To China & Back Again ~ Planning a Family Cultural Night

The following is a guest post in conjunction with one of this blog’s partners.

Do you want to take your family on an exotic or international vacation…but your budget won’t allow it? You’re not the only one. Luckily for all of us, children have an incredible imagination.

Traveling the world with your family can be as simple as planning planning a family cultural night. After all, educating your children on different cultures and customs can (and should) start in the home. In this article, I’ll focus on taking your kids to China and back in an evening, but these ideas can be adapted to any part of the world.

Step 1: Getting Ready for the Trip

Before you set out, you’ll have to prepare for the trip. Before you go…

• Pack a suitcase with your children. China gets hot in the summer and very cold in the winter, so have each child pick out an outfit according to when you’ll be visiting.
• Make a small “passport” for each child with their picture and basic information on the first page. Explain to your kids that we need passports to travel to other countries. Stamp their passports as soon as they reach China.
• Decide how you’ll get to China. Will you fly? Will you go by boat? Reenact the trip together.
• Practice a few Chinese phrases together, like “hello” or “how are you?” These will help you navigate while you “travel” and teach your children about the language.

Bonus tip: Reuse these passports during every cultural night. You can buy simple stamps to represent each country they’ve “visited.” Your kids will love to keep the book and it will be a good way to connect your lessons and remind your children of what they’ve learned and where they’ve been.

Step 2: Deciding Where to Visit

Once you get to China and you’re safely pass the borders, you’ll need to decide where you want to visit. Remember, China is the second largest country by land in the world! There will be plenty of places to visit. Will you…

• Visit the Forbidden City? This was the Chinese imperial palace for almost 500 years! Now, it houses the Palace Museum.
• See the Temple of Heaven? A beautiful complex of buildings that was used by the emperors for annual prayer ceremonies.
• Experience the Wolong National Reserve? A reserve in China that houses over 150 highly endangered giant pandas and several other endangered species.
• Take a cruise down the Li River? There you’ll glide through beautiful green hills and karst mountains
• Walk the Great Wall of China? Since it’s several thousand miles of defenses, you’ll have plenty to see!

These places are just one of thousands of incredible places you can visit in China. Do a little research about famous places in your country of choice beforehand. Bring some pictures and tell your kids a little about all the amazing places you can visit.

Bonus Tip: Start your journey in one area of the home and move to another area as you “travel.” Continue this throughout the evening as you visit different cities in China. This will really help your kids get into it.

 Step 3: Going Native

If you truly want to immerse yourself in the Chinese culture, you can take a couple extra steps to really go native. Try…

• Preparing a traditional Chinese meal with your children. Rice is a staple food in China, and pork is a very popular meat. Both are easily found and prepared. Or, try preparing a traditional dumpling or go big and try cooking duck!
• Playing a popular Chinese game. China has a rich culture of sportsmanship. Football, martial arts, and table tennis are all very popular in China. So is chess. Pick one and play with the whole family!
• Watching a classic Chinese movie. Watching it will give you a sense of Chinese culture and film.
• Practicing calligraphy. Break out a few paintbrushes and some ink and try imitating a few Chinese characters.
• Exchanging a little money for Chinese yuan. If this isn’t possible, make a few of your own fake yuan and teach your children about the history of Chinese money.

If you have younger children, it’ll probably be easy to convince them to pretend with you. Older kids might be a little more sheepish. To help get everyone involved, have your older children pick where they’d like to visit and plan a few activities themselves. With a little creativity and planning, your family can see the world!

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