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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At WildChina, we really value our guides and the incredible work that they do to give our clients unique, bespoke, once-in-a-lifetime experiences all across China.

WildChina’s Alex Grieves recently sat down with our guide Fred to talk about guide training, problem-solving, and why he’s passionate about showing guests a different side of China.

WildChina's guide Fred He, based in Beijing, is known for his colloquial American English, extensive guiding expertise, easygoing personality, and great smile.

WildChina Travel: When did you start guiding with us, Fred?
Fred He: I began guiding with WildChina in 2005. My first group was made up of MBA program students. I still remember being extremely nervous and excited for that tour. Gradually, though, I became relaxed and the trip was a lot of fun. Since then, I still become excited for trips, but don’t get as nervous.

WCT: Since being a WildChina guide, what training have you received?
FH: You start with the basics: how to interact with people according to specific needs and requests, how to handle pressure well, that kind of thing. After initial basic training, we worked on other issues in subsequent trainings: teamwork and uniting to serve clients even in the face of problems.

WCT: What is your favorite aspect about these trainings?
FH: I would say interactive learning, getting to know fellow guides, and topic-specific training sessions. Training is not just a show – what benefits you is what comes after you learn these skills. So, during training, it’s really great that as a group, the guides come up with commonly encountered problems, brainstorm solutions, and discuss our various methods of improving situations. At first, you intentionally exercise these skills on trips and put them into practice, and then eventually, you don’t have to think about it. I’ve also really enjoyed getting to know fellow guides and learning about how we can best work together, given our leading styles.

WCT: Tell me more about “topic-specific training sessions.” What do you mean?
FH: Trainings on Chinese history, art, architecture, and more. My favorites have been on history and culture. WildChina hires experts in their field to conduct these trainings – for example, David Spindler gave us a presentation on stories, myths and rumors relating to the Great Wall. Details like these really help spice up your storytelling and bring magic and enthusiasm to each trip that you lead. Specifically, I remember a tour led at the Forbidden City by an old Chinese man who knew everything about the historical site. Even though I thought I knew a lot about it, 90% of what he told me was new to me. Rather than just telling us official information and facts, he enhanced our training with colorful stories that really bring the Forbidden City to life. These sessions help us hone our knowledge, inform us in the subjects where we don’t know as much, and give us a comprehensive understanding of the lesser-known aspects of China.

WCT: What has been a recent challenge for you when guiding?
FH: Recently, during the Communist Party’s conference at Tiananmen Square, it turned out that Tiananmen Square was not available for tours, but this was not publicized. When I arrived there with my guests and realized the situation, I decided to take a long detour around Tiananmen to the Forbidden City, and spoke to them about the historical sites while we walked. This experience, while not a disaster, made me think that next time I should foresee special circumstances such as this, call in advance and do research to be fully aware of your limitations for a tour.

WCT: Despite the challenges, why do you love guiding?
FH: I thrive on the challenges and the new experiences that come with this job. I love the smiling faces, making people happy through a funny anecdote and an interesting visit, learning more about my country, and being an ambassador for China. For me, money and achievement are not the most important things; rather, it is most rewarding for me to show guests what China has to offer.

Although the Wangs and many other tea growers feel they must resort to using pesticides, there exists a select group of tea cultivators that refuse to use hazardous chemicals—keeping their tea 100% organic. Tea Master Zheng and her family run one of those organic operations; it’s called Zijing Mountain Organic Tea, Ltd.

Andrew Stein and Tea Master Zheng

From the moment that I first stepped into Zheng’s house, I knew that I had come across an unordinary bunch. Buddhist prayers echoed from a corner room, similar to ones that I had heard two years ago in Shangrila. Taking a seat at a large, round table decorated with a variety of food, I realized that there was no meat. Suddenly, a monk named Ding plopped down right next to me. “Nice to meet you!”

Almost everyone who lives and works at Zijing Mountain is Buddhist, and the prayer room on the top floor of Zheng’s house is a testament to their way of life.

One by one, the four story house’s occupants filled the open spaces around the table. The last man who entered the room was much older, clad in turquoise robes, and had a jovial grin. I rose to shake his hand. “Could you please tell me your honorable surname?” I asked.

“Just call him Master,” interrupted Zheng. To this day, I’ve never heard anyone call him anything else.

Every time I meet with Zheng and gang, I sit down to a healthy, vegetarian meal before trekking off to talk with various characters working on their 180 mu, or 30 acre, plot of land.

The high quality, organic tea cultivated at Zijing is a reflection of the holistic lifestyle of its occupants. “We refuse to use those nasty chemical fertilizers,” Zheng tells me. “They ruin the land, ruin our water, and you can taste them in the tea. We rotate organic fertilizers annually on a three year cycle—using a different type each year. We use: cow, sheep, and chicken manure; rapeseed fertilizer; and organic compost.”

“What about pesticides?”

“We don’t use them,” she replies.

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At 1 am Beijing time this past Saturday, I received this email below from my colleague, Sunshine. I am used to his quick email responses to my last detailed request for a flight or a trip proposal at those ungodly hours. This is one of the hardest working individuals in WildChina’s Beijing office, and I often have to prod him to go to bed.

I have never seen him this emotional.

His email reads,

Last evening, we went to visit Yubeng Primary School in the upper Yubeng village, and sat down for a chat with the only teacher there, a Han Chinese girl from Hebei, who settled in Yubeng four years ago, now looks and acts like a local Tibetan, even her temperament.

From Sunshine

Reading his email, I could practically see the flames and smell the wood burning. Yubeng is a magical paradise, hidden in the valley of Mt. Kawagebo in Northwest Yunnan (太子雪山). That’s where I took Ed Norton and Ann McBride of the Nature Conservancy to visit in 1999. On a beautiful October day, on those trails, we discussed the possible name for this business I planned to start. Wild World? No. Wild Asia? No. WildChina? Yes. I wanted to build a WildChina that is dedicated to showcasing the wilder parts of China in a sustainable way.

It’s now been 10 years; I am glad WildChina’s staff still finds magic in that valley. It’s time WildChina does something new to give back to the local villagers. A few books and a library is the least we can do.

Stay tuned on the Wild Library progress, and in the meantime, look at our complete hiking trip to Yubeng Valley.