2026
Week One: June 14 – 21 / Week Two: June 21 – 28
At a Glance
The China Folk House Experiential Chinese Language Summer Camp integrates Chinese language instruction with hands-on traditional building, farming, and craft activities, in the immersive cultural environment of China Folk House. Students live, learn, and create together with award-winning teachers using an experiential curriculum developed for China Folk House by University of Pennsylvania professors. Each day students have three hours of Chinese classes (intermediate and advanced) focused on hands-on projects and traditional Chinese crafts:
Tai chi morning exercise and breakfast
Morning recitation
Reading poems and passages aloud in Chinese
Morning Chinese language classes
Intermediate and advanced | Project related
Hands-on projects in rotation
Students do different projects each day
- Chinese lattice and earthen walls | Architecture
- Traditional wood joinery | Architecture
- Vegetable and ethnobotany garden | Agriculture
- Mural painting | Art
- Courtyard stone mosaic | Art
Lunch and homework time
Afternoon Chinese language classes
Thematically related to craft project
Craft activities
All students | Craft changes daily
- Landscape painting
- Woodblock printing
- Embroidery
- Ceramic arts
- Traditional indigo tie dye
Dinner
Includes small group cooking classes
After-dinner “China Talks”
In English and Chinese for key word development:
- Chinese agriculture, farming and botany | Sichuan and Yunnan case studies
- Chinese architecture | “How to read a house” through Yunnan case studies
- Religion & ethnic identity | Tibetan Buddhism, Naxi dongba animism, Bai benzhu cult
- Music and poetry in China | Hands-on instruments | Tang poetry and beyond
- US – China relations: past, present, and future
Courtyard film series
Related to daily activities and “China Talks”
Bedtime
Outdoor Fun
In addition to the classes and projects, each week will feature a nature activity such as kayaking or canoeing in the Shenandoah River, hiking up to the Appalachian Trail, or doing a naturalist-guided walk. In the evenings we have movies, bonfires with ‘smores, and a Chinese game night. We provide games, art, and sports equipment for breaks during the day.
Staffing
Students will be learning from experienced Chinese language teachers from Sidwell Friends School, and working with trained China Folk House staff, including a master gardener and carpenter, as well as craft teachers and experts on Chinese history and culture. All China Folk House programs are insured, and our staff have training and background checks.
Eligibility
The CFH Experiential Chinese Language Summer Camp is ideal for rising 9th grade through 12th grade students with some background in the study of Chinese language, and for Heritage speakers of Chinese. Beginning level students with no prior Chinese language training, and younger students who are rising 7th and 8th graders, can apply through a short zoom interview process.
Transportation, Meals, Lodging
Parents drop off the campers between 3:00pm and 4:00pm on Sunday (June 7 or 14) and pick them up between 1:00pm and 2:00pm on Sunday (June 14 and 21). All the activities take place in and around China Folk House. Meals are made onsite with our commercial kitchen and professional cooking staff, and students harvest vegetables from our garden and help in the kitchen. Lodging is up to six students in each of our three Chinese-design and student-built bunkhouses, or in our large canvas “glamping” tents. Our bathhouse has five toilets and five showers, and we have a washer and dryer in our laundry room.
Program Cost
There is a dedicated financial aid fund specifically to support experiential learning at China Folk House, and we want any child who wants to participate in our programs to have that opportunity, so we encourage families who need assistance to contact us. Our Culinary Arts and Chinese Architecture and Joinery Workshops are supported by start-up grants from the United Chinese American Community Foundation. We are a nonprofit with a mission to serve the community. To discuss financial aid, please email us at chinafolkhouse@gmail.com
All inclusive