Cool advice for hot study tours abroad

It has been a hot summer in many areas in China, but short study tours abroad seem to be even hotter. Parents spend tens of thousands of yuan on such study tours, especially to places where top universities are located, including the New England area in the United States, and Oxford and Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

There are busloads of students in some college towns in the UK, and they make substantial contribution to the local economy. Last September, I visited Cambridge and found that they charge a good amount of money for campus tours, largely because too many students come visiting.

But students who fly half way around the world to visit these universities are not likely to be deterred by the high admission fees. As tourists flock to such towns in greater numbers and disturb the otherwise quiet town life, local residents are starting to complain. Young academic pilgrims enjoy the sights, take photographs, and go through ritualized activities such as rowing on the Cambridge River.