Our next guest is a native of Yunnan Province, and the founder and chief executive of wild China. Wild China is an award winning luxury sustainable travel company that she started nearly 20 years ago. She holds an MBA from a place you've heard of Harvard Business, school, and And he worked as a consultant for another place you've heard of McKinsey and Company until she found her true passion during an arduous pilgrimage on a Tibetan mountain, and that passion is sustainable travel. Wild China has been recognized and rewarded as a top travel and adventure company by National Geographic Travel and Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler. Continuously throughout the last decade and we're thrilled to hear her interpretation of China's beauty. We'll hear from Jong Mei in a moment, but first let's listen to this video which showcases Yunnan from her perspective. Let's have a look. [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] In my childhood, I probably spent all the time outside of the classroom outdoors. Because we lived in these little huts because my parents were power station workers. So we build up these workers huts on the hills by the river. I left Dolly as a 10 year old kid, and then returned as an adult and noticed for the first time, the beauty of the backyard that I grew up in [ MUSIC ] When I was a management consultant, I lead a project for the Nature Conservancy in this area in Unami. And the goal was to look at alternative economic development models for this area. So that was the first time I came back equipped with analytical tools to really look at my hometown objectively. And I realized this richness is comparable to the best destinations in the world yet so few people know about it, so I started the business. Called wild China. [ MUSIC ] Okay, great. Okay, great, thanks. [ APPLAUSE ] [ FOREIGN ] Good morning, my name is Mei Zhang. I stayed and lived in the United States. I'm very glad to be invited back by the provincial government to come back to my hometown, [ UNKNOWN ]. All the credits for organizing the speakers back to [ UNKNOWN ]. We have the same name. And forgive me, the rest of the talk will be conducted in Chinese As a to make it convenient for our hosts. Okay should we roll the first slide? That's me. Take a **** Sasha [ BLANK_AUDIO ] This is myself at the riverbank in Delhi. I was a little girl and my parents are working in the hydropower station and [ INAUDIBLE ] this county is my hometown. I have still a lot of relatives. Leaving here. Yesterday I brought Rick from McKinsey to my hometown. We ate a lot of types of founders and the mushrooms actually five varieties during one single dinner. I was born and raised in Chen Dyung county. But according to my memory when I was a kid this Yunan province is covered by mountains and hills. I can not see any outside world. And at that time I determined I need to Go outside to see the outside world, and when I was 18- years- old, I went to [ UNKNOWN ] University. At that time, I concluded Two characters of a united province that is backward the English and I dislike most are for you Nan province unbelievably is the. Spring seasons, no sharp four seasons. All seasons look like spring. You won't believe me, you would say that it's pleasant weather here. But I don't like, there's no distinctive four seasons. So this is the background and due to this likeness and also backwardness, I wanted that to go outside. And the one type bank provide me scholarship and that then I travelled to United States and studied in Harvard in 1994. Then I stayed in the States and worked as a consultant in McKinsey. And in 1998 I was [ UNKNOWN ] by McKinsey in coming back to, like 20 years ago, coming back to Yunan to study Sustainable development at that time my eyes widen, I was astonished by this breath taking beauty of province. I become very proud and while talking to the entrepreneurs from Around the globe that I said [ UNKNOWN ] province is the most beautiful province is not one of the most beautiful provinces maybe it's my prejudice anyway, due to this strong strength advantages the local government has promoted a lot of tourism industries including the [ FOREIGN ] And the daily to name address a few cities that Louisiana last year alone received a 47 million tourists. You know tourism industry can help the province to eradicate the poverty is unprecedented. initiative I personally is a beneficiary In this regard, when I studied the, sustainability under that project and my cousin assigned me, I noticed that that the whole China for the tourists when they Get on the tours the bus, they would asleep a feel drowsy and get off the bus they would first look for the restroom. So there's no really experiencing part for the tourism. But you know, for the friends surrounding me when they want to travel ,. those are millionaires and entrepreneurs, they want to travel to Ulan they will not participate in this mass tourism. Get on the bus and two buy Jade Jeweleries. So due to this reason I founded a wild China year 2000 targeting high end tourist industry. Our headquarter now is in Beijing, but I want to show you [ BLANK_AUDIO ] How we interpreted you know, One way promote our product. This is our first ever product who know this place from unit. Mr. Long knows this is a big draw not in the Tibetan minority villager on the north end of New Zealand And we walked on foot for 4 days and hiked 4 days to the Tibetan area to the Mekong River. So is a kind of a first time [ UNKNOWN ] camping services. It's not necessarily a set about camps, but to experience those herders livelihood in Shanghai and the Tibet regions although it's a smaller scale, it's a very elite and Harvard Business Review wrote our case as their teaching case. So we became very famous nowadays, you know, You [ INAUDIBLE ] see dry booming development from Tadi to Komi is only two hours bullied train ride but when I was young, was a young girl it took one overnight. And you can see the daily livelihood. And those senior ladies would just dry their chrysanthemum, and dry other crops. Very relaxed, laid- back lifestyle. Although These improvements are very tarnishing. One thing need to be improved that you can see for the tourism industry in union province. They had the wrong philosophy. They always want to build up the most advanced hardware, say hotels, you know, instead of software Part improvement. If you target elite or top level tourists, if they know there's 47 million visitors every year, they would be scared and threatened away. So we need to tap into the soft power of Unite soft wear off you. None of course are from different industry sectors. You can talk about the soft power. Everybody is talking about the beauty of you in that. But how beautiful the union is from which as bags. This is a. Mr. [ UNKNOWN ] opened a small restaurant in Georgia villagers several years ago. I had these quick lunch there, and they have hams. You know, I asked him to connect me with ham producer local ham producer. This producer spent three days with me go to many villages. And at the very end, I asked him to give me the bill I pay because he treated me for all meals. You know, but he was being offended. He said, you look down upon me and, you know, it's on me. So this is why soft power and the feature of Yunnan people, that is hospitality. Yeah little. And then later actually abort another two year. Ham and I just carried this ham, [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Around with me and so wherever I went I just took out a piece of ham to ask the families I visited to cook the ham for me. And so in the kitchen, they actually produced the different dessert recipes. And to cook the ham, and they actually they told a lot of their life stories. And so what they talk about in the kitchen, is very similar to what is talked about in the US kitchens. So when you visited this family, you know that people's hearts are the same. And I also visited a musician, a local singer from the Bai nationality but I couldn't understand The lyrics and but after the lyric was translated into the Mandarin Chinese I was a little bit shocked because it was a little bit quite too sexy. And please listen to this song anyway you won't understand it. [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] So that was my experience and And this is uncle [ UNKNOWN ] and he actually has a kind of organic farm. But actually, he could use every piece of land to grow the vegetables. And so, what we are talking about organic growing is, well exemplified in his farm. So every day, he worked for like in the morning for two hours and then he cooked his lunch. And then he took a nap. Then he was went to the park to play the chess. So if he could win, he could get a bonus of about 100 un Then he'd just came back home. So his lifestyle was very leisurely and very peaceful and quite moving, actually. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] We also met with all sorts of people like this. And who opened the restaurant So who are the immigrants from other cities to daddy? And so we just wrote a story. travels through daddy with the luck with the lack of him and with all these stories in the book, [ INAUDIBLE ] And also we design the route which has been certified as a must visit route by the geography magazine of the US. So one day, I went to visit the leader and the leader, and also Presented in my book as a gift to the reader. By the. The leader read a book and said This is a very backward 39. It's not it's not new. So I was a little bit surprised. What is a modern nun. And. Buildings, and Hong Kong, Macau and Las Vegas have more buildings. Or the cable cars and bent park, and Switzerland have more better cable cars. But the charisma of Yunan is the culture. The culture is showcased by showcased by every single Yunan person. So, they may say, okay, Please come stay and have meal understand after you have a meal. You can go. So this is actually about that about your nuns. And maybe this is a from the perspective of a emigrant. From you know. But I maybe just because of these kind of this distance. I find it's easier for me to find the beauty of these problems. This February, I went to Sidure and so after 20 years ago and this is the Sidure, which has developed after 20 years. [ COUGH ] So I just posted this photo under moments of We Chat, and a good friend of mine also sent me another photo of Sir John, 20 years ago. I remember John Mitchell's The song's lyrics is like this, which is about a taxi. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] They created the heaven. They create a parking lot. And you don't know what you own until you lose it. So I think that we gather here for a sustainability conference. With a common aim, we all hope that our homeland will forever be the [ UNKNOWN ] [ APPLAUSE ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

WildChina Founder: Yunnan Through My Eyes

Environment

Mei Zhang joins Fortune’s 2019 Global Sustainability Forum.
