Awards & Recognition
Rising Above 79 Competing Programs
On November 21, 2024, the inaugural Zhejiang Provincial Museum-Based Educational Travel Course Competition held its final evaluation in Ouhai, Wenzhou. Organized under the guidance of the Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration and co-hosted by the Zhejiang Museum Association, this event drew submissions from institutions across the province — 79 courses spanning history, nature, art, and science education.
After multiple rounds of screening and a rigorous final defense, Jinsi Study Tour's "West Lake Chronicles" course — recommended by the Zhejiang Provincial Travel Agency Association and Hangzhou West Lake Museum — was named one of the "Top 10 Outstanding Cases." The judging panel included senior experts from the museum, heritage, and education sectors.
Interdisciplinary Design: Four Subjects, One Lake
The course's most innovative feature is its integration of four academic disciplines — history, geography, ecology, and humanities — into a single coherent learning journey. Rather than presenting West Lake as simply "a very big lake," the program guides students through its evolution:
Students explore how geological shifts transformed a bay into a freshwater lagoon (geography), trace centuries of dredging projects led by poets-turned-governors like Bai Juyi and Su Dongpo (history), appreciate the "Ten Scenes of West Lake" through classical poetry and painting (humanities), and observe the lake's ecosystem to understand human-nature symbiosis (ecology).
The teaching methodology is equally layered: on-site museum exploration, inquiry-based discussions, and collaborative group projects — forming a complete learning loop from observation to reflection to creative output.
Expert Recognition
At the final evaluation, judges praised the course for successfully bridging academic depth with age-appropriate engagement. "The program helps students not only learn about West Lake culture, but also develop cultural literacy and awareness," the evaluation noted. Multiple experts highlighted how the course translated two millennia of West Lake history into language children could genuinely connect with.
Jinsi founder Gao Yuan commented after the award: "This recognition affirms our commitment to curriculum quality. We will continue investing in program development to bring even richer educational experiences to young learners."
From a single lake to a provincial honor, the "West Lake Chronicles" demonstrates what effective study tour design looks like: when children leave the museum, they carry with them not just a page of notes, but an entire landscape — its stories, aesthetics, and meaning.
