Yingdi The Emerging Camp Industry in China Li nda Gri er Pullia m and Aijun Nie, PhD recreational activities, cultural awareness, and the need for their children to develop greater independence. Youth programs in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand are also drawing interest from Chinese parents. The tragic Asiana 214 aircraft crash in the summer of 2013, in which two children died, may have brought increased scrutiny from the Chinese government. Although the accident was not directly connected with camp operations, because many of the children aboard the flight were headed to a summer program in California, the domestic media portrayed it as a failure of overseas educational programs, which prompted government actions. One province immediately announced a moratorium of travel programs, and a likely response will be stronger licensing requirements (USA Today, 2013). Development of Camps in China Travel to foreign countries for tours or camp experiences is not financially feasible for many middle-class Chinese families, and domestic day camps, resident camps, and new youth programs are being established to meet the demand. The first summer camps in China were academic programs, usually held at schools or universities. An organization called New Oriental pioneered this over ten years ago. After the benefits of outdoor programs were recognized, companies began to run small military-style camps, some with an English instruction component. The interest in developing camps is high, but there are factors that may discourage all but the most determined. Real estate in China is among the most expensive in the world, and government approval is limited to those Chinese with special connections. On the other hand, there is also a growth in the concept of philanthropy, and thriving corporations may become the source of funding for the fledgling industry. Camp Partnership Agencies A number of China-based organizations have been established to recruit and place Chinese campers in North American camps. These organizations also perform a public awareness function as they educate parents about this new concept of Yingdi (camp), particularly when adding an affix of “education” to the phrase Yingdi, to help parents understand the educational value of the camp experience. Marco Reyes, an American with a strong camp background, has lived in China since 2008 and believes that camp will be an important institution in the future. He is one of the founders of Stateside Adventures in Beijing, which represents a variety of traditional camps, sports camps, and weight loss camps, primarily in the northeastern states. He has said that providing assurance of safety practices to parents is of great importance, and he relies on his experience with the standards of the American Camp Association (ACA) as well as recent ACA research. His organization has experienced a 200 percent growth in camp placements in the past year as more families learn of the availability of camps. Ivy Feng, founder of LeShine Cultural Communication Company in Shenzhen, has been on a fast track to acquire as much knowledge as possible about the camp industry in order to develop an independent camp in China. Af ter developing relationships with several camp professionals during the 2013 ACA National Conference, she traveled to several camps to establish partnerships. In the summer of 2013, she accompanied a group of twenty Chinese children for a one-week session at Camp Friendship in Virginia
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