I was munching on my chicken salad sandwich when my colleague popped into my office, “ Oh, sorry. Here you go. Conde Nast Traveler Magazine issue you’ve been waiting for!”.

I probably didn’t look my best in my small office in an old house on East West Highway.  At least, the munching image didn’t quite live up to the dream brought alive on the cover of the magazine:

“135 Travel Experts who can change your life (Trust Us!)”

“FANTASTIC GETAWAYS! Living the Dream in Italy, India, Kenya, Eypt….”

I wiped away the crumbs, and turned the magazine to page 120.  Yes, there I was, for the first time, chosen by Conde Nast’s Wendy Perrin as one of the travel experts for China.

“Zhang wants to show you the “authentic China” beyond anything you’ll read about in guidebooks, and—as a Yunnan Province native, Harvard MBA, and former consultant for The Nature Conservancy—her vast Rolodex of in-country experts in nearly every field can make this happen…and get you farther off the beaten path than any other company can. Her cultural connections run deepest in Southwest China—Yunnan, Szechuan, and Guizhou provinces—where you might find yourself having tea with a practicing shaman, catching a private Naxi music concert at the home of the village head, or camping in luxury mobile tents on the Tibetan Plateau ”

This news reached me last week by email. So, the initial excitement has since settled, but never the less, the pride brought by this listing is still ringing.

It was exactly, almost to the date, 10 years ago that I started WildChina. At that time, I was a couple years out of business school, still owning a couple of black suits that I wore to glassy office buildings in Hong Kong, New York and Beijing. Still was quite used to flying business class.

Somehow, Travel changed my life. I took some time off McKinsey to travel around the world. Puff, 4 months was gone without a blink. I was sitting in the cabin of an oil tanker truck (only choice for a hitchhiker), rocking my way up to the Tibetan Plateau from Kashgar. We rocked and rocked, I fell asleep and woke up. Wow, a whole night was gone. The snow-covered landscape replaced the desert where we started. But the milestones said, 125 km!! A whole night, we covered 80 miles in distanced, but close to 15,000 feet in elevation.

My heart started to beat faster, breathing became more labored, the landscape increasingly looking austere and moonish. The Tibetan antelopes galloped in the distance. I started to cry, for no reason. One was just touched by being so close to pristine nature. I knew there were risks, for me, being the solo woman traveler on that route. But I knew I was one of the lucky few, who had the money, the time, and the right passport (Chinese) to travel to these remote corners of Tibet.

Sometimes, I, woke from sleep in that rocking truck, stared out the window, and asked myself, “What if the truck tumbled over the edge? Is there one thing I would regret for not doing?”

The answer came back loud and clear, “Building my own business”.  That was the beginning of WildChina.

Travel, somehow, has had magic powers over me. I met my husband hiking the sacred pilgrimage trail around Mt. Kawagebo in Yunnan, I took my wedding party to hike from Salween River to the Mekong.

Then travel helped to change other people’s lives.  Recently, two clients got married on a WildChina trip. Two clients got engaged on a WildChina trip. We’ve helped families retrace the Burma Road commemorating their father’s journey in WWII.

After all the years of traveling, I think I am starting to understand the magic of travels. Somehow, when one’s on the road, one’s attention is so outwardly focused, that all you notice are people and things around you. After the outward focus, the inward reflection of oneself is much gentler, and not so judgmental of whether my office is in an old house or a shishi building downtown, or whether my munching is embarrassing.

Travel elevates one above the daily routine, and allows one to see the beauty of other people’s daily routine. One of my favorite moment recently was jogging in front of Shangrila’s Songtsam Lodge, while watching the Tibetan farmers shepherding their cattle to the fields. I am sure they didn’t think of their life was poetic and charming, as it was just hard work. But as a traveler watching them, I was loving that moment. That’s the illusion of distance- distance of reality, distance of geography, and distance of time. That’s probably the art of travel.

Anyway, back to my sandwich. I didn’t think my munching a sandwich at desk was any bit poetic, but more embarrassing. But, I know, give it another 10 years, I will reflect back on this moment, as one of the defining moment of launching WildChina in America.

“Absolutely NOT,” is my immediate answer. But, we just did.

A travel agent called WildChina’s US office at 3:30 pm EDT, which makes it exactly 3:30 am in the middle of the night in Beijing, to tell us that her client just notified her that her flight from Guilin to Beijing was delayed from midnight, and now she’d be arriving at 5 am in Beijing.

Could WildChina make sure that someone would pick her up at that early hour?

My colleague and I looked at each other, and answered her firmly, “YES.” That traveler is a WildChina client, and there is no way that we are leaving our travelers stranded at the airport after a full night’s delays to wait another 3 hours before their car ride comes.

Sunshine Shang, Director of Travel Partners and one of the dedicated members of the WildChina team.

But, to make it happen, there was no option but to call our Beijing office colleague. To our happy relief, the staff picked up the phone, and said that she had been monitoring the flights and had already adjusted the pick-up. The clients, she said, were to be picked up at 5 am!

When I heard this, I couldn’t help but feel myself getting emotional from this. How often in the corporate world do you find a staff more dedicated to clients than the staff of WildChina?

If anyone called me at 3:30 am, I’d be really mad! (By the way, this includes my father and my husband.) They know to avoid calling after 10pm my time. But this? A phone call from an overseas office in the middle of the night about a car pick up for somebody you’ve never met? Our Beijing colleague, Maya Ren, took it with such grace and professionalism!

I guess I got emotional particularly because the day before, another WildChina staff found out that there was misunderstanding about the deadline of a VIP travel proposal. It was due on Wednesday US time. She found out at 10 pm Beijing time Wednesday evening – which meant, unless she pulled an all-nighter, that there was no way she’d be able to deliver. I was almost ready to call the client and tell them to wait another day, but she and her teammate told me to wait. They would work on it then, and sleep the next day.

At 2 am Beijing time, 2 pm on Wednesday afternoon in New York, the beautiful proposal arrived in client’s email box! Amy Sun and Sunshine Shang did an incredible job putting it together.

I was rendered speechless by the amazing commitment from the WildChina team in Beijing. Thank you!

Follow Mei (@yunnangirl) and WildChina (@WildChina) on Twitter.

Clean technology, sustainable tourism. They go hand-in-hand in China, right?

Not so, says Hunan province’s Zhang Yue, or “Chairman Zhang” – the founder and chairman of innovative, clean-tech Broad Air Conditioning and accompanying utopian Broad Town in Changsha, the province’s capital.

Zhang Yue ("Chairman Zhang") of Broad Air Conditioning and Broad Town in Changsha, Hunan province. (Photo credit: Forbes.com)

The Chairman, according to a recent New York Times article, “achieved the new Chinese dream of making millions, but then dropped the jet-setting life for a green philosophy that determines company policy” for his air conditioning empire.

While Chairman Zhang is unwaveringly pro-green technology and sustainable living, he does not have the same praise for tourism in China. The author of the article, Manuela Zoninsein, writes,

Despite Broad [Air Conditioning]‘s affiliation with the Expo, [Chairman] Zhang remains vociferous and critical, pointing out the innate hypocrisy of focusing on sustainable urban development while also “inducing people to tour, to attract more people for tourism. … All of the above is quite dangerous,” Zhang warns, before pulling another drag on his cigarette.

Though the thought of hordes of visitors to the Expo may not conjure up images of sustainability etc., Zhang seems to overlook the value of the event as an educational tool. The Expo isn’t “inducing people to tour” so much as to experience the future of our world.

What are they experiencing? Models for better living and technology for a more environmentally-friendly future. The Expo’s primary mission has never been to simply entertain or amass crowds (though these are certainly side-effects). Rather, the event displays a re-conceptualization of life as we know it. It is important for China’s citizens – and people all over the world – to be exposed to this, especially in the context of living ‘green’ and sustainably in highly-populated areas.

There is certainly a cost to this education in the form of human traffic and waste generated during the Expo. But is any education free? The danger here, which Zhang suggests there is, is being unaware of how crucial this is to our survival (urban, suburban, or rural).

In a broader context, we at WildChina must constantly ask the following questions: Are we turning “off-the-beaten-path” destinations into purchasable commodities for people to exploit? Are we, in fact, playing into the hypocrisy that Chairman Zhang so vehemently opposes?

While Chairman Zhang may say yes, we beg to differ. Why? In contrast to the mass tourism agencies that are rampant all over China at present, WildChina cares deeply about cultural and environmental sustainability, and we strive to achieve these in each trip that we operate. The venues, activities, and guides that we choose for our journeys are intended to teach and engage our travelers, to push them beyond their previous notions of what ‘China’ and ‘Chinese’ mean. Accessing the farthest reaches of this country, whether that translates to cities or villages, means that our visitors aren’t numbers in overrun tourist traps, but examiners and thinkers in communities and spaces beyond the public eye.

So, Chairman, I challenge you: how can educating China’s people about the perils of lifestyles unchanged, and travelers of cultures oft-misunderstood be ‘dangerous’? In order to move forward with global ‘green’ goals, we must show people what life could be like with such practices and technology in place. We, as a tour operator, also commit to supporting traditional local communities while promoting cultural understanding by taking travelers all over China. In these ways, people avoid the dangers of being ignorant and unaware about our environment and our world, wherever they may be.

Let’s call this Lesson #1.

What do you think? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Post a comment, or talk to us on Twitter @WildChina.

[Photo credit: Forbes.com]

Details make the difference – especially in the realm of sustainable, luxury off-the-beaten-path travel.

A client once commented, “We don’t mind roughing it during the day, but at night, please get me back to a nice lodge or hotel where I can take a warm shower, have a cup of hot tea, and catch up on some reading by the fire.”

WildChina heeds such requests and zeroes in on delivering the ultimate comfort. We know that travel in China can be demanding and unpredictable. From the big cities to the remotest of villages, WildChina ensures your journey in China is safe, reliable and comfortable.

Recently, on a private journey in Guilin, Guangxi province, our guides and service team proved once again that this commitment enables us to take potentially problematic situations and make them enjoyable and successful for all.

Recently, southern China has been hit by heavy rains, with Guangxi province being no exception. After arriving in Guilin with WildChina clients, the weather in the area took a considerable turn for the worse. As a result, the clients’ outdoor activities, such as going bamboo rafting and watching the Impression Liusanjie performance, would have to be canceled.

Thanks to extensive on- and off-site training, our guides are fully prepared to make alternate plans in the event of special circumstances, such as inclement weather. Wanting to give his clients a “WOW” moment, our guide Stewart thought quickly about unique indoor options. What better idea than to provide them with a tailored biking tour within the indoor grounds of Guilin’s Hotel of Modern Art (HOMA)?

Guilin’s Hotel of Modern Art: the perfect place for indoor exploration during inclement weather. (Copyright (c) Hotel of Modern Art)

The group, especially the children, loved this tour. A perfect choice for families, the hotel is avant garde and peaceful, and provides guests with a new perspective on contemporary art and environment in China. The exquisitely-decorated hotel, with its cutting-edge architecture and interesting story, was a perfect place to explore and play despite the inclement weather.

WildChina guide Stewart saved the day by thinking quickly and creatively about unique rainy day activities.

Of course, this was not the only option for rainy days: Stewart had prepared other options, such as a private landscape painting class and personalize Taichi lesson. Two to three options are always best when providing Plan B, so that clients don’t feel disappointed with an alternative that differs from the original plan.

Not only were the clients pleased with the change – they thought it made the trip perfect. Stewart’s on-the-spot assessment of the situation, flexibility, and logistical expertise made the unexpected itinerary switch smooth and exceptional for all involved. The clients loved their day in HOMA, and truly appreciated Stewart’s suggestion.

This is how we enable our clients to experience China differently. In the face of difficulty or hardship, our local staff and Beijing office adeptly react to changes, survey options, and quickly make decisions, all while making sure that clients are safe and satisfied.

As China’s best luxury tour operator with a focus on customized, off-the-beaten-path tours to China, WildChina specializes in making family trips to China exciting, memorable, and hassle-free for both children and parents.

This morning at the WildChina Beijing office, we read Eva Vasquez’s excellent CNN article on luxury family travel with great interest, as this type of travel to China is increasingly common. Vasquez’s practical advice – from determining appropriate activities for your family and choosing how much to plan, to involving children in decision-making and more – helps traveling families decide how to make the most of our their experience.

Make a visit to Shaolin, Henan fun for the whole family: enjoy an afternoon kungfu demonstration together.

WildChina similarly subscribes to many of the ideas Vasquez writes of in her article. For example, for our Classic China Family Vacation: Beijing, Xi’an, Guilin & Shanghai, we make sure to choose hotels in these metropolitan cities with kid-friendly pools. Pint-sized travelers on our Cultural Family Vacation: Beijing, Henan, Xi’an, Yunnan & Shanghai can delight in hands-on activities to help them learn about traditional Chinese culture.

What are other important points to keep in mind for a luxury family trip specifically to China? Barbara Henderson, WildChina’s Director of Private Journeys, has a few key tips for successful luxury family travel in China:

1. Inquire about “wow” moments just for the kids. Rather than simply including your children on your family trip, ask for child-friendly activities to keep them entertained and engaged. Activities like kite-making, kungfu lessons and calligraphy will make China more accessible and interesting for them.

2. With young children, bring your own carseat and stroller. You can buy these in China, but they might not be up to the safety standards that you are used to. Keep your trip worry-free by bringing the products you trust.

3. Let guides know if your child is a picky eater. Some children are incredibly adventurous when it comes to Chinese (or other) food, whereas some prefer to eat macaroni and cheese exclusively. No one wants a hungry child and upset child if they refuse food at every meal, so be clear to arrange options and alternatives accordingly.

4. Educate your children on China’s culture and history. They’ll get the most out of their China trip if they have some concept of China beforehand. Read up on specific historic sites, monuments, and/or destinations you will visit, so that children can connect stories with the real thing once you arrive.

5. Want a special evening out? Arrange babysitters with your tour operator. See what your guides have to say about hired help for an evening where you are staying. Rather than just hiring someone to watch television, your tour operator might be able to find fun ways to engage your child while you enjoy a special performance or nice dinner out.

Want more tips for travel in China? Email us at info@wildchina.com, or send us a tweet @WildChina.

WildChina’s Beijing office will be closed on Monday, June 14 for China’s national Dragon Boat Festival holiday. The US office will be open as usual.

What is Dragon Boat Festival? Known in Chinese as “端午节” (Duanwu jie), the occurs to race dragon boats – a traditional teak wood boat – as well as drink traditional wine and and eat “粽子” (zongzi) rice dumplings. Many Chinese on the Mainland, as well as in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, engage in day-long boat races to commemorate the occasion.

(courtesy BBC / AP)

For inquiries and assistance, please call our toll-free number, 1-888-902-8808, or email info@wildchina.com.

Happy Dragon Boat Festival to our friends and fellow travelers in China, as well as to those celebrating abroad!

In my next installment of On the Road in Inner Mongolia, I am taking you through my day in Baotou and the surrounding area. As I mentioned in my last On the Road in Inner Mongolia post, Shirley and I awoke in Baotou early Tuesday morning to begin our trip after our trip on an overnight train from Beijing.

After getting off the train, we headed to a local hotel. A hot breakfast was an excellent start today after a long (though comfortable) night on the train. Fed and energetic, we went to learn traditional Mongolian dancing.

At 10 am, we watched eagerly as a group of four Mongolian women gave us and our group a personal demonstration, which entailed dividing us into four smaller groups to practice the moves shown to us. The dance sequence was characterized by slow and methodical but sharp shoulder movements, sways and leans from side to side, and delicate hand gestures. The dancers donned long blue and red dresses with silver accents, as well as elegant traditional Mongolian headpieces. While our level of Mongolian dancing proficiency was far from that of our instructors, we nevertheless enjoyed practicing and performing a small slice of Mongolian tradition.

One of our teachers shows us the proper technique for a traditional Mongolian pose.

Dancing and a homestyle Chinese lunch was proceeded by an afternoon at Kubuqi Desert (库布其沙漠), the third largest in Inner Mongolia, which is situated in the northern part of the province. After a 1.5 hour drive, we arrived at Xiang Sha Wan (响沙湾), one of the few areas of the desert that is accessible to visitors. Taking a cable car across the desert’s canyon that was formerly a river bed (it has since dried up), Shirley and I enjoyed a panoramic view of the (seemingly) endless expanse of sand.

After traversing the river bed, Shirley, our local tour guides Charity and Iris, and I took our group to ride camels. I had never ridden a camel before, and it was certainly an adrenaline rush. While the ride was bumpy at first, I eventually got used to the rhythm of the camel’s stride.

Besides the trail of us riding camels in the sand, the desert exuded an incredible sense of calm. Though we were in a tourist-friendly spot, the perspective atop a camel was one of stillness and isolation. It was a time during the trip that we could access, in some way, a sense of nomadic life in Inner Mongolia.

A full day of activity and exploration left us satisfied but tired. We retired early to bed, in anticipation of the next day’s activities.

Stay tuned for more of my stories from Inner Mongolia on the WildChina blog.

In Navigating China with a Group, Part 1, I discussed how WildChina effectively leads groups of travelers through China. What are best practices for travelers in these groups? Here are pointers from WildChina’s Sherry Dou, Director of Group Journeys, on how to be a great group traveler in China:

If you lose your group in Yunnan's Yubeng Valley, wait for your guide to find you.

1. Be on time: This may seem like obvious advice, but especially in a country where timing can be a bit chaotic, being on time for group activities in China is truly important. If the group is ready to go when it needs to be, timing changes are easier to overcome.

2. Listen closely to guide briefings: Some of your guides‘ information will be exciting details on your next destination; some will be less-than-thrilling logistical nitty gritty. Regardless, be a savvy and safe traveler: your best service to yourself on a group trip will be heeding your guide’s advice.

3. Make your dietary restrictions and allergies known: China has a wide variety of delicious cuisines. Depending on where your group travels, you may have more limited access to the foods you usually eat, and local communities may not be familiar with allergies and dietary restrictions common in your home country. Make these clear to your guide early on, so that separate preparations can be made for you at group meals.

4. If you’re lost, stay put: Did you veer off from your fellow travelers in Yubeng Village on WildChina’s Heart of Shangri-La journey? Stay where you are. Your guides know the areas to which you travel inside and out, whereas you’ve just arrived. Your guide can retrace your steps and reconnect you to the group.

Travel to China can sometimes be a stressful place to travel just by yourself or with a friend/spouse. So, what about with a group of, say, 10-15 people? After recently tour leading in Henan province, here are a few of my hints on how WildChina runs a successful group journey:

1. Keep the trip flexible: When you only have limited time to explore China, it is hard to predict how a large group will move, react to a certain activity, or feel after a long day of travel. Make a trip fulfilling, but not rigid. A journey that evolves with its travelers’ needs is the most successful.

With a group journey to China, explore place's like Guangxi's Longsheng rice terraces for a unique and comfortable experience for all.

2. Take the trip outdoors: China boasts incredible architecture, scenery, hiking, and other attractions and activities outside. With a group of travelers, focus on areas where each person can have a unique – and comfortable – experience.

3. Give people free time: With a group of people traveling together, there will inevitably be differences of opinion when it comes to which places to see, how much time to spend at a given destination, et cetera. To make the most of a group excursion, give people enough time to explore what interests them at certain intervals of the trip. You’ll keep travelers happy and interested when later group activities occur.

Have a Travel Tip question? Want more information? Contact us at info@wildchina.com.n

WildChina is pleased to announce that our founder, Mei Zhang, has recently joined Adventure Travel Trade Associaton (ATTA)’s 15-member Advisory Board.

Mei is proud to join the Adventure Travel Trade Association's Advisory Board this month

In the company of other innovative leaders in the adventure travel industry, Mei looks forward to bringing her passion for travel, as well as commitment to cultural and environmental sustainability, to the Advisory Board.

The ATTA’s complete press release is as follows:

WildChina’s Mei Zhang Joins Adventure Travel Trade Association Advisory Board

(SEATTLE) – APRIL 13, 2010 – Entrepreneur, China native and founder of internationally acclaimed sustainable adventure tour company WildChina, Mei Zhang, today was named to the 15-member Adventure Travel Trade Association Advisory Board.

Zhang, a native of Yunnan province in southwest China, holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and worked for McKinsey & Company before creating Beijing-based Wild China, which offers distinctive, ecologically sensitive journeys in China. While consulting for The Nature Conservancy, Zhang witnessed the push and pull between economic development and conservation of both nature and culture in Yunnan. She strongly believed that there was a for-profit solution to this: providing sophisticated interpretation of Chinese culture and nature, and therefore creating experiential travel that was unheard of in China.

“The ATTA represents big and small businesses alike, and particularly for adventure tour operators, most which are small operations driven by passion, there are not a lot of other venues of associates that address their needs,” said Zhang. “Many of us face similar business challenges, such as understanding product trends and social media and addressing sustainable operations. So, with my involvement in the ATTA, I hope to contribute international and small business perspective to operators worldwide, and also possibly contribute in a way to organize small Chinese adventure travel operators.”

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