How WildChina Began: The Story of Mei Zhang and Aluo

Over two decades ago, a meeting between WildChina founder, Mei Zhang, and a young Tibetan herder named Aluo became the first step in 25 years of transformative travel.

This fall, to mark WildChina’s 25th anniversary, founder Mei Zhang will return to the trail where it all began. On this journey, she will personally lead a small group along the Tea Horse Trail, retracing WildChina’s first ever journey.

But the story of that original journey isn’t complete without Aluo — a young Tibetan man she met in a misty mountain village over two decades ago, who would go on to become one of WildChina’s very first guides, and a lifelong friend.

This is the pre-story of WildChina’s first trip that took place over two decades ago.

“25 years ago, I arrived in a misty little village…” 

“The village is called  Dimaluo, a small Tibetan Catholic village tucked into the eastern side of Bingzhongluo at the northern tip of Nujiang (the Nu River). I had heard there was a trail from there to  Cizhong  by the Lancang River, so… I packed my backpack and went,” said Mei. 

She hired a local Tibetan herder named  Aluo to be her guide. He prepared a horse for Mei, saddled with felt and packed with food on one side and her backpack on the other. They then set off over  Biluo Snow Mountain, on a journey neither would forget.

As they walked, Aluo shared local stories and explained the uses of mountain herbs and plants. When they arrived at their destination, he quickly set up camp, boiled water for tea, and created a shelter from oilcloth and tree branches. At night, he slept on the earth under the stars. Mei was moved not only by what he said, but by how deeply he belonged to the land. 

“He kept explaining everything along the way, and I thought to myself, ‘Is this man a world-class alpine guide?’,” Mei recalled. “More than that, he was an incredible natural scientist — he hadn’t studied at any school, but his knowledge came from a life deeply rooted in the land.”

From a piece of candy to a guesthouse

For Aluo, this journey wasn’t just a walk through the mountains, it marked a turning point in his life.

Born and raised in the remote village of Dimaluo, he had spent his childhood herding livestock across the highlands, in a time when electricity hadn’t yet reached the valley and mobile signals were unheard of. Life was simple, and the world felt far away.

On the trail, Mei gave Aluo  chocolate and milk candy. As they hiked though, he dropped the wrappers. Mei quietly picked them up. Again and again. Until finally, she said, “Do you not think your hometown is beautiful? You have so many animals here, both livestock and wild animals. If those animals eat all this plastic, they will die.”

“When she said that, I was deeply moved,” Aluo remembers. “Some animals had died without clear reasons… and I finally started to understand why.”

Turning point

This shared experience and the simple, human connection between Mei and Aluo became a turning point for them both. They each returned from the journey with a new sense of purpose, shaped by the land they had crossed and the conversations they had shared. 

For Aluo, that moment on the trail sparked a quiet transformation. Mei’s words opened his eyes to the fragile balance between people and nature. He returned home determined to help manage his community’s waste, later becoming one of WildChina’s first guides and, eventually, the host of his own guesthouse, welcoming travelers with the same warmth and wisdom he once shared with Mei. 

For Mei, that was the moment she came back with a new focus: meaningful travel wasn’t about places or guides who recited facts — it was about people like Aluo. Locals who could lead travelers far from the usual routes and into places where nature, culture, and everyday life were deeply intertwined. Mei mapped the route they walked together from Bingzhongluo in northern Nujiang, over the Biluo Mountains, to Cizhong by the Mekong River, and that trek became the foundation for WildChina’s first journey when the company launched in 2000.

Looking back, 25 years later

Now a PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, Mei Zhang is researching how China’s Tea Horse Road could be transformed into a national park, with a focus on the relationship between people and their environment.

This October, Mei Zhang and Aluo will walk the same route again. Together, they’ll lead WildChina travelers through the landscapes and stories that started it all, and you’re invited to join for the journey.

The trip will be capped at 10 travelers, so those interested in joining are encouraged to get in touch and book a spot today.

Written by Elena Shlykova