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Tour Details
The China Cultural Tour August 22 - September
2, 2007
Beijing
It begins in Beijing, the most important place to visit in China. It is the
nation's capital and has a 3,000 year history. It has impressive historical monuments
that date from the 13th century A.D. The museums have the best collections in
China and the temples are among the most impressive. The palaces are the
biggest and most extraordinary. Beijing has a population of about 15 million
and there are 8 million bicycles! It is a modern city with an ancient flavor.
In Beijing, you will reside near the hospital. Your hotel is in the
community, near parks, shopping and restaurants. Beijing has clean, safe,
easy to use public subways and inexpensive taxis. You will find that people
are friendly and helpful and there is virtually no crime.
We arrive in Beijing, relax for the rest of our travel day and then begin a 3
day tour. This tour includes transportation, entrance fees to all
attractions, a highly trained English speaking guide and lunches. These days
will be full, visiting many famous sites within Beijing. One of these
evenings also includes a Beijing Opera Show and a traditional Peking Duck
Dinner.
• One day trip is to the countryside to hike the Great Wall of China in
Simatai, a peaceful, tiny village. Beyond the village is a 1/2 mile walk to
the first stairway and watchtower. The path skirts a small reservoir where
boats sail along the Great Wall. Here the Great Wall is quiet, remote and
virtually unreconstructed. This is how the Great Wall looked 500 years after
construction. The wall bricks each have their own stamped number, dating from
the Ming Dynasty. Below the bricks that have fallen away is an earthen core
that caps the mountain in preparation for the construction of the wall. This
is a beautiful section of the Wall, in a scenic rural mountain region north
of Beijing.
• Highlights of your other Beijing days include visiting the Forbidden City,
Temple of Heaven, Tian An Men Square, the Summer Palace, and the Lama Temple.
We will experience a Chinese acrobat performance and an introduction to
Chinese opera and traditional sword play.
Xi'an
• In the evening, we take a sleeper train to Xi'an which was the capital of
China intermittently for almost 2000 years of 11 imperial dynasties. The
train trip will be an interesting and comfortable 14 hours southwest through
three provinces to one of the birthplaces of human civilization and one of
the ancient world's largest cities, vying with Rome and Constantinople as the
greatest city in the world. Xi'an was the beginning of the Silk Road, where
trade flowed between Asia and the Mediterranean. Modern Xi'an is a walled
city, with monuments and archeological sites within and throughout the
surrounding plain. Xi'an was once the center of the Chinese world. Today,
Xi'an is famous for its Army of Terracotta Warriors, and a vast number of
other ancient treasures.
The Xi'an trip fee includes sleeper train there and airfare back, lunches,
transportation, English speaking tour guide, all admission fees to the sights
listed and double occupancy hotel with breakfast.
• After arriving in Xi'an, we will stop at the Han Yang Museum on the way
from the airport to the hotel. This museum features the tomb of Emperor Jing
Di of the Han dynasty. The museum is full of pottery figures, chariots and
horses, weapons, tools and household utensils, warriors, eunichs and animals.
It has dancing women in long graceful gowns. There are 24 pits with over 700
figures about 2 feet tall. The tomb was built by 10,000 prisoners. Excellent
restaurants abound, including Xi'an's famous "Dumpling Banquet".
The rest of the day is free to explore the city. There is a large Moslem
community in Xi'an and the Great Mosque and surrounding neighborhoods are
interesting to explore.
• Day 2 in Xi'an will include a visit to the countryside to see the Army of
Terracotta Warriors. Discovered in 1974, these 2000 year old life size
terracotta soldiers and their horses are in battle formation. 6000 warriors
and horses, three rows of 210 crossbow and longbow bearers, armored soldiers
holding spears, dagger axes and other long shaft weapons, 35 horse drawn
chariots. Each figure differs in facial features and expressions. This has
been declared the 8th wonder of the world. This day will also include a visit
to the Banpo Neolithic Village which is an archeological exhibit of the
remains of a 6000 year old matriarchal clan community. The back of the site
includes an authentic reproduction of the matriarchal village.
• Our third day will be into the countryside to see the Qianling Tomb which
is built into the hills. Touring it involves hiking and exploration of some
cave homes, animal statues, and guardian figures. The Famen Temple is one of
the 4 most holy sites for Buddhism worldwide. It houses a finger bone of
Prince Gautama, the founder of Buddhism whose statue is in every Buddhist
temple in China.
•
On our last day we will tour the city and walk on the city wall. The city is
enclosed by this ancient city wall with a circumference of 14 kilometers that
was built in 1370. Each side has a gateway and over each gateway are three
towers. There are watchtowers at the corner and defensive towers along it and
even a moat. The walls are 12 meters high and 14 meters wide. You can look
down into the neighborhoods and parks of the city from the wall. We will tour
the Bell Tower and Drum Tower and we will also visit the Big Wild Goose
Pagoda, an impressive fortress-like wood and brick building rising 64 meters
within an extensive temple park. It was built in 648 A. D. to house Buddhist
scriptures brought back from India and is an active Buddhist temple to this
day. The Shaanxi History Museum houses over 3.7 million historical relics
that are chronologically arranged from prehistory, Paleolithic man, to Stone
Age, to the various Chinese dynasties until modern times. It also has a
permanent exhibit on local Shaanxi's history and culture. The evenings'
dinner will be a Tang Dynasty Dinner Show.
Hua Shan Mountain
Resort
This Taoist mountain has mountain paths carved out of bare rock and 5 peaks
that rise to over 8,000 feet. This was the site of the imperial sacrifices.
Its peaks are dotted with small Taoist shrines and temples, wind-sculpted
pine trees and spectacular views. This is one of the Five Sacred Mountains in
China and will be a beautiful and refreshing escape from the rest of our
touring.
• We arrive back in Beijing in time for our first week of classes. There are
two programs of classes to choose from: Acupuncture or Traditional Chinese
Medicine. Tour-only participants can schedule optional daytime tours. There
are optional evening shows, dinners or free time available. Some evenings
have scheduled activities included as part of the tour such as a 16 course
meal from Empress Dowager's kitchen and an acrobatic show.
Acupuncture and TCM Study Programs,
Guang An Men and Beijing Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese Medicine
Hospital with Western Medicine Hospitals in Beijing – September 3-7, 3-14, or
3-28.
Acupuncture
Program: This
program focuses on acupuncture clinical study. The students will be on a
basic study schedule of 8 hours per day, Monday through Friday in the
acupuncture outpatient department. Generally, students will work in the
clinic under the supervision of an expert Chinese medicine doctor with a
interpreter (one interpreter or one doctor cover 1-4 English speaking students).
Under supervision, students see a variety of patients and learn Chinese
medicine diagnosis, differentiation of syndromes, special techniques and
recent research on acupuncture etc. Students may observe or perform
treatment. In addition, special topic lectures are given to students 1-2
times per week.
 This program is intensive
acupuncture clinical training. Basic work is in the clinic seeing
out-patients, but students may also have the opportunity to see inpatients in
the acupuncture department. This program is designed for acupuncture students
and those who want to concentrate on acupuncture training.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Program: This program includes
acupuncture, Chinese herbology, Tui Na and Qi Gong etc. clinical training.
Students see patients in many of the following departments: acupuncture,
internal medicine, pediatrics, gynecology, or Tui Na. Students gain
experience using acupuncture and prescribing herbal formula under supervision
at a clinic, visit herb gardens, herb manufacturers, and herbal stores. Each
student may determine the hours spent with each department. The basic
schedule is 8 hours per day, Monday through Friday. There are special topic
lectures 1-2 times per week.
This program is designed for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine practitioners
and other people who are interested in learning the components of TCM.
Chengde
The Chengde tour includes overnight hotel accommodation with double occupancy
and breakfast, Chinese style lunch and dinners at local restaurants, a tour
bus and local English speaking guide service and admission fees to all the
attractions mentioned in the itinerary.
 We then spend the weekend in
Chengde. The trip is through spectacular scenery with sharply wooded peaks
and valleys, beautiful green mountains and raw and wild mountain rivers.
Chengde is where the Qing Dynasty built their Mountain Villa and Summer
Resort which you will visit on the first day. This walled complex has 128
buildings although 90% of the compound is taken up with lakes, hills,
mini-forests and plains. There are 72 “most beautiful” spots picked by two
resident emperors that have poems written about them. This is the largest
intact imperial garden complex in China.
On Saturday, we will visit "Little Tibet", home of the most
impressive Tibetan Buddist Temples outside of Tibet. There are 8 temples on
hillsides in this area that are replicas of famous temples from different
religions throughout China during the Qing Dynasty. Architectural styles
include Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan, Buddhist and others. We will visit
the Mount Sumeru Longevity and Happiness Temple, which is a 1/3 scale model
of the Dalai Lama’s Patola Palace in Tibet.
Continue Studies in Beijing
Back to Beijing to settle
in for our second, third and fourth weeks of classes. Between each week there
are Saturday field trips. Sundays are unscheduled. Throughout the week there
are several special lectures scheduled on a variety of topics taught by
eminent scholars in that field. All classes are taught or interpreted into
English.
Certification
Upon the successful completion of the four weeks, 150 hours China Study
Program, a certificate will be awarded by our host hospital. The 150 hours
may be credited towards completion of the Master Degree Level of Acupuncture
Program, or continuing education credits at AIAM. Please ask for details once
you have chosen your program for further details.
Pre-requisites
 The Cultural China Tour
No pre-requisites apply.
Acupuncture Study Program
Acupuncture students in their first three semesters may receive credit
towards their Clinic Observation requirement. Once they have successfully
completed their 3 full semesters and passed the pre-clinic exam they may
receive credit towards their Clinical Training.
TCM Studies Program
Tui Na students at AIAM of any level may fulfill their Clinic Observation and
Clinical Practice while on the China Study Tour. Those wishing to participate
in the acupuncture study as part of their TCM Study Program must meet or
exceed the requirements for the Acupuncture Study Program as stated above.
Cost Includes:
1. Visa application fee.
2. Round trip air transportation between US and Beijing, China. Surcharge may
apply if actual airfare exceeds $1600.
3. All transportation during tours and to/from Xi'an, Hua Shan Resort area
and Chengde.
4. English speaking guides during tours.
5. All gratuities.
6. Lodging. Room rate based on double occupancy. Surcharge applies for single
occupancy.
7. Tuition and Clinical Practice costs.
8. Certificate of completion for students.
9. Graduation ceremony and banquet for students in 4-week program. ($25
additional fee for extra tour guests wanting to attend)
10. Gifts for Beijing hosts.
11.
Administration fees.
Cost Does Not Include:
Food and extra expenses are the responsibility of each participant, except where
stated in tour descriptions. Estimate of food cost is $50.00 a week. Any
optional tours taken beyond what is included in each program are also the
participant's responsibility.
Guang An Men Hospital,
Beijing, China
American Institute of
Alternative Medicine offers a unique and exciting opportunity for
practitioners of acupuncture and Oriental medicine and non-practitioners
alike. AIAM has established a relationship with Guang An Men Hospital in
Beijing, China that allows both pre-graduate students and licensed
professionals to study and practice in one of the very best Traditional
Chinese Medicine hospitals.
Guang An Men Hospital (GAM) founded in 1955, in affiliation with the China
Academy of TCM has been highly recognized as a leader in TCM for patient
care, education, and medical research. Rated among the very best TCM
hospitals since 1994, it has built a reputation for excellence in integrative
medicine unsurpassed by any healthcare institution.
There are currently over 600 doctors and nurses in their 28 departments. The
hospital sees over 3000 patients daily in the outpatient department alone.
Some of their other departments include:
• Internal Medicine
• Oncology
• Acupuncture
• Herbology
• Tui Na
• Dermatology
• Gynecology
GAM is a base for the Drug Clinical Trial of State Drug
Administration. It is currently undertaking many state scientific research
programs on TCM with the help of the most advanced techniques available. GAM
is also one of the Academy’s centers for clinical TCM and acupuncture,
clinical section of the Institute of Clinical Science and Information, and
the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for TCM (Western
Pacific Region). As such, it is a unique place to experience the integration
of TCM and modern medicine. Each year several thousands of foreign visitors
from tourists, medical professionals to government officials come to GAM to
observe and experience the practice of TCM. Medical professionals from
primary health workers, physical therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors,
medical students, doctors and research fellows from more than 60 countries
have studied and practiced in different departments at GAM since 1981.
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