Interest in educational trips seen as a shift toward immersive experiences

As the sun pierced dense fog enveloping a mountain in Southwest China's Guizhou province, a Miao ethnic village nestled halfway up the hillside slowly came into view.

The rhythmic clanging of metalwork from inside Miao-style wooden stilt houses broke the quiet. A few travelers sat around a workbench, learning how to make traditional Miao silver jewelry.

They were not typical tourists rushing from one attraction to another. Instead, they spent days — sometimes weeks — learning a local craft.

Zeng Yuchen, a 30-year-old short-video creator from Wuhan, Hubei province, was one of them. To make her trip more meaningful, she signed up for a seven-day course in Miao silver jewelry making, a national intangible cultural heritage that she said "offers a deep dive into the authentic culture of the Miao people".

She learned huasi, or filigree, a traditional technique that involves shaping thin silver wires by hand into intricate patterns. The process is far from simple, requiring: heating the silver, hammering it into shape, twisting fine threads, carving patterns and finally soldering everything together.

"The soldering step is particularly challenging," she said. "If the heat is too low, the pieces won't stick. If it's too high, everything melts. And if you make a mistake, you have to start over."

Zeng spent nine hours each day in the workshop, frequently seeking guidance from her teachers — recognized inheritors of Miao silver jewelry-making techniques. After days of practice, her hard work paid off. She created a small collection, including pendants shaped like birds and stars, as well as butterfly earrings and rings. More importantly, she gained a strong sense of achievement.

For Zeng, the experience went beyond simply making jewelry.

"This kind of trip allows me to deeply engage with the local culture and build strong connections with the people here," she said.

Over the past two years, she has taken several similar trips. She has learned ceramic inlay in Chaozhou, Guangdong province, practiced metalwork in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, and studied traditional weaving in Thailand.

"A study tour is like an interest class for adults," she said. "Now I have the freedom and the money to choose what I want to learn. It shows that young people are starting to take control of their time and life choices."

Zeng's experience reflects a growing trend among Chinese adults who are opting for immersive travel experiences over fast-paced, checklist-style sightseeing trips. Instead of simply visiting famous sites and taking photos, they are seeking opportunities to learn new skills and acquire knowledge.

According to the China Tourism Association, adults are becoming an important segment of the study tour market. These educational trips now take many forms, ranging from cultural tours to hands-on workshops in photography and traditional crafts, as well as scientific explorations and customized group learning experiences.

One company tapping into this trend is The Seekers, an online travel agency focused on in-depth cultural travel. Its founder and CEO, Bao Rong, said interest in this type of travel is growing quickly.

The company provides 13 study tour itineraries in Shanxi province, known for its ancient architecture, featuring guidance from archaeologists, art and religious studies professors, and museum researchers.

With prices ranging from 2,500 to 4,950 yuan ($366 to $724), the tours have attracted more than 120,000 participants so far.

"People are willing to pay more for deeper experiences," Bao said. "They are not content with just seeing sights and taking photos; they want to explore the civilization, beliefs and human experiences behind them."

Bao said the company's clientele consists mainly of creative professionals, internet workers, entrepreneurs, freelancers and university students, all ranging from ages 25 to 65, with about 60 percent of them female.

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Zeng Yuan, a traveler from Sichuan province, joined one of the tours because of her interest in history.

"Before visiting each site, our guide would send us slides and images to help us understand ancient architecture," she said. "After each day's visit, we would continue researching in our hotel rooms to deepen our understanding."

This in-depth engagement with ancient temples and wooden pagodas also changed how she sees the world. Now, when she encounters old buildings, she tries to identify their historical period by examining their structure and design.

The rise of adult study tours reflects broader social and economic changes in China, said Sun Guizhen, vice-president and secretary-general of the China Tourism Association. In a society where lifelong learning has become widely accepted, people are increasingly willing to invest in personal growth and enriching life experiences.

"Adult consumers seek fulfillment and meaning in travel and view study tours as an investment in their knowledge, skills or aesthetic refinement," Sun said. "At the same time, study tours offer an escape from fast-paced daily life. Through focused learning and shared experiences, people can find a sense of healing and belonging."

The market, however, is still developing. Some products labeled as "study tours" lack real depth, and more high-quality, well-designed niche programs are needed, Sun said. For a new generation of travelers, the goal of a trip is no longer just to see new places, but to learn something new — and perhaps better understand themselves along the way.

Contact the writers at xunuo@chinadaily.com.cn