About the Organization

The Schoolhouse at Mutianyu Great Wall is a sustainable tourism enterprise that offers dining, lodging, and meeting solutions in unique settings just an hour from downtown Beijing. We offer challenging internships to international students who can bring talent, hard work, skills, and willingness to learn and share to our cross-cultural team.

The Schoolhouse main building was Mutianyu’s primary school until the schools in our rural Bohai Township were consolidated in the early1990’s. The campus and nearby structures lay abandoned until early 2006 when the partners in our business, Jim Spear & Liang Tang and Julie Upton-Wang & Peiming Wang, took up a challenge from the mayor to give something back to the village where they’d had a weekend home for many years.

We use existing buildings, we hire and train people from our area, we support other village businesses, we source ingredients locally, and we make our food homemade from scratch. Executive Chef Randhir Singh is the spirit behind our a la carte dishes and Saturday evening fine dining menus. His entire kitchen crew in all three of our restaurants (The Schoolhouse Canteen, the Roadhouse, and Xiaolumian) is comprised of villagers, mainly farm housewives who hadn’t previously worked outside of their homes. Sustainability is a lot more than a buzzword here and that’s why we’ve qualified for 4 Green Stars from Eco Hotels of the World and were selected as the HICAP best sustainable communities development in Asia-Pacific for 2009. Of course we are still learning as we go and we welcome comments and suggestions from our guests.

The Schoolhouse operates two unique lodging businesses and we also welcome you to stay with us in the fresh air and with the friendly people of Bohai Township. The Schoolhouse Homes is our unique resort comprised of village homes that have been re-built into luxurious getaways with private gardens & spectacular Great Wall views. Each home was custom-designed for owners who have asked us to manage their special retreats. We were selected as one of the top 5 hotels in China in 2009 by Wild China. We also own and operate the Brickyard Inn & Retreat Center, developed from an old glazed tile factory and designed to be green from the ground up. All of the 16 rooms have story-and-a-half window walls and terraces facing the Great Wall. The lushly landscaped grounds also contain lodge with a fireplace and café, public rooms in the Old Kiln, and a fully-equipped conference center. Read more on The Schoolhouse website.

Job Description

We are looking for interns with the following backgrounds: Chinese language, history and politics; sustainable tourism: ecology & organic farming: marketing, especially social media. Specifically, we are proposing the following four internships but are not limited to these. If an intern would like to propose something, we would be open to discussion.

Sustainable Foods Program Intern

We are looking for an intern to assist our Sustainability Programs Manager oversee and manage our composting, recycling, and gardening programs, as well as our food sourcing practices. On our grounds we have two main gardens, many small garden patches as well as many fruit trees. We incorporate all of our homegrown vegetables and fruits into our restaurant menus, and we compost our organic waste. Our ultimate goal is to grow all of the vegetables for our restaurants on site.

This position requires a proactive individual with gardening experience and a passion for sustainability, and someone with the initiative to take an already functioning program to the next level. Chinese is a must as the position requires working closely with local staff to grow and improve our sustainable foods program. Basic English is necessary. This position will provide an intern with the unique opportunity to enter into a position of responsibility where their efforts can make an immediate and tangible difference.

Business Development and Event Management Intern

We are looking for an intern to help establish and cultivate relationships in sustainable-minded communities, organizations and businesses in and around Beijing - as well as beyond - with the scope of pursuing partnerships and creating events that add value to our business and promote issues of sustainability. The intern would be given space to envision, plan and execute events that fit into our plans to expand and grow the business. This position would be a wonderful introduction to the sustainable tourism industry. We are looking for motivated individuals with a keen interest in strategy and business development, and with the initiative to go out and establish contacts in Beijing.

Sustainable Accounting Intern

We are looking for an intern with an accounting background who can help us measure and monitor the triple bottom line impact our businesses have, taking into account our environmental and societal performance. Aside from measuring our current performance, the intern will be responsible for providing a plan to help us improve our procedures – from our food input practices to our energy practices – as well as reduce our costs, lessen our environmental impact and improve our social performance.

Senior Sales and Customer Relations Intern

We are looking for an intern to help with sales initiatives and customer relations, specifically with regards to tour operators. The intern will be responsible for creating a database of existing tour operators, standardizing communications procedures with these operators, as well as expanding the database by envisioning and implementing a strategy to pursue new relationships with tour operators, both in China and abroad.

# of Positions per term

1 for each job description

Start Dates

Spring, Summer, Fall

Duration of Internship

3-6 months

Academic Background

Chinese language, history and politics; sustainable tourism: ecology & organic farming: marketing, especially social media.

Skills/Experience

Sustainable Foods Program Senior at The Schoolhouse

Required: Gardening experience with initiative to take an already functioning program to the next level.
Preferred: Works well independently and has a strong interest in sustainability and loves to work with all aspects of gardening & fresh produce!

Business Development and Event Management Intern at The Schoolhouse

Required: Excellent organizational and people skills. Some exposure or experience in business development. Customer oriented. Creative with event planning. Able to function on your own, take initiative with some guidance. Preferred: Knowledge of Beijing and some Chinese language speaking skills.

Sustainable Accounting Intern

Required: Accounting knowledge and experience. Excellent organizational skills, policy and procedure oriented. Accounting related computer skills.

Senior Sales and Customer Relations Intern

Required: Some tourism industry experience, preferably with tour operators. Excellent organizational and people skills.
Preferred: Good computer skills. An ability to function on one’s own with some guidance. Out-going and a strong business sense.

Language Ability

English must be fluent to communicate on a daily basis and handle email correspondence. Chinese (Mandarin) not absolutely essential but many interns have recommended having a basic understanding enhances the experience and assists greatly in performing the job. See below for language requirements for the various positions available.

Sustainable Foods Program Senior at The Schoolhouse

Chinese language skill is a must as the position requires working closely with local staff. Basic English is necessary.

Sustainable Accounting Intern

Preferred: Some Chinese language speaking skills as intern will work with our local staff.

Senior Sales and Customer Relations Intern

Preferred: Some Chinese language speaking skills.

Other Requirements

Note: Interns are expected to bring their own laptop computer. All venues at The Schoolhouse have wireless internet.

The following comes from Audrey Gueho of France who interned at the Schoolhouse for 6 months: “Concerning the language skills, I was, at the end of my internship, able to notice real improvements in English but also in Chinese. By helping at The Schoolhouse I deepened my ability of using computers and internet. As a first experience in a small company, I noticed huge differences with the organization where I did my previous internship: the importance of the company vision, the way to deal with my colleagues, the impact of the partners’ and managers’ personalities on the development business, the balance between a commitment in sustainable tourism and the need of making profit, the way to deal with competitors… I also discovered the tourism industry in China and deepened my understanding of what can be the practical implementation of the sustainability principles. ……

Lastly it is obvious that an internship at The Schoolhouse has not only given to me an experience in a small sustainable tourism business: living in a Chinese village at the foot of the Great Wall of China is definitely an integral part of the internship. Even if it’s not directly professional skills, the experience of the Chinese countryside way of life is worthy and the presence of the Great Wall is evocative to whoever you talk and wherever you are."

Total costs vary depending on how long you plan to be abroad, where you will be living, your personal spending habits, and current exchange rates. The following estimates will give you a ballpark figure for this internship. Get help with the math from our handy Cost Calculator.
ALL ESTIMATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

IE₃ Program Fee

The IE₃ program fee is $3450 for the first term for both in-state and out-of-state students and $1000 for each additional term, regardless of credit earned. You do not pay tuition for the term(s) you are abroad. Visit your University's IE₃ page for details, costs for additional terms, and campus administrative fees.

Estimated One-Time Expenses

Expense Type	Price
International Travel	$1300
Visa Fees	$130 (also see additional informaiton tab)
Recommended Immunizations	$400

*See Additional Cost Information below.

Estimated Monthly Expenses

Expense Type	Price/month
Housing	Provided
Food	$150
Local Transportation	$150
Recreation	$200
Personal Expenses	$150

Compensation

The Schoolhouse provedes the following compensation for interns:

A monthly stipend of 1500 RMB (approximately $230).

The Schoolhouse makes arrangements with the landlord and provides a shared dormitory room with no cost for the intern. Estimated value of this is $250/month.

The Schoolhouse also provides 2 meals/day (one is a staff meal and one is an ala carte meal), estimated value of $500/month.

Additioanally, The Schoolhouse provides for one night in Beijing per week, paying for round trip transportation and a hotel room. Estimated value is $240 per month (4 nights).

Additional Expense Information

For interns seeking a 3 month internship, you will need to obtain a multiple entry (L) visa. Given China's visa designation and rules it is likely that you would be required to exit China and return one time during your internship. This is easily done for a couple of days in Hong Kong for approximately $350 RT ticket. Other country destinations are possible but this is likley the most affordable. For interns seeking a 6 month internship it is likely that you would need to renew your visa in China. This service can cost up to $800. Please contact Eric Skaar, Asia Regional Director, for more information.

1.The Schoolhouse homepage has several downloadable documents which you may find very useful in understanding what The Schoolhouse is all about and what we have been doing in the Village of Mutianyu as well as Huairou District.

2.Articles about The Schoolhouse can be seen on our website. Go to our homepage and click on the “News” button or copy and paste this link: http://www.theschoolhouseatmutianyu.com/SchoolhouseNewspage.html.

1. At the top of the Employment Opportunities page on our website, you can get pertinent information related to internships.

2. For in depth reflections by a previous intern at the Schoolhouse, please click on this link. This is a 10 page report.

A summary and advice from this intern is found below:

"My internship at The Schoolhouse has been rich of a lot of kinds of experiences. What made me enjoy my time there were above all my projects, my relationships with my colleagues, the spirit and the vision of The Schoolhouse, and the beauty of the area. I think I have been particularly lucky to have the biking guide project since it let me discover deeply the township and enjoy the landscapes. But I have to confess that six months of village life has been enough for me and I don’t think I would have enjoyed staying longer.

The advice I could give to benefit as much as possible from an internship at The Schoolhouse would be:

1. To learn at least a little Chinese before starting the internship: it could be hard to find enough time or self-motivation to learn Chinese beside work.

2. To plan time to travel before or after your internship if it’s your first trip to China: it could be frustrating to be in China but to only experiment Mutianyu, Huairou or Beijing.

3. To really ask yourself whether you can live in a Chinese countryside village and basically spend all your time with a restrictive group of the same people.

A clearinghouse for information on China can be found here.

Recommended reading would include the following but not limited to as there is so much more:

1. The three books published by The Schoolhouse, can be found click here.
2. The Last Days of Old Beijing” by Michael Meyer
3. The Search for a Vanishing Beijing” by Michael A. Aldrich
4. “Factory Girls” by Leslie T. Chang (wife of well-known author Peter Hessler who has also published many books on China, his most recent is entitled “Country Driving”)
5. “Mao’s Last Dancer” autobiography by Li Cunxin – is now also a movie directed by Academy Award nominated director Bruce Beresford