WHAT: “Chinese Travelers Lead on the Road to Recovery”, an RASBJ Zoom talk by Mei Zhang, Founder of WildChina, followed by Q&A

WHEN: September 9, 21:00-22:00 Beijing Standard Time. PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT STARTS AT 9 PM IN BEIJING.

MORE ABOUT THE EVENT: The lights of hotels and cruise ships have been off since the beginning of 2020. More grim news — like “Cirque Du Soleil declares bankruptcy” — flash across the iPhone screen on a daily basis.  Is there light at the end of the tunnel?  Well, Chinese are travelling again – but what does it mean for the world?  Where are they going?  Are they flying internationally yet?  How will the pandemic change the travel industry in China and the world?  WildChina founder Mei Zhang will discuss the recovery of the Chinese travel industry and how she coped with SARS and COVID-19.

MORE ABOUT THE SPEAKER:  A native of China’s Yunnan province, Mei Zhang found her true passion – sustainable travel – by way of an MBA from Harvard Business School and work for McKinsey & Company. As a consultant to the Nature Conservancy, Mei witnessed the push and pull between economic development and conservation of both nature and culture in Yunnan. Her quest for a sophisticated interpretation of Chinese culture and nature through experiential travel led to WildChina’s creation in 2000. Mei has won numerous awards, and is on Travel and Leisure’s A-List of Top Travel Advisors. In 2012 she launched another venture, Beshan, to cater to a chic Chinese clientele. In 2016 Penguin published Mei’s book “Travels through Dali with a Leg of Ham”, chronicling her return to her roots.

HOW MUCH: This event is free and exclusively for members of the RASBJ and other RAS branches, plus WildChina attendees. If you know someone who wants to join RASBJ, please ask them to contact MembershipRASBJ on Wechat or email membership.ras.bj@gmail.com

HOW TO JOIN THE EVENT:  To become an RASBJ member in order to attend this talk, please join RASBJ at least two days before the talk to allow time for you to receive the event notice with the advance registration link. After registering in advance, you’ll receive a confirmation email with a login link and passcode; use them to log in 10 minutes before the talk