged him and trusted someone will be there to look after him when he landed! And I can tell you from personal experience that I was definitely very nervous before I booked the camp with RICH, but they answered my every question and concern to keep me reassured every step of the way, and looked after him from the minute he landed right up until he waved good bye at the boarder gates at the Beijing airport! All while still giving him the opportunity to be independent, make friends, learn about Chinese language and culture, and supporting him to grow up a some more to become the young teenager! He loved RICH so much he convinced his 12 year old sister to go with him again next year!

RICH summer camp was one of the best holidays I have had in my life. The people around me, staff and students included were all very nice, and all supported me when I couldn’t understand something. The lessons weren’t nearly as bad as I was imagining, and were often very fun. The staff gave us lots of independence, such as letting us do what we wanted in a shopping mall, or allowing us to play football in our free time. This was an incredible experience that I would recommend to anyone wanting to learn Chinese. 👍🦔

We had a wonderful experience with RICH Chinese Summer Camp. From the very first inquiry to the start of the camp, and all the way through to the end of the program, everything was handled with great care and professionalism.

Summer was truly outstanding throughout the entire process. She was professional, thoughtful, detailed, and incredibly patient. Communication was always smooth and timely, and she made sure every question was answered clearly. We especially appreciated how attentive she was to our feedback and how quickly she responded whenever anything came up.

Our child had a very positive experience during the camp and felt well cared for from beginning to end. The camp took place in a university campus environment, which gave us a strong sense of safety, order, and peace of mind. As parents, we felt very reassured knowing that our child’s daily life and overall well-being were being looked after in such a secure and well-organized setting.

The whole journey, from the initial consultation to the camp experience itself, to the final departure, was seamless and reassuring. It gave us great confidence as parents.

Most importantly, our child came away with a wonderful impression of China and is already saying they would love to return again. We are very grateful to Summer and the entire team for creating such a memorable and meaningful experience.

I got to know RICH Chinese Summer Camp through Jennifer Sachs of Hyde Education, and I can honestly say it was one of the better recommendations we've received as a family. My daughter had been studying Mandarin for a few years — enough to hold a basic conversation, but not enough to feel confident. We were looking for something that would actually move the needle, not just expose her to the language in a superficial way. RICH turned out to be exactly that.

What set it apart from other programmes we considered was the environment. The Beijing camp is based in the Peking University area, and students live and study on or near one of China's most prestigious university campuses. For a 15-year-old, being surrounded by that academic culture — the architecture, the students, the energy of a real university — made an impression that no classroom back home could replicate. She came back talking about PKU as if she'd actually gone there herself, which I suppose in a way she had.

The classes are genuinely tiny. We're talking two to five students per group, placed by language level rather than age. My daughter ended up in a class with two other students whose Chinese was at a similar stage, and that intimacy made all the difference. There was nowhere to hide, which sounds intimidating, but the teachers were skilled at making it feel safe rather than stressful. By the end of the first week she was already texting me sentences I couldn't read.

What I hadn't fully anticipated was the evening one-on-one tutoring. Every student gets a private session each night, tailored to whatever they're working on — HSK prep, tones, characters, conversation. It sounds intense, and it probably is, but my daughter loved it. She said it was the first time she felt like her specific weaknesses were actually being addressed rather than glossed over in a group lesson.

Beyond the language work, the programme is genuinely immersive. The afternoons are filled with cultural activities — calligraphy, hutong visits, cooking classes — and the excursions are real, not tourist-trap versions. The session also included a multi-day trip to another city, which was a highlight she talked about for weeks afterwards. The students travel and experience China together, which builds a kind of camaraderie you don't get from a two-week classroom course.
The international mix of students was something we valued highly. Our daughter met kids from Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas, all there for the same reason. The shared experience of being slightly out of your comfort zone in a foreign country, while working hard at the same language, creates friendships quickly.

On the logistics side — safety, communication, supervision — I never had a moment of worry. Summer and her team were responsive, organised, and clearly experienced. It felt like a small, carefully run operation rather than a conveyor belt of summer programmes, and that personal quality came through in every interaction.

We'll be sending her back. That's probably the most honest review I can write.

When we first started looking for a summer program in China for our 14-year-old daughter, I was honestly a bit overwhelmed. There are so many options out there, and as a parent sending a teenager halfway across the world alone, safety and the actual quality of the program were my top concerns. We didn’t want a glorified tourist trip where the kids just speak English to each other on a bus, nor did we want a rigid, stressful academic boot camp.

We eventually chose the RICH Chinese Summer Camp, mainly because they have been running this since 2007 and seemed to have a very focused, independent approach. Now that my daughter has returned from their Beijing and Shanghai session, I can confidently say it was a fantastic investment.

What really sets this camp apart is the "university-based" residential experience. In Beijing, they stayed at the Global Village (Zhongguanyuan) right in the university district. Instead of staying in generic tourist hotels, the kids got a real taste of college dorm life in a highly secure, academic environment. It gave my daughter a sense of independence and maturity. She loved walking to the dining halls and interacting with the environment just like a local university student.

Academically, the setup was much more practical than what she gets at her weekend Chinese school back home. Before the camp started, they did a one-on-one level assessment. My daughter is a typical heritage speaker—she understands when we speak to her but refuses to talk, and her reading/writing was basically zero. Instead of just grouping kids by age, RICH placed her in one of their 6 specific levels using their own materials. The class sizes were extremely small, which meant she couldn't just hide in the back.

The biggest game-changer, however, was the 1-on-1 evening tutoring. After a long day of classes and cultural excursions in the city, she had a dedicated time to sit down with a teacher and review the exact things she struggled with that day. It made the progress feel very tangible. By the end of the second week, she was confidently ordering food at local restaurants and navigating the subway system in Shanghai without relying on translation apps.

The staff and counselors were professional and genuinely cared about the kids, striking a good balance between keeping them safe and letting them explore. They kept parents updated, but also encouraged the kids to disconnect from their phones and engage with the real world. If you are looking for a program that focuses on real cultural immersion, language application, and personal growth, this is a solid choice.

My child joined RICH Chinese Summer Camp last summer, and overall it was a very good experience.

At first I was a little nervous because it was the first time for my child to attend a camp in China without us. But the RICH team was very organized and responsive, which made us feel much more comfortable.

One thing I really liked was the campus environment. The students were not just staying in a hotel and going out every day. They had classes, meals, tutoring, and daily routines in a university campus setting, so it felt more like a real student experience in China. I think this made the camp feel safer and more meaningful.

The Chinese learning was also very practical. My child had Chinese classes, but also used Chinese during normal daily activities, like meals, shopping, asking questions, and talking with teachers. This was different from learning Chinese at home or in a weekend class.

My child came back more confident and more willing to speak Chinese. He also made friends from different countries and still talks about some of the activities and places they visited.

For our family, RICH was a good balance of Chinese learning, campus life, travel, and independence. I would recommend it to families who want their child to experience China in a structured but not too stressful way.

My child joined RICH Chinese Summer Camp in China, and it turned out to be a very meaningful and memorable experience for our family.

What we appreciated most was that the program was not only about taking Chinese classes or visiting famous places. It felt like a real camp experience. The students lived together, followed a daily routine, joined activities, had meals together, and slowly became more independent while being supported by the teachers and counselors.

The Chinese learning was also very practical. My child had small-group Chinese classes and tutoring, but more importantly, Chinese was used naturally throughout the day — during meals, activities, shopping, city visits, and conversations with teachers and other students. This made the learning feel much more connected to real life.

The university campus environment was another highlight. It gave the students a safe and structured place to live and learn, while also allowing them to experience student life in China. The city activities were well arranged and helped the students understand both traditional culture and modern China.

As a parent, I also felt reassured by the communication and organization of the camp. The team was responsive, caring, and experienced. The full-board arrangement, including accommodation, meals, transportation, and daily management, made it much easier for us to feel comfortable sending our child abroad.

My child came back with more confidence, more willingness to speak Chinese, new friends from different countries, and many wonderful memories.

I would recommend RICH Chinese Summer Camp to families looking for a Chinese immersion program that combines language learning, campus life, cultural experience, and personal growth.

As a parent, I want to express my sincere gratitude to Rich Chinese Summer Camp for offering such an amazing and life‑changing experience for my child. This summer camp has far exceeded all my expectations in every way.

First of all, the professional Chinese courses are truly impressive. The teachers are experienced, patient and well‑organized. Under their guidance, my child’s Chinese skills have improved noticeably in listening, speaking and confidence. The immersive learning environment makes Chinese study fun and effective, instead of boring textbook work. My kid became more willing to communicate in Chinese and grew more confident day by day.

Besides language learning, my child got to dive deep into authentic traditional Chinese culture through various wonderful hands‑on activities. They experienced many unique Chinese cultural projects, learned about Chinese history, art and customs, and gained a real‑world understanding of Chinese culture that books cannot provide. It is such a meaningful journey that broadened my child’s horizons and helped them appreciate different cultures from a global perspective.

What’s more, the well‑planned field trips around many fascinating places in China brought great joy to my child. Exploring beautiful scenic spots and historic sites made learning vivid and unforgettable. Most importantly, my child made precious friends from all over the world here. They learned to communicate, share and cooperate with peers from different countries, which greatly improved their social skills and cross‑cultural awareness.

Every time my child came back home from the camp, she was full of excitement and kept talking about her fun daily stories, new friends and wonderful activities non‑stop. She cannot wait to join Rich Chinese Summer Camp again and look forward to meeting more new friends and having more amazing adventures.

Rich Chinese Summer Camp is absolutely an excellent choice for kids to learn, grow and explore. I highly recommend this camp to every family. Thank you again to the whole team for your hard work, care and dedication in creating such a warm, safe and inspiring summer experience for our children.