The New Luxury | Mei Zhang’s Vision for Transformative Travel

This summer, the WildChina leisure team gathered in Beijing for an enriching week together, reuniting from Chengdu, Shanghai, and Beijing to celebrate our dedication to transformative travel and to strengthen our team bonds. 

Throughout the week, we engaged in cross-team meetings and professional development workshops designed to sharpen our skills and unify our objectives. These sessions were more than just routine discussions; they were moments of connection and learning. A standout moment of the week was a session led by our founder, Mei Zhang, where she shared her vision for the future of luxury travel and WildChina’s evolving role within this dynamic industry. Her insights were not only inspiring but also deeply resonant, reinforcing our commitment to our core values. 

WildChina founder, Mei Zhang

Mei’s talk distilled her vision into three key areas: visitor engagement, redefining luxury, and sustainable travel. These pillars are not just guiding principles for WildChina but also represent a broader shift in how the world views luxury travel. Here is a concise look at the three key takeaways from Mei’s talk. 

Visitor Engagement 

Mei began by highlighting the importance of moving away from treating clients as passive observers in luxury travel. Instead, she advocated for immersive experiences where travelers actively participate in local traditions and connect meaningfully with communities. For example, rather than simply visiting a rural Chinese village, travelers should instead join a local family for a traditional meal, learning to prepare dishes using ingredients sourced from the village itself. Mei believes that by fully embracing and engaging in local culture, guests gain a richer, more fulfilling experience that creates lasting, impactful memories. 

Preparing a stir fry with local ingredients in Dali, Yunnan

Redefining Luxury

The second key takeaway was Mei’s redefinition of luxury itself. She posed the question: what does luxury mean to us? Traditionally, luxury travel has focused on opulence, lavish accommodations, gourmet dining, and extravagant services. However, Mei’s vision challenges this notion, suggesting that true luxury is about access to genuine, life-enhancing experiences and opportunities to connect with people. For WildChina, this means offering personalized trips that transcend the ordinary, providing travelers with intimate insights into local life. Whether it’s an expert-guided tour of a lesser-known landmark or an opportunity to interact with local artisans, these experiences offer guests something far more valuable and long-lasting than material luxury. 

Mei meeting the Mosuo people, photo by Zhang Laocong

Sustainable Travel 

The final takeaway centered on the responsibility of luxury travel to give back to the destinations that make these journeys extraordinary. Mei emphasized the importance of sustainable practices that positively impact the communities and environments that travelers visit. She advocated for initiatives like supporting local economies by choosing accommodations and services provided by locals, participating in conservation efforts, and fostering cultural exchanges that benefit both travelers and host communities.

Su House boutique hotel in Chengkan, Anhui

Mei also suggested encouraging the use of eco-friendly transportation methods, such as bicycles, trains, and subways, which reduce environmental impact and provide travelers with a closer connection to their destinations a better sense of their surroundings. 

She called on luxury travel companies to lead by example in integrating sustainability into their offerings, ensuring that the distinctive environments and cultures that define these experiences are preserved and celebrated for the future. Mei conveyed WildChina’s position that sustainable travel is not merely a trend but an essential evolution in the industry, and WildChina is fully committed to it. 

Mei exploring the mountains of Yunnan

Mei’s vision aligns with a growing movement in the travel industry, where travelers are increasingly prioritizing authentic experiences and viewing sustainability as an important factor in their decision-making. By focusing on visitor engagement, redefining luxury, and committing to sustainable practices, WildChina enhances the travel experience, preserves the integrity of destinations, and supports the evolving expectations of modern travelers.

By Gabrielle Keepfer