While Western Academy of Beijing's China Studies trips are designed for WAB students to learn through experience, 11 High Schoolers gave back more than they received.

The students traveled Jiashan Primary School as part of the Jiashan-Jingxi Partnership, a project that started in 2008 with the help of the World Bank to rebuild the school after it was devastated by an earthquake. Since the reconstruction and rennovation work was completed, members of the group have changed the focus to make a difference through student collaboration between the schools, professional development, and sharing learning tools and resources. For this year's trip, WAB students hosted an Olympics event in celebration of the 2016 Olympics hosted in Rio this summer.

Students were split into groups, where they designed and painted their team's logo on shirts. It was the first time in the project's history that students in different grade levels worked together in groups, and it was a huge success. They were focused and encouraging each other throughout the activities.

WAB students also added some color to the campus, painting a beautiful mural on the wall commemorating the two schools' years of partnership.

The Jiashan Primary School students are already looking forward to the next WAB visit this spring.