China is a land of surpassing cultural and historical breadth. Experience its ultra-modern cities, its great centers of education, and its ancient heartland, as well as villages where some of the minority groups that participate in the cultural mix of China have lived for centuries.

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In these diverse settings, study tour participants will hear firsthand from Chinese Catholics who share in and contribute to the life of their local communities.

The study tour will be led by Fr. Michael Agliardo, director of the USCCA and research scholar in sociology at Santa Clara University. Participants will take stock of the ways that Christianity and China have encountered one another, from warm welcome to occasional mutual misunderstanding, from grand metropolis to rural village, from the Tang Dynasty to the contemporary period.

This study tour affords a unique context for reflection on questions of faith, culture, and meaning.

Itinerary

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Participants arrive in the international port city of Hong Kong on a Saturday. On Monday they proceed to Xi'an then Chengdu, both cities in the traditional heartland of China. Next a stop follows in Yunnan, a region of stunning mountain beauty, where vibrant minority cultures have flourished for centuries. Guangzhou is the final stop. This southern city has a very different vibe from its more staid northern counterpoints.

At the conclusion of the study tour, participants can return home directly or via Hong Kong, whichever is most convenient.

Applications for study tour open 9/15