1. Write a brief your faculty can use
Specify the cohort, relevant coursework and three or four questions the trip should investigate. Include participant experience, group size, dates and the expected final output. An MBA group exploring platform economics needs a different agenda from senior executives examining industrial automation. Decide how faculty will connect preparation, field sessions and assessment.
2. Choose cities for their contribution
Shanghai suits a brief combining international business, finance and consumer markets. Hangzhou adds a digital-platform and commerce perspective. Shenzhen adds hardware, prototyping and industrial scaling. Avoid adding a city just because it is famous. Ask what comparison it makes possible and whether that insight justifies the transfer time.
3. Design sessions before collecting company names
Write the question each session should help answer. Then assess potential companies, experts and market observations against that question. Check speaker seniority, session language, group capacity and the opportunity for discussion. A well-known host with little interaction may contribute less than a focused conversation with an experienced operator. Confirm access before communicating visits to participants.
4. Use a realistic sample itinerary
For a Shanghai-focused week, begin with context and academic framing, move into relevant company and expert discussions, and reserve the final portion for synthesis. A Shanghai–Hangzhou route can compare international business and consumer markets with platform economics. Build in transfer time, breaks, preparation and reflection. Sample schedules are starting points; the final program depends on confirmed sessions and dates.
5. Ask for an itemized budget
There is no useful universal per-person price for a custom China study trip. Cost depends on group size, hotel standard, duration, city transfers, interpretation, facilitation and the agreed program scope. Ask the provider to separate program design and delivery from accommodation, transport, meals and other services. Confirm which costs are fixed, which vary by participant, and which are excluded. Compare proposals using the same assumptions.
6. Agree on responsibilities and contingencies
Identify who confirms hosts, coordinates transport, supports faculty and handles participant communication. Check travel-document requirements against official guidance for each nationality and travel date. Agree on accessibility needs, dietary requirements, insurance responsibilities and an escalation contact. These arrangements should be clear before the group departs.
7. Turn observations into learning
Before the trip, have participants state their assumptions. During it, ask them to distinguish observation from interpretation and compare evidence across sessions. Afterward, use a presentation, case discussion or written reflection to identify what is transferable and what depends on China’s particular context. The output should reconnect to the original academic brief.
Send a clear starting brief
When contacting KNOHAO, share your institution, cohort profile, dates, approximate group size, preferred cities and learning objectives. Add a budget range and any fixed requirements. We can then discuss the route, delivery scope and the information needed for a program proposal.