Home stay in historical villages in Jinhua, Zhejiang, China experience authentic Chinese culture  

　　Play a part in protecting historical buildings and preserving traditional culture: An Overseas Perspective on the Preservation of Chinese intangible Culture and the Development of Tourism.

　　Expenses-paid for students (participants travel to Shanghai at their own expense).

　　Jinhua government plans to preserve the original cultural atmosphere of the villages, while developing them as international-level centres for travel and ecotourism. It also wants to use the project to tell the story of Jinhua, and to provide opportunities for cultural exchange. It is seeking your perspective on the home-stay experience, and your creative ideas on how to promote the project.

Project Description

　　The project will select international applicants for a 2or3-week home-stay experience in the historical villages of Jinhua, Zhejiang. During the stay, the sponsor will offer a comprehensive introduction to the history, customs and architecture of traditional villages, providing the participants with the opportunity to experience local culture and learn traditional handicraft. Applicants should have a strong interest in Chinese culture and/or the travel and tourism industry, but do not necessarily need to speak Chinese. Participants will be responsible for their own travel to Shanghai. The participants will be requested to make suggestions and/or produce materials about the conservation, development and use of the locations visited over the three weeks of their stay. This may take the form of maps, pamphlets or artworks written in the participants' mother tongue, aimed at presenting the villages through their countries’ media channels. We welcome applications from students and people who graduated from university within 15 years. We also invite foreign couples for an expenses-paid wedding ceremony and 8 day activity.

Project Aims

　　The aim of this project is to promote an understanding of the historical villages of Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, by direct experience of local culture. International participants will have the opportunity to live in a traditional village for three weeks. They will learn about traditional Chinese culture, historical architecture and folklore. Additionally, the project is the first stage in a plan to attract tourists from all over the world interested in travelling to historical villages, and to introduce Jinhua's villages to an international audience. Eventually, the villages will be transformed into international level centres for ecotourism and leisure holidays, while preserving original elements of local culture, and bringing international renown to Jinhua.

Organisation

　　Sponsor: Foreign and Overseas-Chinese Affairs Office of Jinhua Municipal People's Government.

　　Person in charge:Pan Xiawei

Event timing

　　August 10th – 23rd, 2016 in Zhiyan (芝堰), application deadline June 30th. Apply in http://www.jinhua-homestay.com/

　　Former sessions:

　　· 22 June - 12 July 2015 in Suoyuan, impressions of session

　　· 12 October – 1 November 2015 in Siping

Schedule

　　As well as the opportunity to experience life in the village in which participants are staying, the three-week program will include visits to other historical villages and places of interest. Participants will be expected to spend some time working on tasks relevant to the project (see below). There will be a concluding event and a project evaluation. A certificate of participation will be provided, recognising the individual contribution of each participant to the project. There will be one day each week of free time. Visits to other places of interest will be arranged on some days. There will be a schedule for the other days, please refer to the schedules of the project's previous sessions in Siping 2015 and Suoyuan 2015how the project might be organized.

Tasks

　　We expect you to work on two tasks during the duration of the project:

　　1. Help your hosts to develop promotional materials (such as a menu and a description of the homestay) to help them jump-start their homestay business.

　　2. Develop promotional materials for the village and Jinhua at large. For example, you could:

　　1. describe the intangible culture of the village

　　2. describe the architecture of the village and the surrounding area

　　3. write short articles to publish on our website or your personal blog, facebook, etc about your experience during the project

　　4. create photos, videos, drawings, etc of the village and the village life

　　5. make a tourism map of the village and the surrounding area

　　6. make concrete suggestion for tour packages and touristic iternaries in the area

　　In the application, applicants should write an essay of at least 600 words detailing how they plan to contribute to the project and which tasks they would like to address.