We don’t do tours, We create experiences

WHAT WAS YOUR EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND IN YUNNAN?

I grew up attending a local Yunnan school that had 50 kids in each class. Sometimes we didn’t have desks or chairs， just a plank of wood stuck into the wall as a table， and another lower for your chair. I graduated from Yunnan University， where I was one of the most diligent students， but there was still little hope of getting out.

SO HOW DID YOU MAKE THE TRANSITION TO HARVARD?

I was freelancing for Krung Thai Bank. There was a dinner and the bank president wanted to give an impromptu speech to 500 people. None of the official interpreters wanted to translate because there was no official script. I had nothing to lose， so I offered to step in. After I did it， he sat me next to him and started asking about my career， my dreams and if I wanted to work for his bank. I said， no， I really wanted to go to school. Eventually， he offered me a scholarship right there at the dinner. He said， “I’m giving the people of Yunnan a gift and that gift is to let this girl to go Harvard.”

HOW DID YOU FIRST BECOME INTERESTED IN TRAVELING AND ADVENTURING?

After Harvard I took a job with McKinsey， which was great. I learned a ton of really interesting skills and ways to think about business， met a lot of intelligent people. But after a year or so I started to get a little restless， jumping from project to project. I decided I wanted to go on a sabbatical to travel. I went to Scandinavia， South Africa， backpacked along the Silk Road， took a truck from Kashgar， went all the way up to Tibet， Mount Kailash， Nepal. I was on the road for half a year and had the best time of my life.

HOW DID YOU THINK OF THE IDEA FOR WILDCHINA?

McKinsey called me back to lead a study for the Nature Conservancy in Yunnan. There were some tremendous ideas， but there was already this momentum pushing into mass tourism. So I said， I’m really interested in this area; having seen the world， I think we can do something different here. But I felt that with NGOs it’s very hard for your impact to catch up with the pace of economic development. So I chose the full-profit model， and started wildChina. The mission back then， which we still have， was to really help our clients experience China differently.

WHAT MAKES WILDCHINA’S SERVICES UNIQUE AND WHERE DO YOUR CLIENTS COME FROM?

we are not a tour company. I don’t run tours， I create experiences anywhere in China， and our clients are not only foreigners; they’re savvy travelers， Chinese from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Initially， people would look at us and say we were too expensive. But then I realized， it’s OK to be viewed as expensive， because everything in China is so cheap and breakable， and we signify a quality commitment. Many zero-profit tour groups sell tours below cost， so the client pays down the line when they get taken “shopping.”we train the guides， we pay them， we treat them with dignity. we have probably 250 guides around the country， and a network of 30ish experts， who can give you real insight into what you are seeing.

WHY DO YOU THINK SUSTAINABILITY IS IMPORTANT AND CAN YOU GIVE SOME EXAMPLES OF WHAT IT MEANS IN PRACTICE?

I have a very liberal in interpretation of sustainability. I’ve always merged eco-tourism， sustainable tourism， green tourism and socially responsible tourism. I really want you to experience these places in small numbers， so the tourism culture does not overrun the local culture. Imagine the tour bus pulls up to Lijiang Old Town. They get out and flags are waving， people use loudspeakers. That to me is not sustainable because the noise wipes out the experience. Instead， we go three to five people at a time. It’s a much more intimate， respectful way to travel. On the environmental sustainability side – I’ve committed RMB100，000 to one thing –how to dispose of plastic water bottles. It’s a challenge!

WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITE DESTINATION IN CHINA?

I always go back to Yunnan. I don’t go to the famous places anymore. I grew up close to Dali for the first 10 years， and then moved to Kunming， but I want to go back and base myself in Kunming， where my family is， and to have a jeep and drive over the whole province bit by bit. It’s something I’ll do when I’m 60.- daVId green (武劍)