The Year of the Tiger is rapidly approaching (it begins on February 14). In the Chinese zodiac, the tiger has always been a marker of great change, development, and improvement. Taking this to heart, WildChina has made big goals for the new year, which include initiatives that will enable us to better connect bolster and increase our community service, environmental protection and sustainable development partnerships.

As part of our WildChina Collection initiative, we’ve created a new series on our blog, the WildChina Collection ReviewBlog, which features our reviews of sites, hotels, and restaurants on our blog to keep readers informed of up-to-date information and trends in niche and boutique travel options. 

Our inaugural ReviewBlog post takes us to Shanghai:

WildChina Operations team members Nellie and Rebecca recently visited Shanghai to review client accommodations. Here is their take on two upscale Shanghai hotels, The Peninsula Shanghai and JIA Shanghai.

The Peninsula Shanghai

Location: Located on the main Bund strip. Although there is currently a lot of road work in the area for the World Expo, it will be completed by the end of Chinese New Year.

Service: Excellent; most staff speaks reasonably good English.

Aesthetic: Lobby decor is classic and elegant, and is a throwback to 1920s-era Shanghai.

Accommodations: Offers a wide range of rooms, from Superior Rooms and Deluxe Garden Rooms to a host of luxury suites. Rooms host a bevy of services and amenities, including plush furnishings and beds, electronics, and internet.

Dining: The Peninsula provides a variety of options for guests. Breakfast is a la carte and is served until 11:00am. Restaurants include Yi Long Court (Cantonese with private dining rooms) and Sir Elly’s (Western with private rooms). Room service is also available.

Recreation: The Peninsula boasts a spa, fitness center, indoor swimming pool and outdoor sun terrace.

WildChina says: “Great location with fantastic service and spectacular views. Attention to detail is absolutely impeccable. Easily the best 5-star hotel in Shanghai.” –Nellie

Make reservations here.

JIA Shanghai

Location: Located by the West Nanjing Road subway, JIA Shanghai is surrounded by hip shops and restaurants.

Service: Staff members were friendly and their English was better than average.

Aesthetic: Romantically dark. Walkways leading to elevators and rooms are dimly lit, with the light green wood doors being the only highlight in the walkways to elevators and rooms.

Accommodations: Studios and suites are available, and are beautifully designed in an eclectic modern style. Rooms are outfitted with designer modern furniture, and high-tech amenities.

Dining: Continental Breakfast is served. Issimo Restaurant offers Italian cuisine, while Issimo Bar serves classic cocktails, wine and champagne.

Recreation: JIA houses a small but well-appointed gym on the 2th floor, which  treadmills, bicycles, and weight equipment.

WildChina says: “The ‘it’ choice for boutique accommodation in Shanghai – high-end urban cool provides intimacy for design-oriented travelers. ISSIMO is equal parts hip and delicious, providing tasty fare in a trendy atmosphere.” –Nellie

Make reservations here.

Curious about accommodations, sites, restaurants, or other venues in China? Tweet at us (@WildChina) or send an email to Alex Grieves at alex.grieves@wildchina.com. We’ll try to include your inquiry in our next post.

Photo of Giant Panda taken in Changqing Reserve by one of the infrared cameras

Over the Christmas and New Years period I was blessed to have two of my good friends from back home come to China to visit me, and also see what it was about this country that had me raving. Not surprisingly, as part of the visit, they both wanted to see where I had been living and working for the previous 10 months. I was also keen to share with them a glimpse of rural China, and a chance for them to see the nature reserve. So two days of animal tracking in Changqing National Nature Reserve was included in the itinerary!

We had a fabulous time following one of our most experienced guides here Mr Xiang, a known panda expert – who has eyes like a hawk. As mentioned in one of my previous blogs, while very cold, winter here is also a great time to visit our reserve due to an increased chance to see some animals who have come further down the mountain for the cold weather. Mr Xiang picked up the slightest movements from hundreds of meters away, and through following animal scats, footprints in the snow, sound and movements we ended up seeing numerous animals, including two Internationally Endangered animals: the Golden Takin (Budorcas taxicolor bedfordi) and Golden Monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana qinlingenis) and one Internationally Critically Endangered bird, the Crested Ibis (Nipponia nippon).

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Photo courtesy of Georgetown University McDonough School of Business

WildChina founder Mei Zhang will speak at Georgetown University‘s McDonough School of Business on Tuesday, January 19th and Wednesday, January 20th, 2010.

Her talks, regarding doing business in China, will focus on China’s changing start-up environment and the challenges of entrepreneurship in China – both specifically and relative to the United States. Mei will offer insights on her personal experiences in the Chinese market as well.

Mei is pleased to share her expertise with Georgetown’s business school students about such a creative, competitive and exciting market.

The exact schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, January 19th, 11:50 – 12:05 pm, for full-time students
Wednesday, January 20th, 6:30 – 8:00 pm, for evening students

For more information on booking Mei Zhang for a speaking engagement, please contact Yu Zhang at yu.zhang@wildchina.com.

(Photo courtesy of Chinese National Geographic)

After WildChina founder Mei Zhang met Melvyn Goh of Chinese National Geographic at the C100 Gala Dinner in December, she wanted to know: what is Chinese National Geographic’s new English edition about, and what perspective on China can it bring to foreign readers?

WildChina recently spoke to Melvyn Goh about Chinese National Geographic International (CNGi), why it was launched during a period of economic uncertainty, and what the English-language magazine hopes to bring to foreign readers unfamiliar with China.

WildChina: Can you give us some background on Chinese National Geography, English Edition (CNGi)? When was it first published?

Melvyn Goh: Published by M Media Group and supported by Chinese National Geography (CNG), CNGi is the first Chinese geographic magazine to break borders to reach out to an international audience, showcasing China’s diverse culture, heritage and geography to the world. Successfully launched in May 09, the inaugural issue attracted wide international media interest and generated a PR value of more than US$900,000.

CNGi’s uniqueness lies in the richness of its extensively researched content and spectacular images which are sourced directly from an authoritative Chinese source, CNG. CNGi magazine is distributed worldwide at airports and major bookstores in Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.

WC: CNGi and WildChina are very similar in that both aim to give people unfamiliar with China a sense of the country’s history, culture, et cetera beyond mainstream notions and stereotypes. How does CNGi accomplish this?

MG: We are the local storytellers who bring you the stories from China. Drawing from a wealth of well-researched and reliable information from an authoritative Chinese source CNG, we reach out to our readers through evocative narratives, stunning images, and other forms of communication from a local, more personalized perspective.

CNG is one of China’s most successful magazines with an unbeatable 60-year track record since 1949. Backed by the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR) under the directive of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and the Geographical Society of China, CNG is an authoritative magazine brand written by the Chinese for 60 years, containing gems on China that competitors outside the country may not have access to.

WC: Why launch an English version, CNGi, during an economic crisis? What is important about bringing CNG to the English-speaking public at this time?

MG: Some might question the sanity of launching a magazine now. Reader habits are shifting from print to online, with some print titles abandoning the medium to go print-digital only. But print has faced tough times before, and the right publication can still find a niche and succeed. Just look at Fortune magazine. It’s famous for having launched a mere four months after the 1929 crash.

Also, CNGi is more than just a magazine. It is a magazine brand, going beyond print to online, events, books and social networks. CNGi is the definitive authority on China. And China is the country to watch.

In this current economic crisis, it’s a rare country that can claim a 6 to 8 percent GDP for the next 5 to 10 years. China can. Every respectable global brand in the world has a presence, or plans to have one, in China. It is the “IT” country—a place and people that have demonstrated phenomenal innovation, growth and industry. Yet it’s one that still has that sheen of exoticism that many want to demystify.

That’s why I believe this to be the right time to launch a magazine brand about China’s culture, heritage and geography from a respected source: Chinese National Geography (CNG). While many publications claim their expertise on China, none have ever claimed this—a Chinese brand written by the Chinese for the Chinese for 60 years, and now brought to the world in English.

WC: What, in your opinion, is the key to increasing the English-speaking public’s knowledge of the ‘real’ China?

MG: Content comes first. To achieve this, CNG has an independent editorial office to maintain integrity of content, to stay free from the pressures of the market. However, this does not mean the editors are blind to the outside world—they must remain aware to the needs of their readers. We must not be afraid to cover controversial issues without fear or bias, in order to get people to think about such issues.

Next is relevancy. Our readers must be able to relate to our stories. We tackle real issues that affect China and the world. Moreover, China is indeed a fascinating place for the world to know about, with its varied natural environment and a civilization that spans five thousand years. As China rises as a global power, more and more people will be interested to learn more about China and its culture. So we want our magazine to be an invaluable— and impartial—source of knowledge on issues in China.

WC: What is your vision and what are your goals for CNGi?

MG: CNG English Edition was launched with the mission of “Bringing China to the World” and to foster a greater understanding of China’s rich history and culture amongst readers across the globe.

CNG English Edition is currently distributed to retailers across China and the Asia Pacific region and subscribers worldwide. Through working with licensing partners, we hope to expand retail sales to cover Europe and the US. In addition to the English Edition, we hope to launch local edition in the US, and French and German editions in Europe first before extending to Italian and other Western languages subsequently.

CNGi is more than just a magazine. It is a magazine brand, going beyond print to online, events, books and social networks. Our goal is to leverage the content of the Chinese language version and extend the magazine brand to multi-media platforms such as programming such as TV and films, customized book licensing, merchandising, mapping, merchandising and digital content distribution such as e-magazines and other mobile applications.

Beginning this March, I’m planning to take you on a journey through some of China’s most remote and ancient tea localities. With aid from a Fulbright Research Grant, I will travel across China, exploring a wide-range of tea growing regions in provinces such as Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Fujian, and Yunnan.

Rice paddies along Guangxi's Yulong River (Photo courtesy www.projectreleaf.com)

My interest in China began during my freshman year at Kenyon College, where I began studying classical Chinese. Since then, I’ve studied Mandarin quite intensely, attending several Middlebury College immersion programs both in the US and in China. Throughout the summer of 2008, I was also fortunate enough to conduct environmental research in China’s Yunnan, Shanxi, and Sichuan provinces.

Fresh Longjing Tea (Photo courtesy www.projectreleaf.com)

At the crux of my research is a longing to better make sense of the the balance between China’s massive economic growth and its rapid environmental deterioration; I will analyze these effects of China’s swift modernization through the lens of China’s ancient-rooted tea industry. Fortunately, I will be guided by the advice of Mr. Xiaoning Wang, Secretary General of the World Tea Union. He will help me investigate how China’s market economy reforms have improved the Chinese tea industry and in what ways they have been detrimental. Extremely concerned by the environmental impact of China’s astonishing growth, I will pay particularly close attention to how pesticides, chemical fertilizers, severe pollution, and an emphasis on high-yield production are currently affecting the cultivation of camellia sinensis (the tea plant) in China today.

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WildChina is pleased to announce that as part of the D.C.-based Smithsonian Resident Associate Program, Mei Zhang will lead the “Chinese Treasures in Washington” tour on Friday, February 26, 2010.

The tour covers a range of activities and topics, from observations of the famed Terracotta Warriors at the National Geographic Museum to modern reflections on China’s rapid development and change.

15 of the Terracotta Warriors grace DC until late March. (Photo courtesy of residentassociates.org)

The Smithsonian Resident Associate Program elaborates,

We begin with insights into modern China—from its towering skyscrapers and busy factories to smart-phonetoting youth—provided by our guide, Mei Zhang. Next are a guided tour of the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery permanent collection of Chinese art—which includes jade objects from 5,000 years ago, early Buddhist sculpture, and paintings from the 10th century— and a hands-on session designed to give us a taste of Chinese calligraphy. Then we discuss the many flavors of Chinese cuisine over a lunch served at Asia Nine. We proceed to the Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor exhibit at the National Geographic Museum and close the day with an insider visit to the Chinese Embassy, designed by the architectural firm headed by I.M. Pei’s sons.

Mei is extremely pleased to share her expertise on China with her DC neighbors in conjunction with such a prestigious institution.

While the tour is fully booked, visitors may observe the Terracotta Warriors at the National Graphic Museum until March 31, 2010. For more information, visit the exhibit homepage.

More information on the “Chinese Treasures in Washington” tour can be found on the tour homepage.

When you are the founder of a China-based adventure travel company, the weather is cold and you want to entertain, what do you do? Host a holiday dumpling making party, of course!

Guests eagerly prepare their dumpling dinner at Mei Zhang's home

On December 4, 2009, WildChina founder Mei Zhang hosted a number of former WildChina clients, Washington DC-based travel agents and tour operators, university professors, friends and neighbors at her home for an evening of dumpling creation, photo and story sharing, and merriment.

Guests observe a demonstration by Mei

After Mei showed her 30 guests – including those from Portfolio Travel, Cruise Vacation International, and Georgetown University – how to craft didao (authentic) dumplings, everyone sat down to enjoy their creations. Afterwards, guests watched a photo presentation by Mr. and Mrs. Tischler, who went on the Chinese Treasures journey this past fall. Their pictures and stories were enjoyed by all.

Of course, guests didn’t leave without a surprise. Everyone received a dumpling recipe and a bottle of Chinese vinegar as party favors.

Happy holidays from WildChina!

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-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.

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For those of us who’ve spent years studying China, Orville Schell is a very familiar name. His books, like The China Reader: The Reform Era, are widely read by students and policymakers alike, and his talks on behalf of the Asia Society’s China Green project are attended by many with an interest in China’s environmental issues.

So we were all thrilled when Orville, who has been to China countless times, not only chose to travel with WildChina to study the effect of climate change on glaciers, but also provided us with rave reviews about his trip to Lijiang and Shangri-La.

Here, in his own words, Orville explains what he sees as the WildChina difference:

“Why choose WildChina? Well, I think WildChina is quite skilled at sculpting trips for people who have specific interests. So, if in fact you’re a bird watcher, a glacier watcher, a river watcher, a minorities watcher – whatever your poison is, they seem to have the ability to highlight that.

I haven’t done many trips like this – but to go to a place like Yunnan and in a week to see a lot, you really do need someone to organize it. You need drivers who know what they’re doing, and cars and land rovers that can go on very rough roads and over landslides.

You want to be with people who you trust, not some crazy cab driver you’ve never met. So it was reassuring to have good drivers, good guides, and to be able to stop in at local people’s houses that these guides knew…and we had a Tibetan guide and a Chinese guide – both very familiar with the area and extremely fun to be around and very much a part of our group – not bored people who couldn’t wait to get off the bus and get everybody back on the plane…and that, I think, made the trip incomparably more meaningful and interesting for us.

I’m not a big tour joiner, frankly, and that would probably be a good reason to have WildChina organize your trips so that it wouldn’t be like a tour. It would be more things you wanted to do, not you fitting into their tour—but them making the tour fit your needs.”

Many thanks to Orville for these kind words! Be sure to view the video on our home page for stunning footage captured during Orville’s trip to Yunnan.

There’s a breathtaking video on the Asia Society’s website right now that documents the effects that the melting of Himalayan glaciers will have on the 2 billion people who live in Asia. The video talks about glaciers as “the canary in the coal mine” for climate change, and urges China and the US (the two biggest contributors to global warming) to take decisive action.

One of the directors of the Asia Society, Orville Schell (featured in the video) traveled with WildChina this past spring to research glaciers in Yunnan. It was an amazing trip, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the participants to learn about climate change in Yunnan first-hand. There’s also a video of this trip featuring Orville Schell on our homepage now, which you can see here.