Driven by wild imaginations and a hunger for adventure, countless children have begun the Herculean task of digging a tunnel to China in their backyards, only to abandon the project, unfinished, due to the heat of a sweltering summer day.

Now, instead of digging that tunnel, College of the Canyons is offering students the opportunity to earn credits for Asian history and humanities classes during a 15-day trip to China and the Yangtze River from June 11 to June 25, 2007.

" Some of my best adventures have happened in China," said COC history professor Sherrill Pennington. "I've climbed the Great Wall, stood before a mighty river in Shanghai, and even met a nephew of China's last emperor. Next summer, students will have similar experiences as they encounter the places and people that make China such a fantastic place to visit," said Pennington, "all while augmenting the research they're doing in their coursework."

The trip includes a tour through Beijing, Xian, Shanghai and a cruise on one of the world's longest rivers, the Yangtze. Students will get to visit the Forbidden City, Shanghai Museum, the Great Wall that stretches 2,480 miles, and the Terra Cotta Warriors archeological site considered the "Eighth Wonder of the World."

The classes that will be offered are History 191 (History of Eastern Civilization I) and Theatre of the Mind (Humanities 100).

The trip costs $2,995 per person and includes 33 meals, round-trip airfare, private motor coach transportation, gratuities, and accommodation for 13 nights. Participants need to register for the classes, for either credit or non-credit, and pay all fees required by the college.

Information meetings about the trip will be held in the COC Library, room R-206 at 4 p.m. on Feb. 15 and at 6 p.m. on Feb. 20.

For more information about the trip contact Sherrill Pennington at (661) 362-3717 or Jia-Yi Cheng-Levine at (661) 362-5806. The college's educational travel website is www.canyons.edu/offices/EducationalTravel/.