From June 2 to 7, first- and second-year students of the College of Information and Creative Technologies at VVSU completed a study internship in the Chinese city of Hunchun. The program, organized jointly by travel operators "VVSU Travel" and the Chinese company "Yutong," was dedicated to immersion in the tourism and hospitality business.
Students studying "Hospitality," "Restaurant Business," and "Travel Agency Services" had the opportunity to explore China's tourism system from the inside. The internship began with a meeting with representatives of Yutong, who gave them a tour of their infrastructure and spoke about logistics and the benefits of Russian-Chinese cooperation.
An important part of the program was communication with future colleagues—students from Yanbian University in Hunchun. During their visit to the university, the interns were given not only a campus tour but also an interactive session: Chinese students studying Russian taught the guests basic phrases, which helped break down language barriers and provided valuable experience in cross-cultural communication.
To study the specifics of the hotel business, the group visited several hotels in the city, including Zihao Hotel and CHEERMAY Hotel. This allowed the students to compare service standards and room management features in Russia and China. In addition to professional matters, the program included a deep dive into the culture of the region; participants attended a tea ceremony, visited historical monuments in Hunchun and neighboring Tumen, as well as a Korean village and a Buddhist temple in Yanji. A trip to the Longhuge pavilion at the junction of three borders became the culmination of the journey, allowing them to see the confluence of rivers and seas of three states.
During the excursions, students did not just observe but analyzed the methodology for creating tourist programs. The internship culminated in a competition where participants had to develop their own route, combining the knowledge they gained into a single project. As student Ksenia Doroshenko noted, the trip was very useful, especially for those planning to work with the Chinese direction, as it allowed them to understand the differences in the local hotel rating system and other nuances.
The six days in Hunchun became a full-fledged practical training course for the students, after which they returned with an understanding that a profession in the hospitality industry requires flexibility, attention to detail, and the ability to see the system as a whole.