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 There are sights in Beijing that every tourist must go to: the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace,
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The Schoolhouse Canteen is one of the projects by China
Bound, a sustainable tourism company founded by Jim Spear and Tang Liang. [Photo credit: theschoolhouseatmutianyu.com]
| and of course the Great Wall of China. The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is about a 60 km drive northeast of the city center.
The Mutianyu Village is where Jim Spear and his wife Tang Liang have lived for over 15 years. Together, they run China Bound, a company that invests in sustainable tourism projects in the village. This includes restaurants like The Schoolhouse Canteen and setting up boutique hotels, while working closely with the local community. One of Spear's favorite projects is scouting and renovating old village houses into holiday homes.
A self-taught designer, Spear preserves the integrity of the original structure of the homes, while adding his signature touches like glass walls to let in natural light and the surrounding scenery. Earlier this week, I caught up with Jim Spear and Tang Liang during their brief visit in town to talk about their work in the Mutianyu Village.
www.mutianyugreatwall.net
www.theschoolhouseatmutianyu.com
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