A contingent from the Quad-Cities heads to China next week on a mission to learn more about the nation, its culture, commerce and the opportunities that exist for local companies to do business there.

A total of 50 business leaders will travel on the Business

Leaders' Tour of China, organized by the Iowa Quad-Cities and Illinois Quad-City chambers. The tour travels Tuesday from San Francisco to Beijing, returning home Nov. 18.

"I think of this trip as more of an introduction to the Chinese culture, an opportunity to have a better understanding of the country itself," said Rick Baker, the Illinois Quad-City chamber's president and chief executive officer.

Baker, who is participating in the tour, said while there is a business tone to the trip - which included meetings with economic development leaders and company tours - "it is not a hardcore business trip."

Jillian McCleary of the Iowa Quad-Cities Chamber, who helped organize the trip, said the attendees represent many Quad-City companies and industries, non-profits and education. The trip will be led by Leo Liu of Citslinc International, a tour operator that conducts trips on behalf of chamber organizations. "Their goal is to bridge the cultural gap between the United States and China," she said.

While in China, the group will meet with representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Bejing, tour the Hangzhou Economic Development Zone and meet with business leaders. The trip also will include sightseeing tours of Tiananmen Square, the Palace Museum, the Summer Palace, Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill and Seventeen-Arch Bridge.

The 10-day tour also includes several side tours and visits to the Great Wall, the Jade Factory, the Ming Tombs, the Suzhou Silk factory and the National Embroidery Institute. In addition to Beijing, the travelers will visit Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai.

McCleary and Baker said they are pleased with the size of the trip, which marks a first of its kind for any chamber in Iowa and Illinois.

"It's important we be engaged as a community in the global economy," Baker said.

McCleary said the chambers already are considering future chamber-led trips to other countries. "As everything is shifting to a more global economy … we need to learn from other cultures," she said, adding that the participants may bring back lessons to apply to their own businesses.