History and Founders

Mission Hills Group

Mission Hills Group, owner and operator of Mission Hills in the heart of the Pearl River Delta and the tropical island of Hainan, is the pioneer in China's fledgling hospitality, sports and leisure industry.

Founded in 1992, Mission Hills is recognized as the leading golf and leisure brand in the world and the major driving force behind the promotion, development and instruction of golf in China, as well as the advancement and definition of China's standards for a modern lifestyle. It has been accredited with the "World's Largest Golf Club" by the Guinness World Records. Its three world-class integrated leisure and wellness resort destinations have hosted more than a hundred international tournaments covering golf, tennis, billiards, and cycling; as well as hosted numerous international exchanges involving world-renowned celebrities, trade professionals, politicians, artists and academics.

Mission Hills properties stretch over 40 sq.km. They include 22 championship courses designed by celebrated players and architects from five continents, five-star resorts, award-winning spas and volcanic mineral springs, an international convention center, golf academies and Asia's largest tennis facility. Mission Hills is also the official training headquarters of China's Tennis and Golf Associations.

More recently, in Shenzhen's Longshua New District, adjacent to Mission Hills International School and Mission Hills Resort Shenzhen, Mission Hills Centreville will soon open in 2015, the area's only H.O.P.S.C.A. (hotel, offices, parks, shopping malls, clubs and apartments) development -- a one-stop shopping, entertainment, leisure and business hub that will service five million residents within a 100-kilometer radius. This development will cover over 500,000 square meters and feature more than 200 international brands, including an Olympic size 800-meter ice skating rink (managed by SIYO) and a Brunswick Bowling Center.

Furthermore, in Haikou, in a joint endeavour between the biggest names in Chinese film industry, director Feng Xiaogang partners with Huayi Brothers Media Group, Mission Hills launched a new, ground-breaking, film-themed tourism, commercial and cultural venture – Mission Hills • Huayi Brothers • Feng Xiaogang Movie Themed Town. Other commercial projects in Haikou to come include the Mission Hills • Lan Kwai Fong, covering 240,000 square meters of entertainment, mixed-retail shopping, high-end retail, and ethnic elements; as well as international five-star and design boutique hotels catering to different customer segments.

Today, Mission Hills has become one of the most progressive leisure enterprises, not only in China, but also in the Asia Pacific region. Our team of dedicated professionals from over 20 countries ensures that every one of our concepts and designs sets the benchmark for China's leisure industry.

Mission Hills Group and Education

Having long been an enthusiastic supporter of education, Mission Hills Group has been actively engaged in educational philanthropy and community activities. Mission Hills Group has contributed substantial financial support to various universities in China. For example, recognizing a shortage of professionally trained physical therapists for the Beijing Olympics, Mission Hills Group solely funded a Masters' program co-developed by Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Central China University of Science and Technology. Additionally, the Group has instituted a new discipline of "Asia-Pacific Studies in the 21st Century" and the David Chu Scholarship at the University of Toronto. Other significant endowments to education at home and abroad include funding the establishment of Physical Education & Sports Science School in South China Normal University, substantial donations made to a number of Hope Elementary School projects in China, and the sponsorship for a Public Management Program at the University of Western Ontario, to name just a few. In 2012, in honor of the Founding Chairman of the group, the Group has established a Dr. David Chu Memorial Fund in support of education, sports and disaster relief.

Through this Dr. David Chu Memorial Fund and as representative of our core value of corporate social responsibility, Mission Hills will be establishing a new Chinese Foreign Cooperative University, named Huagong London University (HLU), which encompasses a partnership between two world class universities, South China University of Technology (SCUT) and University of London (UoL) to establish a new high-caliber, practice-oriented, internationalized, degree-granting Chinese-Foreign university in Haikou. It will become known as the leading foreign university operating in China, by not simply transplanting the existing Western universities' model to China, but rather using this blank slate as an unique opportunity to integrate the best of Western and Chinese culture, history, and educational practices to create a new model in global education. In kicking off the first operational phase, London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE), which is a College of University of London, will be the lead college and provide academic direction for a suite of degrees in Economics, Management, Finance and Social Science to be offered. The relevant departments of LSE are responsible for the design and content of these programs and also for all aspects of student assessment, ensuring that the academic standards that prevail are the same as those which apply to the School's internal programs.

In line with the Huagong London University inspiration for Western and Chinese quality education and in recognition of the Mission Hills mission statement that echoes the value of learning, intellectual development and the pursuit of excellence; we intend to further extend our educational outreach by building pre-eminent world-class K-12 schools, Mission Hills International School.

Our Aspiration for MHIS

Mission Hills International School (MHIS) is designed as a bi-lingual, co-educational through-train day school for students from Kindergarten (age 3) to University entrance and a day and boarding school for students from grade 7 and up. Our Phase 1 plan is to open a Pre-School for 3 – 5 year olds in September 2015. The Pre-School will be located in a spacious and well-equipped facility adjacent to the site of the new school building.

In September 2017 we will open Phase 2, the new Lower and Upper Schools with state-of-the-art-facilities. The campus will be purpose built for Mission Hills specifications, located on property currently owned by Mission Hills and immediately adjacent to the resort in Shenzhen and MH Centreville. In addition to spacious student common areas that promote a sense of community, the school will feature two well-resourced libraries, an aquatics center, black-box theater, large multi-purpose assembly halls, gymnasiums, music, art, film and design studios, science laboratories, playing fields, an outdoor track, and dedicated technical space for the study of Design and Communications Technology. The campus is located in a tranquil, serene, and ecological friendly environment. By car, it is only 30 minutes from Shenzhen City Center, 1.5 hours from Hong Kong and 1.5 hours from Guangzhou. A nearby MTR station is due to open in 2018.

It is anticipated that at full capacity Grades 1-12 will enroll 1600 students divided fairly equally between the Lower School and Upper School divisions. Student boarding facilities will be designed and constructed as part of the Phase 2 development.

The Mission of the school and related Vision and Values statements informs our actions and shapes our expectations.