Human Connections with Mei Zhang of WildChina
“Human connections are built when we share bowls of noodle soup or cups of tea. That’s what I wanted WildChina to achieve and I am happy to have spent my time trying.”
Back in 2007 we traveled with WildChina to Xinjiang, little did we know the amount of care, customization, knowledge and off the beaten track experience we would embark on with them. Founded in 2000 by Mei Zhang, WildChina has pioneered the inbound luxury travel journey in China in the last two decades. Since then it has grown in its offerings from educational, corporate to now outbound tourism for Chinese tourists to travel abroad. We had the privilege to speak with Mei recently to walk down memory lane with her on her path, how the travel landscape has changed with covid and what is in store for her and WildChina in the coming decade.
Curito:
A girl from Dali, Yunnan who excelled in her studies at Harvard and came back to her motherland to pioneer an off the beaten track luxury travel company, WildChina and as the only Chinese individual coined by Conde Nast Traveler as a travel specialist, Mei, please tell us about yourself!
Mei:
Jenn. It is now becoming a little embarrassing to call myself Yunnan girl as in many of my social media account. Time flies, literally.
These days, Chinese travelers matured very quickly, my way of travel or my way of interpreting China is no longer that unique. This is in fact comforting, to find many millennials opting for more experiences than showy photo ops. I am very impressed by the speed of change in China.
As far as myself making the choice to spend the past 20 years in travel, I think fundamentally it’s because I love what I do. I love the China I grew up in and the Chinese people I met throughout years of traveling, but then when I traveled outside of China, I realize there is so little understanding and access to the China I love. So, I made it my career to be an “interpreter” for people to understand China differently, different from the New York Times or People’s Daily. Human connections are built when we share bowls of noodle soup or cups of tea. That’s what I wanted WildChina to achieve and I am happy to have spent my time trying.
Curito:
Can you tell us about how WildChina came into fruition in 2000 and all the offerings you have built from then till now, were you trying to fill a void in the market?
Mei:
The very first trips I started with was this incredible hike from the Salween River valley to the Mekong River Valley. It’s a four day hike in a Catholic Tibetan area. Aside from stunning scenery, what intrigued me was the fusion culture in that corner of Yunnan Province. That’s where Tibetan Buddhism, Muslim and Catholicism all mingled and cross influenced each other, truly fitting the image of Shangri-La. I find that fascinating. That is far away from people’s stereotypical image of China, but that’s precisely what I wanted to do, expand people’s imagination, not deliver according to imagination.
That’s just an example. From there, we covered Guizhou, Tibet, really far off the beaten path. Over the years, sadly, we found it’s in fact very hard to build awareness for these far-flung areas without government tourism office assistance. So, these areas are still my favorite, but they are not our highest grossing destinations.
The expansion into corporate and education is a natural extension of what we started. My goal was really to influence how people experience China, we could do it one client at a time, or if we could find a meaningful way to do it on a larger scale, why not. That’s where these services came in. We took 700 people into the vast desert of the Gobi Desert off Kashgar; or took over all the tea houses in Hangzhou for a corporate breakout discussions. I loved my team’s creative energy.
The WildChina Explorer Grant is a small initiative that we undertake every year, to help one or two individuals to further their goals to explore. Young people should dream, should travel. I hate to see their dreams dashed, or lights in their eyes dimmed. So, if there’s a little bit we can do, we do it.
“I love the China I grew up in and the Chinese people I met throughout years of traveling, but then when I traveled outside of China, I realize there is so little understanding and access to the China I love.”
Curito:
Describe a WildChina traveler/customer!
Mei:
Intellectually curious, non-judgmental, with a great sense of adventure, always game to try, and grateful.
Curito:
You are the pioneer of bringing off the beaten track, customized, luxury travel experience within China, what were some of the challenges you encountered and what lessons did you learn from it?
Mei:
Everyone in the established industry will tell the innovator it’s impossible, and you just have to believe yourself enough to stick with it. I wanted to run trips for 3-5 people, I wanted to find good guides who wouldn’t take my guests to commissioned shops for kickback. Every travel industry person told me that would make my trip too expensive, and guides won’t make enough money, it wouldn’t work. But I stuck with it and gave my clients exactly what I promised. So gradually it worked.
It’s easier to stick with your principle 100% of the time than 98% of the time. On our NO-Commissioned Shopping policy, there were so many times, the local shops would contact us to pay us some commission, or a new guide would try to take clients shopping. We said no, and meant no. Not deviating from the rule once made people respect our rules. We may have lost a small amount of revenue, but we gained a huge reputation.
Overtime, everyone loses the initial fighter spirit and start to settle for the existing products and existing way of doing business. We are not exempt from this curse 20 years into the business. But it’ll be a crime to let this curse win over WildChina. I am delighted to say that the team is reenergized by covid, and we are doing a lot of soul searching to forge a more creative path forward.
Curito:
You have made such a big impact within the tourism industry in China, looking back what are some of your favorite milestones and experiences you are most proud of?
Mei:
You are too kind, Jenn. I think we are FAR from making an impact to the industry in China. There’s only one thing we are proud of, wherever we go, we hire local guides, and train them to tell their personal stories rather than reciting from guide training manuals.
But I have to tell you, this is still very hard. If one day, we succeed in training a whole new school of guides who enjoy interpreting our heritage, I’ll be very proud. Two things I am stressing here, a/ enjoy, b/interpret. I truly want to see our guides proud of our own cultures and tell them with passion.
I am currently offering an online course at beshan.com (our Chinese brand) on how to tell stories. And I am also writing a book on creating stellar experiences.
Maybe another area I am proud of is that we always pushed for an authentic experience, whether it’s in the rural villages or urban Shanghai, we worked very hard to bring out the true voices of China in our travels.
“There’s only one thing we are proud of, wherever we go, we hire local guides, and train them to tell their personal stories rather than reciting from guide training manuals. ”
Curito:
How has the travel landscape changed in China in the last 20 years and what does the future look like?
Mei:
Very good question. The travel landscape has changed from Made in China to Made for China. What do I mean by that? The classic Beijing/Shanghai/Yangtze River cruise/Guilin product was created for the inbound market.They were cheap, well organized, but honestly, no soul, no nutrition, they were cheap bus tours that I never liked. Without product innovation, inbound travel to China is dwindling.
However, with the rise of Chinese travelers, growing at double digit rates, the travel industry in China is innovating with boutique designer hotels in far flung regions like Ningxia, Qinghai. Unique experiences are also created for Chinese travelers.
In particular, millennials are willing to pay as well. So the industry is pivoting to service Chinese travelers mostly.
This doesn’t mean the death of inbound travel; it just means there’s going to be more need for good travel curators like WildChina.
Curito:
With Covid affecting tourism how has it affected WildChina and what pivots have you guys made to work around the pandemic?
Mei:
We pivoted in many ways:
a/ launching online versions of education and corporate travel. We hosted month-long conferences for companies to visit all corners of China. When there is a gap, we step in to fill it.
b/ launched direct to consumer summer camps for kids. Kids were eager to get out to nature, so we found interesting sites near Beijing and Shanghai and made it happen. Our wilderness survival programs were very popular.
c/ launched our WildChina On-Air conversation series. Although inbound travel is on pause, we continue to bring China to people’s living rooms. These talks range from Chinese art, architecture, history, etc.
d/ preparing for the future, we also brought on board another team, the previous China team of EXO travel. At times like this, there are people exiting, and we see opportunity to consolidate and grow.
Curito:
What do you think the future of travel will look like and how will WildChina be a part of this change?
Mei:
I fundamentally believe what Matthew Upchurch said about travel, we need to “automate the predictable, and humanize the exceptional”. We are working hard to streamline our operations to be more efficient, but maintain the human touch to make the experience exceptional is a must.
“My goal was really to influence how people experience China, we could do it one client at a time, or if we could find a meaningful way to do it on a larger scale, why not. ”
Curito:
Who are some of your mentors over the years?
Mei:
A few people played important roles in my life.
a/Ann McBride, who sadly passed away this year, used to be the President of Common Cause. She was my role model in building a business with human touch and compassion.
b/Karin Finkelston, a dear friend who is the highest ranking female staff of the International Finance Corporation. She is always there for her colleagues and friends, that’s inspirational.
c/ Ken Wilcox. He is the ex-Chairman of Silicon Valley Bank. An extraordinary man who still teaches me often what leadership looks like.
Curito:
What keeps you excited and motivated to continue to wake up every morning to do what you do?
Mei:
Having an impact, small or big. The WildChina conversations and 碧山讲堂 Zoom talks kept many of our followers accompanied and engaged throughout covid. This is a hard time for everybody, but trying to give a little, I actually receive more in return.
Curito:
Where do you see yourself and WildChina grow in the next decade?
Mei:
WildChina will continue down the path to be an innovator in tourism, I have no doubt the new leadership will take the company much further than I ever could. I, myself, am in a reflection mode and inflection point. I want to finish the book on creating experiences, and then who knows, maybe do a PHD in Botany
Mutianyu, Great Wall of China
Curito:
For those who are not familiar with WildChina and the work you have done, how can we follow the many offerings and news or collaborative work with you and WildChina?
Mei:
Best to sign up for our newsletter on our website: www.wildchina.com or follow us on instagram or facebook.
Curito:
I like to ask this to my interviewees this question, please name 3-5 books that have impacted you!
Mei:
The answer varies dependent on what I read recently. At the moment, my list is:
a/ Interpreting our Heritage by Freeman Tilden. He is the first author to systematically lay out the principles of great interpretation. It doesn’t mean from English to Chinese sort of interpretation, but telling the story and significance of an object, a site, a tradition. It’s very much in line with what WildChina’s been practicing, but gives me the theory to train our staff with.
b/ Education by Tara Westover. This is a memoir of a girl who grew up in a very conservative Mormon family, and went on to find a journey forward for herself. It’s incredibly powerful. Her grit and intellectual curiosity are inspiring.
c/ Fifteen flavors by Wang Zengqi , 汪曾祺《十五味》，this is the best book in Chinese written about food and in particular Yunnan food. It’s not a cook book, but his essays on food and memories. For anyone who likes food and reads Chinese, this is s a must read.
Curito:
Thank you, Mei for your time and honest answers! Your journey has been an inspiration for many in the Asian tourism industry, especially representing China both inbound and out! We look forward to reading your book upon completion and wish you all the best on your potential PhD studies in botany!
First published on October 9, 2020
**All images are courtesy of WildChina’s photo collection.
