Shanghai & Hangzhou - Modern Creativity & Classical Aesthetics

The itinerary shown is purely an example. All of our trips can be built around your school’s needs, with so many wonderful things going on in these Chinese cities, there’s so much to see and do…

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Day 1 – Arrival in Shanghai & First Impressions

  • Arrival in Shanghai and airport transfer to the hotel

  • Welcome briefing: Shanghai as China’s creative capital

  • Orientation walk to observe:

    Scale

    Light

    Urban design

  • Group welcome meal and early night in the Hotel

Day 2 – Host School Exchange: Contemporary Creativity

  • Full day at partner school in Shanghai

  • Joint art & design sessions with Chinese students:

    Ice-breaker drawing and design challenges

    Comparing UK and Chinese visual styles

  • Social time and informal collaboration

  • Evening at the Hotel

Day 3 – Contemporary Art, Design & Urban Culture

  • Visit to M50 Art District

    Galleries, studios, street art

  • Visit to the China Art Museum

    Modern and contemporary Chinese art

  • Sketching, photography and visual journaling

  • Evening walk along The Bund
    (iconic skyline, architecture, night photography)

Day 4 – Architecture, Fashion & Visual Identity

  • Walking study through the French Concession

    Art Deco, residential design, street aesthetics

  • Focus on:

    Typography

    Branding

    Fashion and street style

  • Evening at the Hotel

 

Day 5 – High-Speed Train to Hangzhou

  • Travel by high-speed train (a student favourite)

  • Introduction to Hangzhou as a centre of beauty and harmony

  • Evening lakeside walk at West Lake
    (sunset views, reflection, sketching)

Day 6 – Landscape, Nature & Traditional Aesthetics

  • Exploration of West Lake

    Landscape composition

    Balance, framing and symbolism

  • Visit to temple or garden spaces

  • Traditional craft or art workshop
    (e.g. brush painting, seal carving, textile or paper art)

  • Evening cultural performance or music experience

Day 7 – Reflection, Making & Celebration

  • Creative reflection session:

    How modern design and classical aesthetics connect

  • Final sketchbook work and group sharing

  • Return to Shanghai by high speed train and return to hotel

  • Farewell group dinner to celebrate the trip

Day 8 – Departure

  • Final sketchbook review and certificates

  • Transfer to airport