In one of its documentary films about poems, BBC made the following comments about Du Fu: "He is the greatest poet in Chinese history." Another poet named Feng Zhi once said, "When the poet Dufu is mentioned, his birthplace and the place where he passed away are always forgotten, but his thatched cottage site in Chengdu is always remembered." The Dufu Thatched Cottage Site where he lived for several years, is regarded as the holy place in Chinese literature. 

▲ The inside of Dufu Thatched Cottage(Rebuilt)

The famous poet Dufu not only loves poems but also loves nature. In his poems, he wrote lots of poems about nature. Under the brush of the poet, birds like gulls, orioles, egrets, kingfishers, cuckoos, swallows, and swans are targets to express his inner emotions. The two lines of the poet "Two golden orioles sing amid the willows green; a row of white egrets flies into the blue sky" gives a vivid description of the beautiful natural environment in his place by the side of the Huanhuaxi River.

▲ Little Egret

Now Dufu Thatched Cottage site has been expanded into a huge park where you can find numerous tall lush trees like phoebe, camphor trees, cypress, lower trees like plum and peach, and lawns of dwarf lilyturf. The neighboring Huanhuaxi Park attracts numerous birds to nest due to its diverse ecological environments. Here we can observe lots of birds living in different habitats at close distance.

▲ Huanhuaxi Park

On this trip, you will be guided by ApandaTour bilingual natural teacher. We will start by finding the poem lines on the natural environment and explore the poet's natural world and spiritual homeland. In Huanhuaxi Park, we will search for and observe the birds nesting here like Egret, and Common Moorhen, learn how to identify them, and understand the coexistence of bird habitats and human activities.

▲ Little Grebe

In Dufu Thatched Cottage, we will review the poems of Dufu, appreciate the beautiful description of the natural environment in the poet's works and learn about the life stories of the poet featuring ups and downs or anecdotes and lively things. From the changes of the Thatched Cottage and historical remains, we will feel the personal charisma and his far-reaching impact on the later generations. During the trip, we will have bilingual Chinese-English interactive communications and nature games to make our natural experiences and language learning full of fun and joy. You will feel the beauty of language both in Chinese and English from reading the poems in the original Chinese version and translated English version.

▲ Moorhen

Trip Targets

1. Feel the beauty of unity from the harmonious coexistence of culture and nature through learning about the plants and birds in both Dufu Thatched Cottage and Huanhuaxi Park;

2. Increase our humanistic sensibilities and literacy through on-spot learning about the life of Dufu and the history of Dufu Thatched Cottage;

3. Feel the charm of poem and fun of language learning from our bilingual English and Chinese natural games and experiences.

▲ Common Kingfisher

Trip Highlights

1. Identify Black-capped Night Heron, Grey Heron, Little Egret, and other city birds, observe and learn about their different habitat environments, nests and habits;

2. Find the pine, phoebe, bamboo, and lotus plants mentioned in his poems, and visit a garden named with the title of one of his poems called Delighting in Rain on a Spring Night, feel the beautiful environment described and allusions used in this poem;

3. Practice interesting bilingual poem games and drawing from the description of a poem, improve our capability in bilingual expressing and communicating.

▲ Grey Heron

▲ Tour Map

Hour-by-hour Trip Itinerary

08:45-09:00 Meet at Wanzhu Square in Huanhuaxi Park.

09:00-09:30 Ice-breaking program to warm up and know new friends.

09:30-11:00 Bird-watching in Huanhuaxi Park and look for birds mentioned in Dufu's poems.

11:00-12:00 Visit Dufu Thatched Cottage and enjoy a guided tour with the historical stories of the site.

12:00-13:30 Picnic Lunch, bilingual nature games.

13:30-15:00 Enjoy Dufu's poems in both English and Chinese followed by nature observation in the park.

15:00-15:30 Nature artwork(illustrate a poem) and summarize. 

15:30-15:40 Group photo and end.

A poem by Dufu in both Chinese and English 

春夜喜雨

好雨知时节，当春乃发生。

随风潜入夜，润物细无声。

野径云俱黑，江船火独明。

晓看红湿处，花重锦官城。

WELCOME RAIN ON A SPRING NIGHT

The good rain knows its season.

When spring arrives, it brings life.

On a riverboat, a single fire bright.

Dawn sees this place now red and wet.

The flowers in Chengdu are heavy with rain.

Location：Chengdu Huanhuaxi Park and Dufu Thatched Cottage

Dates：The first trip: September 12, 2022; the second trip: September 19, 2022, the third trip: September 25, 2022

Target Participants：Family with children above 8 or only children above 10

Trip Size：10-20 pax/trip, Minimum 10 pax

Price：40USD/pax, same price for children and adults

The price includes: the entrance tickets of Dufu Thatched Cottage, class designing, material preparation, insurance, and the services of a bilingual teacher

The trip doesn't include：the transportation to the trip location, lunch, and any items not specified as being included in the itinerary

Gears for the trip：We provide a professional spotting scope for group observation and a pair of binoculars for each participant

Transportation：Get to the designated site on your own or ask us for assistance.

Safety Measures：

1. All around process control and safety check before the start of the trip.

2. Staff with AHA first aid certificate and first aid kit during the whole trip.

3. Detailed rules and reminders for the trip and ensure all the participating parents and children know them.

4. Measures for epidemic prevention: we will prepare epidemic prevention materials such as surgery masks, pure alcohols, hand sanitizer, and thermometer. We will have a temperature check before the start of our trip activities.