Leave the road, and take the trails… - Pythagoras

7 Days in Yangshuo = Memories that last a lifetime.

We recently had the pleasure of hosting a 7 day trip in Yangshuo for a great group of students and teachers. They wanted to incorporate such a range of great outdoor activities in their trip, including river studies, hiking, rock climbing, caving, stand-up paddle boarding, a plastic recycling workshop, and even a CAS service project! Naturally, we were all too happy to oblige.

River Studies on the Chestnut River

We kicked off the trip with our river studies program. Though heavy rain before the group’s arrival left most rivers dangerously high, you can trust Zen Quest to always have a backup plan, finding suitable and safe sites for river studies even despite such unfavourable conditions. Armed to the teeth with flow-meters, tape-measures, and waders, the group set off with the goal of analysing 12 different sites along the Chestnut river, taking measurements of the width, wetted perimeter, flow rate, and more as they went. All this data was being prepared for use in their IB Internal Assessment (IA) coursework later on… 

Battling mud, wind, and rain, our brave group pushed on with smiles on their faces, and eventually completed all 12 river studies sites in just one day! Needless to say, a hearty dinner followed, as well as a great nights’ sleep. 

Rock Climbing & Caving

After working so hard on their river studies, everyone was eager to sink their teeth into some proper adventure activities. Luckily for them, rock climbing and caving were next up. Everyone got to experience the beauty of moon-water cave as our professional guides gave a comprehensive tour of the interior of the cave, pointing out some stunning examples of limestone cave features along the way. Stalactites, stalagmites, and even cave bacon were all part of the scenery, before the group exited by hiking through an underground stream to reach the exit. 

What was already a thrilling and memorable day was just beginning, as students and teachers then had the opportunity to try rock climbing on some of Yangshuo famous karst mountains. There were several routes of varying difficulty to choose from. Facing their fears and cheering one another on in encouragement brought out some beautiful experiences for everyone involved, building character and memories that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

CAS Service Project - Plastic Cleanup & Recycling Workshop

Here at Zen Quest, our trip offerings stretch beyond just traditional experiential education. We incorporate essential features from IB and IGCSE curriculums too. So when this group also wanted to include a CAS project, it was no problem at all. This CAS project had 2 elements:

• Local community plastic cleanup -
  Students hiked around areas of the local community, picking up all sorts of human rubbish as they went, to see who could return with the biggest and heaviest bin bag. Members of the local community even came out to thank students and teachers for this service, and show their gratitude. 

   

• Plastic recycling workshop - 
  At the end of the day everyone got to take part in this experience, which aimed to demonstrate just how difficult it is even to recycle just 1 large plastic bottle. Each student had a job in the workshop. Some heat treated the bottle, and others cut the bottle before it could be prepared into filaments, and others did a great variety of other jobs. 

Witnessing the difficulty of plastic recycling, from waste collection to down-cycling and repurposing, gave the group a lot to think about regarding sustainability and the role of recycling in the future. 

Stand-up paddle boarding 

It had been a week full of excitement, but it wasn’t over yet. Our guides led the way to a local reservoir where everyone had the opportunity to try stand-up paddle-boarding. Equipped with the knowledge from the in-depth safety briefing, the group paddled out with confidence, before endless fun ensued on the water. Playing Frisbee polo, paddle-board balance games, and rapid races, its safe to say the group left satisfied…

…and ready for lunch!

R&R before heading home

The remaining half of the day was the perfect time for exploring Yangshuo’s famous west-street to buy some souvenirs, both for themselves and for friends and family waiting at home. Alternatively, it’s also a great time to buy a milk tea, kick your feet up, and reflect on all the new experiences gained throughout the course of the trip.

Our guides’ performed reviews in small groups to wrap up the trip. This type of activity encourages individual reflection, giving students time to think about all elements of the trip. Some of these reflections can be seen in the great drawings throughout this blog!

For Outdoor Education in China, Call Zen Quest Adventures

What a great week for everyone involved - filled with good memories, character building, and a whole lot of river studies data ready for analysis! 

Are you looking for an outdoor education provider to give you experiences that go above and beyond? Whether it’s river studies, field studies, or adventure education, we’ve got you covered. Contact us today.