Questions, asked plainly.

We’re a cross-cultural exchange platform — not a travel agency. We design deep cultural residencies and exploration programs in China for international audiences, with art and culture as the medium and real human encounter as the practice.

Educational institutions, cultural organizations and museums, corporate and diplomatic delegations, artists and creative professionals, and curated private groups. The common thread: a group serious about understanding China, not just visiting it. See who this is for for the longer answer.

A tour company takes you to places. We design encounters with people, materials, and ideas — in real workshops, in real conversations, with hosts we’ve spent years building relationships with. Sightseeing is incidental to the work.

Bespoke, from the first conversation. Tell us who you’re bringing, what they’re hoping to understand, and what your constraints are. We propose a theme, a program structure, and a shortlist of the people they’ll meet. Everything gets refined together until the program is right for the group.

The format sets the length. Cross-Cultural Co-creation Workshops run 3–7 days. Thematic Exploration Initiatives usually span 1–3 weeks. Multi-region residencies extend further when the group can afford the time — the depth we work at tends to reward it.

8 to 25 is the sweet spot. Small enough to fit inside a craftsperson’s studio without the encounter feeling staged; large enough for the conversation among the group itself to stay interesting. We’ve run programs from 4 to 50, but group size meaningfully shapes which encounters we can host.

We anchor in six regions where our networks go deep — Yunnan, Guizhou, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Sichuan, and Fujian. From there our programs routinely reach Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Quanzhou. We add new regions when a working relationship with a host or craftsperson justifies it — not because a place is fashionable. See the regions in full at destinations.

English by default. When the host speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, or a local dialect, we provide bilingual moderation that preserves the texture of the original conversation, not just its summary. Additional language and accessibility arrangements are possible when the group needs them — tell us early so we can build them in properly.

Included: program curation, all host and workshop fees, in-country ground transport between program sites, accommodation when the program is residential, and a dedicated program lead with you throughout. Not included: international flights, visa fees, travel insurance, and personal expenses. We keep the line explicit so budgets stay honest.

Yes — invitation letters and application guidance for groups travelling on cultural or educational visas, plus coordination with your team’s preferred provider if you use one. We don’t operate as a visa service ourselves, but the supporting documents that come from our side, we handle.

Cost depends entirely on the program — its length, location, group size, and the depth of access requested. We work with budgets, not menus. The starting conversation is the right place to discuss this; let us know the range you’re working with and we’ll be straight about what is possible inside it.

Most programs are designed for a single group from one institution, organization, or delegation. We occasionally assemble mixed cohorts — usually shorter workshops around a single craft. Write to us if you’d like to be notified when one is forming.

Email us at hello@artoeast.com with a brief description of your group, what you’re hoping to explore, and a rough timeline. We’ll set up a call to understand what would actually be useful before proposing anything.