China's World Heritage


Travel with Susi this week to explore some of China's lesser-known World Heritage sites such as the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan, Jiuzzhaigou Valley and Mount Emei including the Leshan Giant Buddha. Guests Lulu Zhou of The Nature Conservancy China Program and Mei Zhang, founder of WildChina, a travel company, also discuss the challenges and opportunities for sustainable tourism in China.









Guests

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Lulu Zhou
Nature Conservancy China Program


Lulu has a natural curiosity and love for nature since she was a child. Although strictly speaking, she grew up in a populous city in southeast China, she had been traveling throughout the country, oftentimes off the beaten track, whenever her "student budget" allowed. After she obtained her bachelor degree in tourism management in China, she decided to go the United States for advanced study, majoring in conservation social sciences. In 2007, she received her master’s degree in science from University of Idaho with an emphasis on parks and protected area planning and resource recreation management. If the wild northwestern part of the States was a perfect place for outdoor experiences and enjoying nature, it was later in Washington DC at the United Nations Foundation that she truly broadened her horizon through working in the sustainable development arena.

By coincidence and by fate, Lulu came back to Chin in October, 2008, and started working as Ecotourism Fellow with The Nature Conservancy China Program. Exactly one year after she joined the team, she is now responsible for sustainable tourism and environmental education projects in the Three Parallel Rivers World Heritage site in northwestern Yunnan Province. Funded by the United Nations Foundation and supported by UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the ecotourism project is to work closely with the local communities, site management bodies, and the business sector to promote the concept and best practices of responsible tourism in the area. Recently, new match funds have been leveraged from the European Union—China Biodiversity Program to advance this effort. New partners such as the U.S. National Park Service are also engaged in providing international expertise of sustainable tourism planning and management to the Chinese partners.








Mei Zhang, Founder
WildChina


Mei Zhang is Founder of WildChina, a premium sustainable travel company offering distinctive, ecologically sensitive journeys to all corners of China. A native of Yunnan Province in southwest China, Mei was inspired to start her own business in 2000 while serving as a consultant to The Nature Conservancy in China. Applying the knowledge and skills from her consulting years at McKinsey & Company, Mei has transformed WildChina into a successful business with over 30 employees and offices in both Beijing and the United States. Her passion for travel and familiarity with the consulting industry means that she is acutely aware of the needs of the business and educational travel community. Mei was selected as a 2009 A-List Top Travel Agent by Travel + Leisure. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.