December 2009

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Art This Winter: Exploring Beijing through Contemporary Exhibitions

December 21, 2009 in On the Road, Travel Tips by Alex G | No comments

While much has already succumbed to Beijing’s infamously cold winter weather, contemporary art in the Northern Capital has been spared – in fact, it is flourishing. A number of intriguing, China-centric contemporary art exhibitions are currently running through December and January, which makes the holiday season a perfect time to experience Beijing through its new art.

Here are a few current exhibitions that are expanding the scope of China’s contemporary art scene:

  1. Li Ming: ‘XX’ – An artist new to Chinese contemporary art, Li Ming’s video installation is characterized by disordered emotions, theatrical moments in real life, and Li’s view on body interaction. The Hunan native created 11 videos are not directly based in reality – in fact, they are rather absurd – but nevertheless reflect sorrow and longing found in everyday life thanks to their uninhibited style. Read a complete review here.
  2. ‘Stolen Treasures from Modern China’ – This exhibit features portraits from over 30 influential Chinese artists of the 1990s by both Chinese and Western photographers. Additionally, ‘Stolen Treasures’ features a visual discussion of China’s artistic development from the past 20 years, as well as documents from the early days of China’s contemporary art.
  3. Wen Fang: ‘Birthday Present’ - Fang’s ‘Birthday Present,’ a collection of installations that explore influential events on China in 2008, critically examines China’s economic development, environmental issues, and explosion onto the global stage. ‘Birthday Present’ seeks to spark the world’s consciousness in order to change for the future. Read the rest of the review here.

Exhibition details:

Li Ming: ‘XX’ – until December 27th, 2009 at Platform China Contemporary Art Institute Space B

‘Stolen Treasures from Modern China’ – until December 31st, 2009 at ShanghArt Beijing

Wen Fang: ‘Birthday Present’ – until January 27th, 2010 at Galerie Paris-Beijing

When WildChina Failed to Deliver

December 21, 2009 in On the Road by Mei | No comments

As I was wrapping up my day before the snow hit DC, an email popped onto my screen:

“I have made a gift of $3000 to the Nature Conservancy’s Yunnan program in honor of Wild China. I am so happy to know about this area of China. A magical place that needs and deserves protection. Kristine”

This is the most significant Christmas present I have received from a WildChina client. Kristine just won my respect and heart for donating the refund I gave her for a less than perfect trip to China.

This was Kristine’s first email to me after her trip:

“We loved the route and the scenery of Yunnan and the support staff (cook and driver) were fantastic. However…. Xiao (one of the guide) was very good about talking with Nico in Mandarin. However the first two days on the trail he was talking on his cell phone constantly which interfered with the serenity of the hiking and hampered chances for me to see birds (which he knew was an important objective for me). At the second campsite we were joined by two other large groups. It turned out that one group was guided by Xiao’s brother, and the other group had trekked with Xiao before and had been outfitted by him for this trip. From that point on, we could not seem to escape from these two large and noisy groups. They began hiking at the same time, stopped for lunch in the same places, camped in the same areas and clearly wanted to chat with Xiao on the trail. The noise and the size of the group significantly detracted from our enjoyment of the trekking and any opportunities to see birds along the way. This did not meet my expectation of a private trek and Xiao was clearly splitting his attention between the groups.”

There was more…

The email simply broke my heart. How, could this ever be possible? Generally, when clients seek me out to send me an email, I am used to reading the ones piling praises on our guides and staff. They make me happy, and remind me again and again why I am in service industry and not in fund management as most of my HBS classmates are. I just love the human contact and love the smiles we bring to clients. Also, negative on this trial? I could never have imagined that. I took my whole wedding party on this hike from the Salween Valley to the Mekong valley and it was the last frontier of China. Xiao was the best local villager I could find. How did this all change? But, I was in no position to defend WildChina but to apologize:

I am terribly sorry that you had such a negative experience, and I am sorry that our guides were not as considerate or professional as you expected. Let me investigate on this further and I’ll get back to you on this specifically. If I may, let me tell you a story about Xiao.

I personally insisted for the team to bring Xiao onto your trip, because I remember the first day when I met him. I went to his village with my backpack (after days of travel on the road, not 10 hours), and simply asked around a group of villagers if any of them would be interested in a job of guiding me through the mountain ranges across to the other side. Nobody except Xiao raised his hand. I don’t think any other traveler went to the village with such a strange request before. At that time, the village didn’t have electricity, and xiao’s house was dark and small. He had a bright and sincere smile, so I hired him on the spot. He guided me through the mountains for 4 days, and was the most attentive helper I could ever find.

Following that journey, I decided that it was such a wonderful experience, I took my own wedding party there, and xiao couldn’t be more attentive, and so were our Tibetan guides and chef. Xiao was so entrepreneurial that he called me up afterwards to see if I would invest in him to build a lodge. He had to make the call from the village pay phone, since he didn’t have one in his house. I appreciated his entrepreneurial spirit, and gave him the money. For me, it was a simple way to give back to the community, and if he could succeed, great, if not, I tried.

To help him develop a sense of customer service quality, I sent two American interns there over the next two years to work with him, helping him develop menus, helping him purchase sheets and mattresses and set up the first computer. Then, he emailed me one day, and said, “hey, I am online! And I have a new cell phone”
A year later, he sent me a message, “hey, check out my blog!”

Earlier this year, when I logged onto Flickr, I found his pictures there!

I haven’t been back for a while, and was simply delighted that someone would take the opportunity and develop a successful business out of it.

Then your feedback came. I could just picture him talking on the cell phone and busy talking to all the other guests. I just never imagined that would ever happen on that trail, and I don’t think our operations team could foresee that either. Imaging hiking crowds on that trail came as such a complete shock. The only reason I could see if October 1st holiday when travelers from Kunming also decided to discover the beautiful wilderness of Yunnan.

The fact this area is now covered with cell phone signal and popular with travelers, I don’t know if I am supposed to be happy about or not. The fact that your experience was negatively impacted upsets me tremendously. Xiao and our Tibetan guides may have become victims of their own success. How to deal with that, how to take it forward from here? I’ll have to pursue the answer.

After confirming the facts with our local guides, I sent Kristine a heartfelt note and a refund check of $3000 (needless to say, WildChina lost money, but that’s not the point):

“Our brand is about excellence, and our mission is to deliver excellence. On your recent trip, we did not deliver. There were forces at play, some we could control, some we could not. But the fact remains we are committed to excellence.”

She donated the check to TNC in honor of WildChina. What a beautiful thing!

What We’re Reading: “A Quiet Revolution: China’s Climate Future”

December 18, 2009 in In the News by Alex G | No comments

As the COP15 United Nations Climate Change Conference winds down today in Copenhagen, many questions have been raised and numerous reflections made on China’s stance regarding climate change and sustainable development. Since China has often been frowned upon for its less-than-stellar environmental record, it is thus interesting to read an article by guest blogger Scott Moore, from the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford, on Green Leap Forward regarding the significant measures China plans to take in order to grow sustainably in the future while reducing damage to the environment. Moore writes,

From increasing the share of renewable energy to promoting a new “low-carbon mentality” among its citizens, China has made a name for itself as the first industrializing country — ever — to make serious efforts to limit the contribution of its economic development to climate change. By some estimates, these measures will reduce China’s emissions by an amount greater than the total reductions achieved by all parties under the Kyoto Protocol.

How does China plan to do so? China’s method necessitates a complete developmental overhaul. As such,

Traditional heavy industry, and the highly-polluting, resource-intensive model of development which sustains it [China], will be replaced by a vision of nimble green enterprises, poised to lead China into the world’s economic future. At Copenhagen, China’s leaders make no secret of this ambition: they speak of building an energy system which is less polluting, more secure, and more efficient, and of an “innovative” development pattern that is higher-quality and lower-emitting.

What does this mean for China? Read about the implications of these plans for China’s development in the rest of the entry.

Changqing Reserve Staff Training Program

December 14, 2009 in In the News, On the Road by Heather.Graham | 1 comment

This week has been a somewhat inspiring one for me from a professional perspective. As I think I have mentioned in a previous blog, China often gets bad international publicity when it comes to their environmental decisions and practices. I am not saying that this publicity is unfounded nor unwarranted, but rather that ‘good news stories’ about China just seem to be lacking in the international arena.

Changqing Staff who attended training

Changqing Staff who attended training

This week, Changqing National Nature Reserve, the reserve that I am working for, held a training program for its field staff and also a small number of its office staff. The focus of the training was ‘Eco-tourism’, and it was supported financially by WWF. The training was one of the priority actions that came out of Changqing’s recent ‘Ecotourism Action Plan’, a plan that focuses upon what Changqing Administrative Bureau hope to achieve in the coming three to five years.

Read the rest of this entry »

Winds of Change and Rays of Light: Exploring China’s Clean Technology Landscape

December 8, 2009 in On the Road by Alex G | 1 comment

Introducing our newest blogger, Abby Poats. Abby Poats is a Research Associate based in Beijing with the Washington DC-based American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) US-China Program (USCP). She also teaches English at China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing through the Princeton in Asia (PiA) fellowship program. Her blog entries contain her personal reflections and do not reflect the views of ACORE USCP.

When juxtaposed, the words “wild” and “China” typically transport imaginations to the breathtaking lakes of Jiuzhaigou or Urumqi before invoking images of industrial development zones or solar manufacturing plants, right?

At the same time that China boasts countless natural, pristine wonders, however, its modern technological phenomena—particularly in the field of renewable energy—seek to play a key role in keeping China (and the rest of the world for that matter) beautiful.

Dan Nan wind farm in Nan’ao, Guangdong Province (photo courtesy of Greenpeace Southeast Asia)

Dan Nan wind farm in Nan’ao, Guangdong Province (photo courtesy of Greenpeace Southeast Asia)

Just yesterday, a China Daily article announced the release of a renewable energy roadmap by China’s leading energy think tank, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Energy Research Institute (ERI). The roadmap calls for one third of China’s total primary energy consumption to come from renewable energy sources by 2050, and highlighted the rapid growth of China’s wind production and solar manufacturing capacities between 2000 and 2008. Today, China is the world’s fourth largest wind power producer (behind the United States, Germany and Spain) and the world’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) battery module producer.

With targets like those proposed in the roadmap as well as China’s new status as the world’s second most desirable country for renewable energy project investment, the forecast for China’s renewable energy industry is mostly sunny with a strong chance of high winds.

With this in mind, my future entries aim to provide readers interested in China’s environment and specifically energy-related initiatives with clear snapshots of provinces and cities in China that are taking leadership roles in China’s clean technology development.  Readers’ minds will (hopefully) get the opportunity to hop from Wuxi to Xi’an and from Ordos City to Baoding and beyond.

It is such a pleasure to join WildChina’s blog contributors and readers. I invite you to check back soon for my next entry, which will focus on the city of Wuxi in Jiangsu Province, home to beautiful Lake Tai and a leader in solar and wind manufacturing and services.

By Abby Poats

Shanghai Shopping Savante: Interview with Francine Martin of East of the Sun

December 7, 2009 in On the Road, WildChina Experts by Alex G | No comments

As an international destination, Shanghai is a shopping mecca for the most savvy of China’s Chinese and western inhabitants alike. While there are a bevy of shops and markets to explore in the southern China metropolis, where does one uncover the city’s most unique antiques, garments and knick-knacks? WildChina consulted Francine Martin, founder of East of the Sun, a personalized shopping service for both visitors to and residents of Shanghai.

Francine Martin is the premium Shanghai shopping guide. (Photo courtesy of www.eastofthesun.com)

Francine Martin is the premium Shanghai shopping guide. (Photo courtesy of www.eastofthesun-asia.com)

WildChina: Tell us about East of the Sun. When did you start your company?

Francine Martin: In 2006.

WC: What services do you offer?

FM: I customize outings to fit each client’s shopping wish list and/or walks to take in unique local neighborhood highlights.  Before the outing I try to get the pulse of each shopper in terms of price range, taste, and pace, and choose the shops accordingly. If a client is looking for something unique, such as the fellow who wanted an electric folding bike with very specific  wheel diameter and gears, I do the necessary research before the outing to see if it’s available in Shanghai.  If a client’s unsure of what to shop for, I’m happy to put together an outing of the best of shopping and rambling that Shanghai has to offer.

WC: What inspired you to found East of the Sun?

FM: I wanted a change of pace after a 25-year career as a financial editor, and decided to put my 30 years in Asia of enjoying taking family and friends to buy the best of what each of the foreign cities I’ve lived in had to offer, and integrating that with exploring unique local color­—and make a business out of it. Shanghai, with its rich architectural history and variety of energetic creative designers, fits my two main criterion of a fun city outing.

Read the rest of this entry »

Henan: The Home of Kung Fu

December 4, 2009 in On the Road, Travel Tips by Heather.Graham | No comments


Entrance to Shaolin Temple tourist site, Henan

Entrance to Shaolin Temple tourist site, Henan

Kung fu is synonymous with China. Not unlike giant pandas, dumplings, Mao, The Great Wall and Qingdao beer … eventually, it will creep into conversation. Perhaps this has become even more the case since 2008, when the DreamWorks animation ‘Kung Fu Panda’ was released (which I confess to seeing at the movies and also watching numerous times on DVD after receiving it as a birthday present!).

With only a few days to travel on my recent holiday break, and having already travelled extensively throughout China, I decided to head northwest into Henan Province, to explore the home of Kung Fu.

Almost immediately after my arrival, I felt that Henan was different from some of its richer coastal neighbours. As I only spent a few short days in Henan I don’t want to make too many assumptions, however living here appeared to be ‘harder’. Signs of this could be seen from my bus and train windows, with heavy industry causing significant air pollution, agriculture (in sometimes difficult conditions) being the main form of employment and a visible poverty. I do want to be quick to point out though, that the people, just like the rest of China, were really lovely and friendly, and the food – just as delicious!

Read the rest of this entry »

Walking in the Footsteps of Dinosaurs in Gansu Province

December 3, 2009 in On the Road by Alexander Maudhuit | 3 comments

Pandas and dragons are the creatures most commonly associated with China, and yet this vast and fascinating country was also once home to yet another legendary creature: dinosaurs. With paleontological digs happening in Zhucheng, Gobi and Liaoning, we often hear about new discoveries of fossils. Only recently, huge dinosaur footprints were found in Gansu and a small T-Rex was found in Inner Mongolia.

On a recent WildChina educational trip to Gansu, high school students from Shanghai were lucky enough to make a discovery of their own. WildChina’s Director of Educational and Non-Profit Travel, David Fundingsland, accompanied students on the trip, and reported seeing fossilized ribs and other bones in the hillside at the dig site. Running educational trips has remained his passion since his start at WildChina in 2007.

While helping to excavate a dig site at Gansu, they were able to get first-hand knowledge of searching for dinosaur fossils. Under the tutelage of renowned paleontologist Hai-Lu You, the students helped remove rocks and stones from the site. With their help, the on-site paleontologists were able to identify ribs and vertebrae from a Sauropod dinosaur from the cretaceous period.


For more information about educational and non-profit trips with WildChina, please email David at david.fundingsland@wildchina.com.

Winter Wonderland: Three things to do in Beijing this December

December 1, 2009 in Travel Tips by Alex G | No comments

Happy December!

Winter has officially set in around the Northern Capital, which means that Beijing’s late-afternoon sunlight is coupled with chilly winds, chuanr (meat skewer) stands now double as outdoor heaters, and hats/mittens/gloves are sold on every street corner. Most importantly though, winter means that there are lots of opportunities to explore Beijing in ways that one might not during other seasons.

Here are three ideas for reveling in Beijing’s splendor this winter:

  1. Go to a flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square at dawn, and then eat a baozi (steamed bun) breakfast. While this ceremony is not particularly eventful, it is refreshing to see Beijing at such a (relatively) quiet and early part of the day, and is something you should do once while you are here for the experience. A hearty serving of a Beijinger’s most beloved breakfast item, the baozi, will keep you warm and toasty long after you defrost from your morning excursion. 
  2. Warm up in an exercise park. Local residents get their daily dose of activity in these public spaces, and you should too. Whether to stave off the cold, get your heart rate up, or just goof around, these spaces provide a respite from the hustle-and-bustle of Beijing life, as well as some incredible people-watching. 
  3. Explore Subway Line 4. The newly-opened subway line has a lot to offer, as it provides direct stops for a number of interesting neighborhoods. Get off at the Beijing Zoo stop to explore the Zoo Market, a wholesale market full of clothes, accessories, and shoes. A jaunt to the Xisi station and the surrounding area affords an afternoon of exploring new restaurants and boutiques. Feeling intellectual? Head north and get off at Peking University’s East Gate stop. 

Want more ideas on what to do in Beijing in winter? Send us a tweet @WildChina, become a fan on Facebook, or send us an email at info@wildchina.com.