recommend this program

Coming from a mixed Chinese and American family, I have always been interested in learning about other cultures and languages, so when I found out about Startup China’s Internship in China Program, I jumped at the opportunity. I grew up speaking some Chinese, but having spent my entire life in the U.S. had lost a lot of it. Therefore, I decided to go with the combo Internship & Intensive Chinese where I got to spend a month in intense lessons to brush up before starting my internship. It was crazy taking 4 hours of Chinese a day, but it was exactly what I wanted and I loved it—my Chinese improved so much and I felt a lot more confident about living in Beijing.

The second month, I started my internship placement at a medium sized B2B company. The best part about it was the quality of work I was given. I got to put my design skills to test by designing some graphics for the company’s website. Because the staff was nearly entirely Chinese and because of my multicultural background, I was often asked to give advice about tailoring designs to a western audience. Towards the end of my internship, I even got the chance to work on a project developing new pages for the website.

Every week, we were given a list of events that included both social, cultural, and business events organized by Startup China and other outside things going on in Beijing, so there was never a lack of stuff to do. One of my favorite events was learning how to cook Chinese food (my Chinese grandma was excited to hear about that!) I also went to a few summer music festivals that they recommended, as well as some art exhibitions in 798 Art District. Another great thing about Startup China is that they made me my own business cards (which, by the way, look quite nice) to hand out at networking events!

Overall, I had a great experience and I would definitely recommend Startup China’s programs to anyone. They ensure you’re getting real experience and they give you all the support you need so you don’t have to worry about anything and can just focus on what you’re here for.