Discussion keeps the world turning.
This is Roundtable.
You're listening to Roundtable with myself, He Yang.
I'm joined by Yu Shun and Steve Hatherly in the studio.
Coming up, every summer vacation, study tours take over the holiday charts.
Teens are off chasing knowledge and maybe a little bit of fun while parents cross their their fingers.
It's more studying than sightseeing.
But do these trips really deliver on learning?
And they say an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
But what about 10 ,000 steps?
With fitness trackers now ruling our routines, are we walking toward better health or just chasing a magic number?
Our podcast listeners can find us at Roundtable China on Apple podcast. Now let's move on to the next topic discussion today summer vacations here and so is the study tour boom across china teenagers are zipping up their suitcases for trips that promise a mix of learning and fun with parents of course footing the bill from ancient sites to tech hubs these themed adventures are booking fast some industry reports say up nearly 20 compared to last year With so many summer study tour programs out there, what are they?
And what's convincing parents to sign their kids and teens up?
This isn't the first time we've talked about study tours, right?
They've been especially popular in recent years, especially in this season, the summer vacation season or winter vacation season.
So think of these as educational adventures that mix sightseeing with hands -on activities.
The whole point is to go deeper than a regular trip.
So instead of just looking at a historical site, students might actually get to try their hand at making ancient crafts from that era.
And I think this trend meets the needs of both parents and kids, not necessarily the needs of parents.
Oh, I think we know what you're talking about there.
He's driving me crazy.
Send him on a summer tour.
So the kids want to have fun and while study tours let them enjoy their trips and also engage with some academic content and the parents obviously want their kids to still learn something during the vacation.
Yeah, that's a bonus.
Right. The kids tend to be if we look at Shanghai, for example, the kids there aged eight to 16.
Those are the primary participants for the summer study tours.
They account for about that age group accounts for about 70 to 80 percent of the bookings.
So that makes sense.
Right. So eight years old, the elementary school age and then up to high school age.
Those tend to be the kids.
And middle school kids, of course, can be tour members, too.
Depending on the theme, I think, and the offered activities of the tour, they can be reasonable and they can also be really, really expensive.
They can vary from a few thousand to over 10 ,000 yuan, and the tours apparently have gone up in recent years.
the price of them, due to a lot more diverse themes.
They've gotten better with their customization of the tours as well.
There's also been a higher demand for quality experiences.
If you look at the Hong Kong and Macau tours this summer, for example, which sounds like an amazing summer study tour, doesn't it?
Well, that's going to cost you anywhere from 10 ,000 to 15 ,000 yuan.
That's about $1 ,400 to $2 ,100.
hundred dollars and that's almost 10 more expensive than it was last year the theme can be so diverse and almost in every area that you can imagine whether you're just interested in science and technology ancient history exploring nature or even learning about money management there's a program out there designed for that and making a really personalized and customized experience for the students yeah well just by judging the the numbers actually maybe if you're comparing the same study tour program the price has gone up a little bit but overall it seems like the prices have gone down in the sense
of to a more reasonable level and also we don't see all those crazy numbers or inflated prices of the international travel study tours so much this year.
And also, you guys talked about, oh, this is beyond sightseeing.
And I think this is an upgrade from what we've seen in previous years, because sometimes the complaint used to be that, oh, finally, you know, we arrive in Cambridge.
These are like news stories from the past. And basically, it's a busload of young travelers, the students, and then they get driven from place to place with just a very brief intro and then off they go to see the next college and there isn't there wasn't really much of the hands -on immersive experience of actually learning anything or really getting a taste of the place so I think maybe after all these years of complaints we see there are some improvements um different types of study doors I would say some afford like entering and experience the college life some afford basically learning things
about science and historical well let's have a look at you know the differences anything different from a study about study tours this summer what's new this year yeah so creating a kind of immersive experience is is quite highlighted study tour organizers are really trying to get creative this year and turning simple visits into some even story driven adventures one example is that a Beijing route some study tour programs are adding hands -on experiences at major sites like Forbidden City and the Great Wall and these include activities like exploring the stories along the central axis that's that's
the central axis of the whole city of Yeah.
And hasn't it? Sorry, just a quick.
Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead.
It's now becoming a world heritage now and uncovering the past and present of the Forbidden City with all of these technologies like VR, AR, you can go through the whole Forbidden City with that single goggle.
You know, professional guides can also help students to dive deeper into the history, into the culture and everything that they need.
There's another tour where children observe migratory birds through binoculars.
This one isn't in Beijing.
But when they watch the birds, then they can sketch the birds in a notebook or whatever it was that they happened to be looking at.
And so it's not just about bird watching.
It's about learning a little bit about the ecology, right?
The students are fully immersed in the atmosphere.
atmosphere um they can visit ancient villages and nature reserves there's there's there are a lot there's a lot more diversification this year and a lot more creativity from the tour companies and it makes sense because it's really really competitive last year c -trip um saw an increase of 70 of parent child bookings and then there was another site flaggy that reported a 60 rise in searches for educational travel so this is not just a trend this is something that happens It happens every year.
It's predictable almost. Right.
And as a result, companies are getting more and more involved.
Twenty nine thousand companies within this space and almost half started within the past five years.
So it makes sense that the creativity level has had to go up, if you will, for these tour for these tours, because there's just so many more players in the game now.
It's a lot more competitive.
Yeah, we've talked about it before, factory tours, remember?
Yeah, where people visit manufacturing facilities and many of these tours are actually organized as study trips or study tours for families.
families and these tours give students a hands -on look at these innovation and R &D centers helping to inspire their career choices maybe while promoting science and maybe have a better idea on you know the maybe domestic brands international brands and what is going on in all of these manufacturing assembling lines well you guys mentioned that this is very popular almost a a yearly thing.
And if you live in China, you kind of know that, you know, if you want to start a business, often people say, think about what you can get off profiting from providing services for children, or basically the offsprings of a family because the parents are most willing to shell out money for them.
And it's so difficult to make a buck off many other demographics.
So why do you think parents are pouring money into these programs?
Well, I mean, if you think about it, right, if you're thinking that summer vacation is a break from the opportunity to learn or develop or perhaps have a peek into the future, then OK.
Right. It's playtime for the kids.
But for parents who, number one, want to take advantage of this time and maybe cultivate an interest that their child has shown them.
Right. Like I'm really into birdwatching.
The example that we just gave. Oh, really?
Cool, because there's this program.
All right, cool. I'll send you on that thing.
um so it's not just go out and play with your friends every single day so it makes sense that parents would want to provide a little bit more opportunity for their kids if they can afford it these you know even though some of these are on the affordable side it's still it's still money out of pocket right it's still and they can get really expensive too um and then i think the other side is you know for parents summer vacation is a kind of a stressful time when you've got the the kids back home and uh what can we do as I said it can meet both the demands of parents and children yeah let's be honest
right yeah but if we're really honest here we've all been kids once did you want to go on a study tour absolutely I was I was going to say you know if if um if I got the chance if I was younger I and um I can be able to join so many study tours and so many different types of study tours i would been really happy and thrilled you know and i probably would had a lot more materials for my writing assignments to to go yeah and remember it's not just little little kids right it's um high school students who are maybe about to go into university i was reading a blog post i ended up on this blog post
by this student um this was on science survey A student who did a summer study program at Oxford and Cambridge.
And, you know, okay, right, obviously wealthy background, blah, blah, blah.
But there was something to take away from this, I think.
This is what the writer said.
Speaking purely from a resume standpoint, studying abroad, even if only for a couple of weeks, can demonstrate independence, initiative, and willingness to take meaningful risks.
However, the real takeaway comes from a greater international understanding of culture, Sure.
The ability to meet other passionate people and the chance to study in depth.
I also think that it counts a lot for people living in the present, but thinking about their future.
People being around people in those types of environments who want they want to be there.
They want to learn people who actually care about the subject.
That made sense to me.
And it doesn't you know, that's Oxford and Cambridge and traveling overseas.
But I think you can have those same experiences with domestic travel, too.
If you're there as a kid, being a part of a program, something that you're really into, thinking about your own future, and you're surrounded by like -minded individuals, that can be a really beneficial experience.
And that can only work under the premise that the parent and the child have a very smooth communication channel that, oh, it's not just the parents signing up something that the kids aren't really into.
But actually, this is really conducive for his or her learning next step, et cetera.
Then that makes sense.
And also for a lot of teens, if this is the first time for them to travel more or less independently, although they're still with a student group, then I think that can be a really good experience.
If it's smaller kids, and we've seen this in China in previous years, that sometimes, well, it's definitely more responsibility on the tour organizers to have properly trained and hopefully certified adults to watch the kids, to guide them on this tour.
Because often, if they're so young and mom and dad not around, it's a lot of responsibility.
responsibility are these uh programs genuinely enriching or are they sort of a just another form of holiday tour package with a learning label how do you think of this whole thing i mean definitely you never know that which trip will you know basically ignite the passion of the students toward learning right maybe that trip to cambridge or the trip to a factory just you know a spark their interest in learning mechanics or something like that.
Yeah, good point. Yeah, you know, taking these kind of things out of classroom and let them really experience it can be a really good opportunity for them to actually spark an interest into it and turn into a lifelong passion.
Yeah, that's a really great point to make because it doesn't have to be something that the child already has interest in.
You could be introducing them to something that they might know nothing about right and there might even be a little bit of resistance from your kid like I'm not interested in that okay go and go and check it out and yeah and if you're still not interested then okay cool but as a parent you're kind of just nudge a gentle nudge towards a topic or a subject and just see what the response is I think that's a cool opportunity too oh that's definitely a great opportunity and I've seen online some personal anecdotes of uh shared by internet users once saying that he got a degree in Australia, ultimately,
but before actually going to study overseas, his parents sent him on a study tour to Australia, just so that he can get familiar with what it's like over there and see if he liked it.
And he did. So that was kind of a nice prep step before actually embarking on your overseas study experience.
All of this being said, though, it reminded me of a little bit of a sour moment in a popular movie last year called Hao Dongxi.
I can't remember immediately the English translation.
But in that movie, there was this conversation between a single mom, her child, and a family friend.
And the child was saying, Mom, all of my classmates are away at some study tour this summer, going to Cambridge, Oxford, even somewhere in Africa or whatever, and coming back in September with so much to share.
And I've been to nowhere.
And you just work over a summer vacation.
And I don't want to feel bad about my situation, but essentially she did.
So I, I understand, you know, everybody earns their honest living and, you know, those who want to provide for their family, for their kids, they will, and maybe this is what they want to do.
Um, but what would your response be to that little girl who is having this conversation with her hardworking single mom?
Oh, sorry. I can't send you on this, but I'll try to make it up to you later by doing something special for you.
And in the movie, the mom did take her to Datong.
And that's where the International Film Festival in Datong holds every year.
And she even got to see, I can't remember that, that famous director from Shanxi Province.
Don't look at me for that answer.
Sorry, get out. Xiao Wu, that's his most famous movie that put him on the directorial map.
app anyhow our listeners will know and feel free free to write in if you know easy round fm round table at voxmail .com is where you can do that coming up 10 000 steps it's a goal most chase daily and is it really good for you the truth is it depends on who you are how you walk and why you're walking so let's get straight to it guys what do you think about this apparently we're all obsessed with step counting and is hitting that 10 000 step mark absolutely necessary no that's the short answer the long answer um goes back to the 1960s there was a company in japan that invented an early pedometer
a step counter um because the japanese character for 10 000 looks like a person walking the company called its device the 10 000 step meter and that's where this kind of came from um it's catchy right there's um there's someone from harvard medical school i mean lee that said this is kind of a catchy phrase if you get to a 10 000 steps in a day it seems like a really good accomplishment and it is but there's no scientific um proof that it really does anything better than any other number of steps for for you a day obviously you know the the more, the better type thing.
That applies here. But the benefits they say, the experts say, do start to taper at some point.
There was another study from 2022.
This was published by Lancet Public Health.
They said that younger people than 60 should indeed walk to 8 to 10 ,000 steps a day to get the best benefits in terms of life expectancy and cardiovascular health.
People older than 60 show the most benefit between 6 and 8 ,000 steps.
So as you mentioned already, ready.
It depends who you are.
It depends how old you are.
Um, but the idea is just keep your body moving and walking is, is beneficial.
And don't did, uh, don't do it excessively because of course, um, it will be affected by your age, your body ways, something like that.
And I think no matter how many steps you are taking, the most important one is just simply to start it, Right.
Even if you can manage a thousand steps at first, that might be the starting point you can, you know, actually stick with.
And that is quite important for you to no matter start one or just keeping one.
Yeah. Also, this is from a China Daily report.
It doesn't matter the total number of steps you take.
It matters more than the speed at which you take those steps.
So if you are step counting, don't worry about how fast you're taking those steps.
It's better for you to count those steps than it is for you to worry about the speed in which you're walking.
There was another report from the NL of rheumatic diseases that said that for the average person, if you're wondering, six to eight thousand steps a day is the safest and the most beneficial range.
No, how many steps you should walk may depend on your body's response.
If your knees will feel swollen, sore, or make clicking sounds the next day, this is the sign of too much. So consider reducing your step count by like 500 to 1 ,000.
If your body starts clicking with every step, yeah, stop stepping.
Yeah, that's your body sending that alarm, right?
So the takeaway for me of this topic is basically just like anything else in life, let's not sort of blindly believe in any number.
You have to take into consideration some of these other parameters to come up with a better number for yourself.
Yeah, if it feels good for you, then do it.
If it doesn't, take a break.
And also, it's just occurred to me that the name of the director from Shanxi province is Jia Zhengke.
You got it in there.
I got it in there. Well done.
Thank you guys. And thank you, Steve and Yushun, for joining the discussion.
I'm He Yang. You can always find us on Apple Podcasts at Roundtable China.
We'll see you next time.
