Montessori Journey through China

The stars aligned at the AMS Montessori Event 2024 Springtime Fancy fundraising auction, and I was off to China for a two week adventure. Sights, amazing food, cultural learning, school visits, and Montessorian encounters filled the whirlwind trip. 

The journey began in Beijing on May 26th. My dear friend and office assistant McKenzie accompanied me for the trip, and we stepped off of our 16 hour flight and met our driver and relative of a friend, Hao, to head straight for a hike along the Great Wall at Mu Tian Yu (a small village with more scenic nature than some more popular sections of the wall). The hike was invigorating and got blood moving in our legs again. The views were spectacular. The history was palpable. And after the long hike up we tobogganed down on a metal course. A great start to the trip!

We packed our first few days in Beijing full of sights, experiences, and excellent meals. We explored the Forbidden City, wandered the hutongs (traditional alleyways), attended a traditional tea ceremony, and visited beautiful Beihai Park. There we rented a paddleboat and explored the lake. The breakfasts at the hotels along the way were indescribable-huge buffets of delicious traditional and western foods. The following day we explored Heaven Temple, with its beautiful rose gardens and walking paths, and caught an acrobatics performance. As an afterthought, Hao suggested the Beijing Olympic Park, which was one of my favorite places. Not particularly a tourist attraction, locals gather at the park to practice their hobbies together. We wandered paths through dancers, musicians, tai chi groups, and yoyo tricks. 

By the following day we were on a high-speed train to Tianjin, where our host Yang Guochen introduced us to more amazing foods we had never had the opportunity to try before. He also explained that Chinese children are trained with chopsticks by picking up peanuts, and I concentrated very hard to hone my skills on the peanut salad that was served! I had had limited practice with chopsticks before the trip, but got a lot better along the way (though was very glad McKenzie brought stain remover on the trip–I was more successful with some foods than others!). We explored an ancient cultural district (Yang Liuqing) with intricate architecture and a museum of traditional family compounds from different eras of Chinese history. Our host spoke much better English than I speak Chinese, and also had an amazing translator that was much better than our phones and allowed smooth conversations.

After the short stay in Tianjin, we were off to Shanghai were two warm and kind Montessori teachers, Elsa and Si-Eun, who introduced us to the beauty of the Bund at night and took us to Shanghai Tower the following day. We had some great discussions of Montessori, though it was the weekend while we were in Shanghai so I was not able to visit the classrooms to see them in action. I very much enjoyed getting to know Elsa and Si-Eun. 

Again the visit was brief, and we caught a high-speed train from Shanghai to Wuxi. Our hosts Yu Jia (Candy) and Carol led us through an ancient cultural town and an area known as the “Venice of China” because of its beautiful canals and night lights. Cadalin, an Early Childhood program with Montessori mornings and bilingual afternoons with over 500 children, hosted a school tour and I presented to staff on Cosmic Education. There are currently no Montessori elementary programs in China, so this was a new topic for many of the staff. The following day we went to Ling Shan, the world’s largest Buddha, and watched a reenactment of the story of Siddhartha. I closed the afternoon by hiking up Huei Shan, the local forested mountain above Taihu (lake). 

One train ride later and we were back in Beijing for our last few days, where we visited the beautiful Summer Palace with its lakes, walkways, and many beautiful examples of historical architecture. The following day we visited the Lama Temple, where we experienced more active worship by visitors than we had at other temples. From there we wandered to the Imperial College, a preserved campus that was incredibly peaceful and had much smaller crowds than everywhere else we had been. We wandered the city streets, then met friends from the states that were visiting family in Beijing for the summer and had hands-down the most amazing meal I have ever eaten, featuring Peking duck.

Our last day in Beijing we spent at ETON Kids Montessori, an incredible campus that fuses Chinese culture into the essence of Montessori. I very much enjoyed my classroom observations in a bilingual classroom, and the meal shared with administrators afterward. Jesmine, AMS Mandarin liaison for China, led us on an exploration of the nearby art district before we rushed off to catch our plane to the states. 

The whole experience was a dream. A mix of fun tourism, cultural engagement, real connections with new friends in China, and exciting dialogues with Montessorians across the region. As we headed home, I savored the differences I had experienced, but was also struck by the similarities. The feel of “Montessori” in the schools, the shared frustrations and successes of teachers–it all reinforced the belief that Montessorians around the globe have more in common than they have separating them. After all…Montessori is STRONGER TOGETHER!

A special thank you to AMS for facilitating the experience, Ge and Jingjing for helping us prepare for travel and maximize our time there, and our hosts, Hao, Yang Guochen, Elsa, Si-Eun, Yu Jia, Carol, Jingjing and her mother, Tanya, Claire, Jessica, Jesmine, and Amanda. Gratitude for the experience of a lifetime, and hopes for continued connection!

Jess