Why Did China Trips Change?

(Image of class of 2026 China Trips in 2023, image from @aisgz) 

Starting next school year, China trips return to their pre-COVID date in April, with a couple more additional changes. It’s not just cut a day short. The activities, locations, and purpose of China trips shift for all grades 6-12.  

AISG Dean of Students Ms. Eileen Rueth provided insight into why the changes happened. First, she explained why it was moved to the last week of April was due feedback from the weather to repetition of trips, and not travelling outside of Guangdong. With this year’s China trips being cut a day short due to a typhoon warning, Ms. Eileen detailed how they took in the feedback from students and teachers and moved it to April, in hopes of less hot, humid weather, and a lower risk of a typhoon.  

She also mentioned how, AISG’s previously set dates for China trips were “earlier than all of the APAC schools and other schools in Guangzhou”. While most of our trips were set in early September, theirs were either late October or at the end of the school year.  

However, she also recognized the importance students have on extra-curricular activities and sports. She explained how she tried her best not to take away any opportunities for students to join such activities due to China trips. Therefore, she decided it was best to have it at the end of the year after all the APAC sports and when the majority of other extra-curricular activities have ended.  

Ms. Eileen elaborated on her plans to focus more on making the trip an opportunity for team bonding and building. She explained that as the school year comes to an end, students often form stronger connections. The China trip will serve as a memorable conclusion to the year, allowing students who are leaving and those who are staying to create new memories together. 

The final reason for the change was to give students more time to adjust to the school year before embarking on a week-long trip. She explained that this approach feels less “disjointed,” particularly for the upcoming juniors who are just beginning their first year in the IB Diploma Program (IBDP). 

Another big change to China trips is that it is now 3 nights instead of 4. However, Ms. Eileen accounted for this day to go for a team-bonding day some time in August on the last week of the month. This day will be planned by the grade level leaders of each respective grade. It will consist of off-campus activities (except grade 6) for team building to start the school year off.  

For seniors, the primary reason for changes this year is to avoid conflicts with teaching time. The university retreat, senior lock-in, and China trips will be combined into an event called “Senior Week.” The China trips for grades 6-11 will occur during the seniors’ study leave, which is designed to help them prepare for their DP exams in the last week of August.  

Senior Week will consist of three key events: the university retreat will take place over three days, followed by an overnight trip to China on Thursday. The week will conclude with the senior lock-in on Friday. Senior Week will occur on the same day that grades 6-11 have their team-bonding day, the last week of August.  

According to Ms. Eileen, the purpose of the China trips also takes a shift. Instead of more athletic based activities like hiking or via ferrata, China trips will focus in on the cultural and historical aspects, along with service learning and team building days. 

The final change made, although there has been no official announcement yet, is that most trips will leave the province. More details regarding the official locations will be announced soon. However, Ms. Eileen was excited to share that some locations include Sichuan and Beijing. 

The change had a variety of mixed reviews.  

Grade 9 Yuhan L said, “Moving our China trips to next April sounds like a solid idea. In most places, the weather is more friendly in April compared to early September, which would make activities like hiking much more pleasant.” 

 

This idea was shared by grade 9 Victoria X as she said, “I think that a lot of people, including me, wanted China Trips to be later in the year, so we’d have something to look forward to. And when everyone is acquainted (new students, etc.), we’d all have more fun together.” 

However, grade 10 Bonnie L prefers a longer team bonding time as she wrote, “I think China trips shouldn’t be moved to April because when it was in September, the trip gave us the opportunity for the grade to bond more in the beginning of the school year. As I thought China trips were planned and given for students to get closer, I don’t see a reason why it should be at the end of the school year.”  

She also added that she believes the weather in April is similar to September, so the change seems unnecessary.  

Grade 10 Kyle C echoed Bonnie’s thoughts with exam season being the main concern on his mind, “I feel like China trips in April won’t be a good thing in my opinion. First, April is a month before [final] exams and it is a critical month where everyone is striving to have a better grade.”  

He added, “You can say that China trips are [going to] make us relax and have fun, but I don’t think so since we are fixed with the mindset of wanting good grades and how to improve ourselves, having a trip before learning new units and before important exams will just make us more anxious.” 

Both Bonnie and Kyle also believed that China trips were a great way for them to start the school year off after 2 months of separation from both teachers and students.  

While the change in dates had both positive and negative reviews, students shared the same idea when hearing about the trip being cut a day short, especially as we had all experienced it this year due to the typhoon warning.  

Grade 12 Kelvin L shared his view on the new addition of senior week with the trip being reduced to a one-night-only trip, “Senior year is a year where students want to have the most fun in, due to the highly stressful schedule for the rest of the school year, so it’s unethical to reduce China trips by one day, and seniors already get shorter trips. What’s the point of going if there’s only one day stay, and then leave [in a hurry] on the second day when we just arrived?” 

Bonnie elaborated, “I would not want China trips to be cut a day short because I always thought it being weeklong was perfect, as we can do plenty of activities and have a small grade-bonding activity on the last day as well. When China trips were cut a day short last year due to a typhoon, I remember the whole grade level being very disappointed for not being able to enjoy the last night together.” 

Yuhan also had a similar idea as he said, “Honestly, China trips being cut a day short happened to grade 9 this year due to weather conditions. It will be a blow since students would anticipate [missing] a whole week of school.”  

The official announcements and details for the upcoming events will be coming soon and closer to the date.