WildChina’s DC office will be closed Monday, May 30 for the Memorial Day holiday. We wish our friends, family and travelers a happy holiday.

WildChina’s Beijing office will be open at this time. For inquiries, please send an email to info@wildchina.com or visit our website.

I just did an interview by email with Chris Horton, Founder / Editor of GoKunming. His questions brought back so many nice memories of Yunnan. Thought I’d share them here:

Chris Horton: Where in Dali did you grow up? What are some of your strongest memories of that time of your life?
Mei Zhang: I grew up in Dali until I was 9. That’s when my family moved to Kunming. My memories of that time that keep coming back are many. We used to go to a hot spring for baths near Xiaguan. There are always camellia blooming, and we’d climb the mountain behind the hot spring to pick big white flowers (Rhododendrons as I learned later). There were so many of those white flowers that we’d cook them for dinner! I remember people in Dali loved flowers, there are wild jasmines and other fragrant flowers for sale in the market all the time. Talking about market, that’s my favorite. Many different ethnic people would also come to the market, the Yis or Bais, wearing beautiful clothes, selling fresh vegetables and eggs. I still come back to Yunnan to search for those moments. (By the way, thank you for asking this question, it brought back so many nice memories.)

Mei Zhang: Yunnan native, WildChina founder, China travel expert, entrepreneur and mother

CH: What was the chain of events that led you from Dali to Harvard?
MZ: If this didn’t happen to me, I wouldn’t have believed events like this would ever happen. So my Dad, who was a worker building the hydropower station in Xiaguan, decided that the best thing he could do for me and my brothers was to give us the best education possible. He moved us to Kunming for better education. When I was testing for high school, he made me apply to the Foreign Languages school affiliated to Yunnan University, hoping that if I couldn’t get into college, at least I’d have some English to be a secretary. I got it, but I cried and cried, believing that he robbed me of the opportunity to become Madam. Currie of China. After that, I got into Yunnan University, studying English and Law. I started taking part time jobs as an interpreter since college to pay for school. Then one day, at an usual official banquet hosted by Yunnan Government for Krung Thai Bank from Thailand, my life changed. The president of the bank decided to give a spontaneous speech. None of the government interpreters were willing to go up to the stage with him, as there was no preparation, no script. They all recommend that I go up onto the stage, as I was the youngest interpreter with nothing to lose. So, I did. After that, the officials from the Bank invited me to sit at their table, and offered me a scholarship I couldn’t resist. The rest is history.

CH: What was the inspiration behind founding Wild China in 2000?
MZ: See here: http://www.wildchina.com/application/assets/img/press/pdfs/World-of-Chinese—See-a-Different-China.pdf

CH: What are the most surprising or amazing places you’ve discovered in China since then?
MZ: There are many, so I’ll just pick a few from memory. I remember seeing the villages near the Yellow Mountains for the first time. I was struck by how beautiful the traditional architecture was, and how much history the places endured, and how sad the current state was – all adults gone to work in the city as migrant workers, with only grandparents and kids left in the village. Guizhou Province also struck me an unbelievable place. It’s also in the Southwest of China, but incredibly poor and lack of development. In a way, it reminds me of the Yunnan I grew up with. Rice terraced fields with ethnic hamlets scattered here and there. Traditional lifestyle that’s so beautiful and the hardship so challenging. That’s the China I knew and loved.

CH: What notable changes have you seen in China’s travel industry since 2000?
MZ: The extraordinary growth of domestic travelers spurred incredible growth in the travel industry. There have been some great advances, for example, I just visited Heshun village near Tengchong in Yunnan. I have to give the development company a lot of credit and respect. I think they did an amazing job keeping the beauty of the place while making it accessible to the general public. The landscaping is beautiful and tastefully done, and the written materials are interesting and well done. There are more and more lodges and hotels that are also tastefully done around the country. These are all great. But, I feel sorry for sites and places that are too quickly run over by tourist crowds. Lijiang old town is a prime example.

CH: How often does Yunnan figure into your clients’ travel plans? What are the most popular destinations?
MZ: Very often. It’s one of our top destinations. Before I traveled the world, I thought I was just biased because I was from Yunnan. Now that I have been to Mt. Everest, South Africa, Italy, Peru, you name it, I know Yunnan IS one of the most extraordinary destinations in the world!

CH: What are your favorite places in Yunnan?
MZ: My favorites are: Cizhong in Diqing, I find the catholic Tibetan cultures fascinating; Shaxi Jianchuan Grottoes, I loved the long history behind the whole Tea and Horse caravan road; Tengchong and Gaoligong Mountain, I love the incredible bio diversity there and the WWII history. I just hiked across Gaoligong from Baoshan to Tengchong last week, and thought it’s one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever had. After the hike, I called Gaoligong Nature Reserve, and told them that I’d sponsor them in publishing a birding book! Look for it, it’s coming out next year.

CH: Wild China has carved out a niche for itself as a provider of sustainable and socially responsible tourism in China for foreigners, do you see these concepts ever becoming important to the domestic tourism market?
MZ: Absolutely, we want to get involved in the domestic tourism market as well, but we have a wait a little bit for the demand to build up more. In the meantime, we are speaking at different forums etc to influence Chinese travelers.

CH: Spending much of your time between Beijing and the US, you’re usually far away from Yunnan… what Yunnan dishes do you miss the most?
MZ: I actually make it to Yunnan a lot! At least twice a year, and spending some solid time in the mountains. Yunnan Rice Noodles (mixian) is probably the one dish I miss most. I am a good cook, so can fabricate most items including suancai (pickled greens) myself, but the noodle is beyond me.

Learn more about Mei Zhang and the WildChina story.

Go to the interview link on GoKunming.

This is the third post by guest blogger Shanti Christensen.

Méixiàn 梅县, Guangdong, China — I am fascinated by the diaspora of any people. Given the ease of mobility, we find ourselves in every country of the world and even on the moon. The family I met today is Chinese, of the Hakka minority group. They migrated from China to Indonesia and descendants dispersed from there; some moved to the United States while some like my host, Wēn Pó (age 82), “returned” to China. Chinese who have lived abroad and return to live in China are called huáqiáo (华侨).

To further illustrate the complexity of the Chinese diaspora, I’ll explain how I met Wēn Pó. My former colleague at eBay, Rose, took interest in the ShowShanti project and told me of an aunt she never met. Her aunt, Wēn Pó, was known within the family for her Hakka home-cooking. I love Hakka cuisine and the relationship between Rose in the states and her great aunt in China, intrigued me.

Upon arriving inside Wēn Pó’s home, she approached me warmly, clutching my arms and welcoming us with a grandmother voice endearing me to her instantly! We were introduced to her son’s schoolmates and wife, who would teach recipes Wēn Pó taught them.

Before the lessons began, Wēn Pó showed me a photograph of herself seated with siblings taken at least 20 years ago. After a bit of discussion challenged by my failure to arrive with Rose’s Chinese name, we figure out which siblings’ daughter I knew.

The recipes taught to me today are Hakka cuisine and the dialect spoken amongst my gracious hosts is Hakka as well.

Ingredients for today's cooking lesson

Fan Shifu begins by introducing me to the ingredients. Flanking me at both sides are Chén Ayi (Wēn Pó’s daughter in-law) and Li Ayi. When Wēn Pó moved to Meizhou, her son grew up with these friends. Her son, Wēn Lǐ, a police officer managing new business licenses, joined us later for lunch.

Kèjiā Niàng Dòufǔ (客家酿豆腐, Hakka-style Stuffed Tofu) is one of my husband’s favorites, so I’m excited over this opportunity to learn how to make it. The process involves a bit of construction. Taking triangular cuts of firm tofu, we slit the hypotenuse and stuff it with a mixture of ground pork, cuttlefish, shallot, and scallion.

The dish could look like this, or better, depending on the amount of oil used.

Tossed with tomatoes then somewhat destroyed in the process, Fan Shifu reasons how this dish looks better in restaurants because they use a lot more oil. More oil means, less tossing and an even, overall-golden crisp.

Kèjiā Niàng Dòufǔ (客家酿豆腐, Hakka's Stuffed Tofu)

Looks set aside, at least the tofu parcels were hàochī (好吃, delicious)!

Slicing the parboiled pork belly for Méicài Kòu Ròu

One pleasure I have acquired from living in China is eating a pork belly cooked until it melts in the mouth, releasing the flavors of accompanying ingredients intertwined with the divine and gratifying savor of pork. Fan Shifu parboils a hunk of pork belly then slices pieces which will return to the wok to crisp and season with soy sauce and salt.

Méicài Kòu Ròu (梅菜扣肉)

Méicài Kòu Ròu (梅菜扣肉) is a dish prepared for special occasions given its multiple steps and perhaps the possibility that this much pork belly should be eaten sparingly. After stir-frying the sliced pork belly in the wok, the slices are placed on a dish with preserved greens between each slice. The slabs are steamed for an hour until the salt-preserved vegetable-fragranced fat seduces and woos taste buds to submission.

The first step to making Suān Tián Cù Liū Yú (酸甜醋溜鱼, Sweet and Sour Fish) takes me back to when I was little and my mom filled the house and her clothes with the aroma of fried fish. Mondays after my piano lessons, my mom would sometimes arrive in the pick-up truck, smelling like the food she was cooking for dinner. Some people like to close all the bedroom doors when cooking, but not me. A house that smells of the food cooking endears me. The aromas fade anyway.

Suān Tián Cù Liū Yú (酸甜醋溜鱼, Sweet and Sour Fish)

So simple! Shredded daikon stir-fried with a little ketchup, sugar, vinegar and ginger then heaped atop the fried fish. I chuckle a little when I see ketchup added to a dish that isn’t fast-food fare. For this dish, Fan Shifu used the ketchup to add color to the dish.

Wēn Lǐ fills our glasses with warm local rice wine

Wēn Lǐ, Wēn Pó’s son, arrives for lunch and warms up a pot of the local Nuòmǐ Jiǔ (糯米酒, Glutinous Rice Wine). Oh, this is too easy to drink!

We retire to the living room for conversation, multiple cups of tea, and pomelo slices. Wēn Lǐ sends us off with two pomelos and two gallons of wine. Usually, after visiting families, I ask myself why I am so lucky to meet such wonderful people and experience the warmth paired with the food I’ve come to discover. After this visit, my heart sinks a little, wishing my colleague whose relatives have never met her, could join me in this full-circle of connections. I’m grateful Rose suggested this visit and I hope today’s gathering is something she can add to her family stories.

Electric blue skies and majestic mountains were a wonderful welcome as I stepped off the plane in Lhasa, Tibet. In early May, as the Manager of Training and Quality Control, I was sent to Lhasa to meet with our local WildChina team to prepare for the 2010 summer season, lead review sessions on our distinctive service standards, and to develop new products and tweak our itineraries to ensure that our WildChina travelers are eating, staying and experiencing the most unique and authentic aspects of Lhasa. WildChina has been working with our local team in Tibet since 2000 and they perfectly understand WildChina – getting off the beaten path and experiencing real Tibetan life and culture.

Nellie works with guides Nyima and Tsering on unique WildChina trips.

I know when I look back in the years to come on my trip to Tibet, I will remember staying at the Yabshir Phunkhang. Per Chungdar’s recommendation, I reviewed and stayed at this recently opened boutique hotel that served as the home of the 11th Dalai Lama’s father in the mid-19th century. Elegant Tibetan accents were thoughtfully applied throughout the hotel to create a stylish retreat to relax and catch your breath (literally!) from the 12,000 ft altitude! The delicious Nepalese curry in their well appointed restaurant was the ideal meal after a long day of travel from Beijing, and the setting would be a special location for a private dinner for a larger party.

While on the road in Tibet, Nellie pauses to take in the scenery.

WildChina is always trying to find locations and activities that no other travel agencies have discovered and on this trip to Lhasa, we definitely scouted some amazing and unique locations. My favorite new find was a Tibetan nunnery roughly a one hour drive from Lhasa. N Shunsel is a nunnery that is rarely visited by non-locals and is a satisfying three hour hike. Walking through the breathtaking valley and getting stunning views of Lhasa in the distance, I knew we had found a special spot that our WildChina clients would greatly enjoy to visit.

While my time in Lhasa was short and busily spent gearing up the guides for the summer season, the colorful prayer flags, the religious atmosphere that pervades every aspect of Tibetan culture, and chilled barley beer will hopefully soon lure me back to Tibet to explore again.

Nellie Connolly is WildChina’s Manager of Guide Training. Learn more about WildChina’s guides.

A few months ago, WildChina embarked on an innovative new undertaking. In our ongoing mission to help travelers Experience China Differently, WildChina, China’s leading cultural and sustainable tour operator, teamed up with Truth Soft Studios, a leading travel technologies firm, to launch a portfolio of travel applications for mobile phones. Today marks an important milestone in this partnership, with the launch of WildChina Touch’s first iPhone guide for the Shanghai World Expo.

What is WildChina Touch? It’s China at your fingertips. WildChina Touch mobile apps will share a unique perspective about China, both historic and modern. They are perfect companions for independent, English-speaking visitors to China’s iconic sights and cities, as they cater to an alternative style of travel.

WildChina is incredibly pleased to work with Joey Shen, Yanming Shen and James Xue of TruthSoft Studios, an innovative technology firm focused on pioneering the future of mobile travel technology. In 2005 Joey and Yanming, both with software and internet backgrounds – at Sun MicroSystems and as a Dalian University of Technology professor, respectively – met up in New York City. During the visit, both of them were shocked by the collections of East-West art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At the same time, they appreciated the convenience of the portable audio guide machines in helping them understand the exhibition. In the next few years, both worked in and personally explored mobile internet as a means to provide a high-tech and interactive self-guided tour experience.

James Xue, who studied graphic design and was invited to redesign the tour system of Beijing’s Forbidden City with a University of Zurich team, later teamed up with the duo to accomplish this. Prior to joining Truth Soft Studios, James served as a senior Yahoo products interface designer in China. With extensive experience improving the user interface of smart phones, he realized that smart phone applications are slowly changing people’s way of life. Making the apps intuitive is essential to the viability of smart phones as an important tool in daily life.

Together, Joey, Yanming and James decided to create TruthSoft Studios together. TruthSoft’s goal is to provide a new mobile platform to revolutionize the site guiding experience. Joey is in charge of developing the iPhone platform, and Yanming is managing the Android platform. James joined as the map development innovator and third founder.

WildChina looks forward to continued collaboration with TruthSoft Studios as this exciting series of mobile phone apps develops.

Many parts of China can get quite hot in the summertime. But, did you know that there are three cities that are notorious for their heat?

Meet China’s “Three Furnaces” (三大火炉): Wuhan (capital of Hubei province), Nanjing (capital of Jiangsu Province), and Chongqing (a provincial municipality previously a part of Sichuan Province). Incredibly hot, humid and uncomfortable in the summertime, these cities are those from which local Chinese are sure to stay away when vacationing in warmer months of the year.

Given the reputation of these and a number of other Chinese cities in June, July and August, where can travelers beat the heat and experience China differently in the summer?

Dunhuang, in China's northwestern Gansu province, is home to the Mogao Grottoes. Gansu is a pleasant summer destination for travelers to China.

WildChina has three solutions for comfortable warm-weather travel:

Inner Mongolia – Hulunbeier: In Inner Mongolia, experience traditional Mongolian wrestling, archery, and horse racing at a Mongolian Naadam Festival (which literally means “games” in Classical Mongolian). Large cultural influence from Mongolia means that travelers can find Naadam festivals all over this northern Chinese region as well. For the Naadam event best suited to families and groups, visit Hulunbeier in July and August. This is a great way to experience the outdoors, traditional sport and game, and moderate summertime weather in China.

Yunnan – Dali, Lijiang & Zhongdian (Shangri-La): Three of Yunnan’s culturally- and historically-rich towns – Dali, Lijiang and Zhongdian – are generally quite pleasant in the summertime and offer a number of diverse sights to explore. There may be precipitation during this rainy season, but lower temperatures and amazing landscapes more than make up for this. Find more information and ideas by looking at our South of the Clouds itinerary. One word of caution: due to the summer rain, hiking in Yunnan’s Tiger Leaping Gorge at this time is dangerous. WildChina strongly advises against doing so.

Gansu – Dunhuang and Xiahe: Home to a portion of the Silk Road, Gansu boasts dry summers whose temperatures peak in the mid-80s (Fahrenheit). Visit Dunhuang, the main traders’ stop in Gansu along the Road, for the Mogao Grottoes; and Xiahe for Labrang Monastery in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Our Marco Polo’s Silk Road: Across the Taklamakan journey has an optional post-trip extension to this area. (We recommend avoiding July and August for the entire trip, since temperatures in the arid desert of Turpan can reach 113°F [45 °C] during the day.)

Want more information on cooler summer destinations in China? Email Alex at alex.grieves@wildchina.com. And, be sure to check out the rest of WildChina’s travel tips.

WildChina’s Alex Grieves recently interviewed Jeff Fuchs, the first westerner to traverse the historic Tea Horse Caravan Route, author of The Ancient Tea Horse Road: Travels with the Last of the Himalayan Muleteers, and WildChina expert. The route, which spans from Nepal, through China’s Yunnan province, and finally into Tibet, has for centuries been mysterious to outsiders, at best, but is usually simply unknown.

Jeff Fuchs: Ancient Tea and Horse Caravan Road explorer, author, WildChina expert, and avid tea drinker

Fuchs explains his collaboration with WildChina on the series of unique, once-in-a-lifetime journeys on the Road; why this route is profoundly important, historically and culturally; and how Himalayan nomads may be the key to understanding climate change.

WildChina Travel: How did you begin your partnership with WildChina? How will you both collaborate?

Jeff Fuchs: I first met Mei [Zhang, founder of WildChina] after a good friend mentioned to Mei at the PURE conference in Morocco and to me (later) that we should meet at the PURE conference in 2009. I had done work with the Spanish Geographical Society, and Mei was close with a Spanish travel company whose founder had long been an admirer of my work. Mei had also heard about me through press on my expedition on the Road, since I was the first Westerner to have traveled the entire route. We bonded over a mutual interested in the Tea Horse Road – we both have passion for this incredible route that’s received little press in the United States, and we wanted to bring its incredible story to light. WildChina doesn’t just want to promote the route, but rather has a deeper purpose to give travelers an intimate look at China – I believe in that. Mei put me in touch with Jia [Liming, WildChina’s Director of Operations and Business Development] to put itineraries together for the Road.

Read the rest of this entry »

Fuding, Fujian Province is known for some of the finest white tea in the world. Intrigued to see how the modern climate of a market economy was affecting this region, I hopped on a bullet train from Hangzhou and shot down to Fuding. Flying through the Chinese country side at several hundred km/hour, I gazed out at the verdant green and orange rock covered mountains as they whirled by; the same mountains that the great Chinese painters Shitao and Bada Shanren painted centuries ago. Riding on the back of one of man’s modern muscle machines, while watching farmers plow their land via water buffalo, I was reminded of the vast disparities separating modern China.

White tea in Fuding, Fujian province

Stepping off the train in Fuding, I found myself surrounded by sun-covered, little tea mountains stretching as far as the eye could see. My host informed me that their tea growing region was located 45 minutes away, up in the high mountains of Bai Lin (白琳), which literally means “white gem,” a suitable name for the home of China’s most glorified white tea (keep in mind that Fuding white tea is white tea in the processing sense).

The next day, winding up through Bai Lin’s misty mountains, I caught my first glimpse of Fuding’s famous Taimushan Mountain (太姆山). When we reached my host’s tea mountain, I stepped out of the car and gazed at the beautiful mountain vista surrounding me.

My first observation in Bailin was the abundance of birds, insects, and lizards, which meant that pesticide use must be absent or less than many tea farms that I’ve seen. My host was certified organic by the Chinese Tea Research Institute (TRI), but his operation also bought fresh tea leaves from farmers in the surrounding area, and one professor from the TRI told me that much of that tea was not organic.

My second observation was that the tea trees in this area were very densely cultivated. I was unable to discern one tree from another and sometimes could not discern between roots! The same monoculture mentality that has taken over the majority of Chinese tea farms has also taken over here. The tops of the tea trees had a thin layer of foliage and their sides were all twigs. The teas, or rather hedges, were planted so densely and harvested so frequently that their foliage had been reduced to a thin layer. This is the result of high-yield production with short-term gain in mind.

Moving along, I came to a field of stumps. I later found out that every seven-to-eight years, most Bailin farmers chop down their trees (known as Dabaihao and Xiaobaihao) because they yield more leaves between years two and seven. Never mind the quality of the leaf that is being sold, quantity seems to be king in China’s modern tea market, even for one of China’s most famous teas (名茶).

A bit disillusioned, I returned to the processing facility to compare teas. There I heard from behind me talk of wild tea trees (野茶). Excited to see tea trees that had sustained themselves for over 100 years, as I was told, I immediately went with one of the interns to find them (the Fujian University of Agriculture had an intern program with this tea processor).

Into the thick brush we went, finding signs of wild hogs and other animals. Indications of a strong, well balanced eco-system are also indications of good, healthy tea.

After an hour of searching we finally found our first signs of wild tea. Standing high and tall we found a bed of wild tea next to its over-cultivated, small, and weak counterpart. It looked like the young dreadlocked hippy standing next to an over-worked businessman. Only the main difference is that this wild, unkempt, self-sustaining tree was much older than this new little monoculture mop.

Trained strictly to follow a set code for evaluating tea, my companion focused on the flaws of the wild tea, pointing out its lower yield and its older bug bitten leaves. Nonetheless, the wild trees were producing very healthy, fresh leaves and there were no insects in sight except for a bee and a grasshopper. With its roots and leaves allowed to grow freely, the self-sustaining tree in its diverse, natural garden looked much healthier and fuller than the one pruned regularly and planted in dense, monoculture rows with no room to grow.

It seems that Beijing is not the only Chinese city whose rapidly-changing aesthetic and identity have visitors and residents alike thinking about its past and present.

Recently, a New York Times article, titled “In Shanghai, Preservation Takes Work,” explored Shanghai’s development in light of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, whose pavilions opened their doors to the public on May 1st.

A modern, European-style building on Shanghai's Wujiang Road (source: New York Times)

The article quotes both Anne Warr and Peter Hibbard, two WildChina experts on architecture and history (respectively). On Shanghai’s disappearing past, Warr notes that there is still an impressive amount of history to be seen, saying, “For a city which has developed as rapidly as Shanghai, the number of historic properties that have managed to survive is a miracle.” Hibbard comments on the remarkable restoration of the city’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, a famous 1800s-era monument built by the Bund.

We were also particularly interested in the section regarding Shanghai’s Jewish neighborhoods, as WildChina is offering a one-day Shanghai Expo Tour, titled “Shanghai’s Jewish History.” For more information, a complete listing of this and other one-day tours can be found on the WildChina website.

WildChina’s Jia Liming, Director of Operations and Business Development, will give a talk on innovative tourism at the Mekong Tourism Forum 2010, held at Siem Reap, Cambodia’s Angkor Century Resort and Spa from May 7 to 8, 2010.

The Mekong Tourism Forum 2010 will be held in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Focusing on WildChina as a case study, Jia’s lecture is part of the panel discussion “Pioneering Mekong Tourism Products,” on which regional experts discuss innovative tourism experiences in Asia.

Jia speaks between 9:15 and 10:45 am on Saturday, May 8, 2010.

More details on Jia’s talk and the event can be found on the Mekong Tourism Forum 2010 website.