On October 11th 2015, MID office organized a field trip for more than 10 international students to Andingmen Sub-district, Dongcheng District of Beijing. This field trip provided students a deep understanding of how Beijing evolved over time through two main concepts such as “remodeling old downtown” and “grass-root management”. Ms. ZHANG Hui, the student of MPA2015 class assisted the organization of the program as well.
Students first visited Kong Miao, the Confucius Temple, and Guozijian, the Imperial College, to understand traditional Chinese education system and culture. International students were fascinated by the ancient Chinese architecture, amazed by the rich Chinese customs, and asked some questions about Chinese cultural symbols. Afterwards, all of the students visited the Andingmen Sub-district Office and one of its communities to learn daily grassroot management situation and challenges in China. Through the introduction of the staff, students understood the offerings of this community such as services and sport activities for elders and disables. Finally, students visited the traditional courtyard and learned about challenges that public servants face daily. The students also visited the remodeling and construction site of Fangjia No. 46, to learn about how residential areas in old downtown could be developed to commercial zones.
This field trip is part of the MID China Development: Field Trip Series course. After a few years of developing the course, MID2015 Class will be offered different trips to understand China development in different perspectives.
