Summer vacation is perhaps one of the most anticipated times for students. And there is a growing trend among Chinese children to spend that time creatively. We take a look at a summer camp held by the China National Theatre for Children that is helping kids broaden their artistic horizons.

The first destination for the 3-day summer camp is the Palace Museum. 600 years ago, it was known as the reachless Forbidden City. Now it's one of the five largest museums across the world. During the activities here, children can enjoy and practice traditional Chinese painting, explore different art forms and study China's art history and architecture.

SHAN ZENGHONG, VICE DIRECTOR CHINA NATIONAL THEATRE FOR CHILDREN "We hope by this experience, children can gain happiness, enrich their knowledge and build friendships with other children in the summer camp and learn to care for each other."

Apart from walking through the Palace Museum, the children also get the chance to experience culture. Students were told the history of Baqi - or eight banner system - during the Qing Dynasty, and made their own Baqi dolls. They also learned a traditional technique - rubbing, which is a reproduction of the texture of a surface created by placing a piece of paper over the subject, then rubbing the paper with ink.

STUDENT "It's interesting. I feel happy to join the summer camp. And I can also learn more about traditional Chinese culture."

There are many activities during the 3-day summer camp. Besides visiting the Palace Museum, students can also watch child dramas, and spend a day at a TV station learning to be little hosts.

PARENT "I pay great attention to my child's artistic development. The content in this summer camp is very rich, involving all kinds of activities. So I'm very happy to let my kid participate in this summer camp."

PARENT "This is my child's first time to be in a summer camp. I want to give her a chance to experience this type of activity. I want her to have more cultural experiences during the summer vacation."

Instead of just focusing on school subjects, more parents are now concerned about their child's development in other aspects. And this is why a growing amount of themed camps are offering young students a fun, and sometimes artistic, way to spend their summer vacation.

DING SIYUE BEIJING "There has been a boom in summer camps in recent years, both in scale and in content. Students can choose their subject according to their hobbies from traditional Chinese culture to cutting-edge technology, from seeing a dancing to exploring the nature. Patents hope, by this way, their children can learn more about the society and broaden their horizon."