Students score trip of a lifetime

"We believe that travel is the best form of education," says Jordan Robbins, director of the scholarship program at Global Explorers. "It is vital for young people to be prepared for their future in terms of understanding other cultures and having a greater awareness of our world.

"We work to partner with educators in low-income schools in the market we serve. Most of our students have rarely left the neighborhood they come from, let alone their city or state," says Robbins.

The main goal of Learning AFAR, Robbins says, is to help underprivileged but outstanding young people better understand themselves and their place in the world, so ultimately they better understand their role as global citizens.

"If these students are tomorrow's leaders, we believe it is important for them to have a thorough understanding of China's rich cultural heritage and place as a leader in global development," she says. "This expedition is a foray into that understanding."

Since Learning AFAR's inception in September 2009, the AFAR Foundation, with nonprofit partner Global Explorers, has supported 271 students and educators to travel to countries including Cambodia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru.

"Because of the support and sponsorship of Chinatour.com, we were able to launch China as a destination for the first time," Robbins says. "We are so grateful for Chinatour.com's support because without them, we wouldn't be launching this opportunity in China."

As the sponsor of this year's China project, Chinatour.com, a San Francisco-based travel agency that focuses on travel to China, will cover the majority of the expenses.

"This is our first time doing this," says Alex Wang, president of Chinatour.com. "As our business grows, we have been looking for opportunities to take part in cultural exchange projects for many years."

Founded in 2002, Chinatour.com has successfully developed its business to offer tour packages to China. It sent 20,000 clients to China in 2013, making it one of the top China-focused tour operators in the US.

Chinatour.com's relationship with AFAR Foundation started when Wang met Joe Diaz, co-founder of AFAR magazine, at a travel meeting in San Francisco. "I learned then that AFAR did not have any destinations to China," Wang says. "I realized this was the ideal opportunity for us to cooperate."