A large group of junior middle school students from Karamay went on a study tour in Gansu province.

Students were divided into teams and went on two different itineraries. One group travelled around Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province, and visited Silver Beach Wetland Park, Gansu Museum, Liujiaxia Reservoir, Yellow River Stone Forest and Maiji Mountain.

The second group toured around Dunhuang, a major stop on the ancient Silk Road, as well as Mogao Grottoes, Mingsha Mountain, Crescent Spring, Jiayuguan, Zhangye National Wetland Park and Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park.

During the tour, students learned about history, geography and biology through this vivid experience during which they also had conversations with locals to get more information. Every evening, they summarized what they learnt during the day and shared their opinion.

It was the second study tour that the school had organized. Last year, students went to different prefectures in Xinjiang.

The study tour is a special compulsory course, aimed at letting students learn and experience more about the environment outside their usual surroundings through such travel and adventure.

"We put students in a completely new place. I believe they will learn a lot even unconsciously from the experience," said Wang Xiaolian, the teacher in charge of the study tour.

Currently, two schools in the city of Karamay include the study tour course, in their curriculum, namely, Karamay No 1 Junior Middle School and Karamay No 13 High School.