Our People
Lin Xu, Founder
Lin Xu’s personal and professional relationship with China extends across the academic, entrepreneurial and creative spheres. She is a China scholar, art lover, and eco-living promoter. After founding a successful and unique DMC, VariArts Travel, she continued with a vision to create the first high-end travel and event consolidator in China. She first founded China Luxury Travel Network (CLTN) and built a solid team to consolidate inbound high-end travel. The next step was the establishment of a strategic partnership with HelmsBriscoe to create its China branch, consolidating the meeting service and procurement industry for the first time. Lin’s current endeavor is the establishment of a cutting-edge high-end outbound travel platform under the name “SlowTravel”, to bring quality, sustainability and real experiences to Chinese globetrotters.
Lin got her Masters degree in East Asian Studies at Stanford University after completing a business degree at Peking University. She has conducted research on Chinese politics, economic policy, and social studies of the Asia-Pacific region as well as cultural research in China. She worked as an executive in Asian business development and investment consulting in the US, France, and China before starting VariArts group in 2005. She has strong relationships with entrepreneurs, various levels of Chinese government, Asia-focused academics and creative professionals on three continents. Lin, a professed “film junkie,” also enjoys reading on psychoanalysis and has a passion for organic and natural farming.
Mary Ma, VP, Operation
Mary Ma’s detailed experience in the hospitality industry over the past twenty years has put her on the vanguard of China’s MICE industry, making her one of the most knowledgeable and qualified persons not only here at VariArts, but throughout all of China. Decades of time in hospitality have made her an old hand in the trade, having worked with incentive groups from Europe, the United States, and Asia, as well as high-ranking business delegations from around the world. Mary spares no effort in welcoming visitors to China, working with personal inquiries and global tours with zeal.
A native Beijing expert on the hospitality industry had her first job in the Shangri-La International Hotel Group for 12 years, successfully handling international conventions and conferences such as APEC leadership conference, ASEM, and managed the visits of several other former Presidents/Premiers visiting China. For the following 8 years she worked with destination management companies, adding to her repertoire of event creation and management skills until joining VariArts.
Mary spends her free time at the spa, singing songs of almost every genre, and traveling throughout Asia.
Dandan Zhong, Director, Special Interest Travel
Dandan Zhong’s passion for the travel industry, like the places she has visited, is seemingly unlimited. She is a walking resource on China’s hidden gems with a deep understanding of the tourism market, where finding the next hot spot is a personal zeal. Dandan translates this knowledge, combined with her lengthy experience in the industry as a project manager with Wild China, into a revolutionary view of the travel industry in China: that a vacation is more than the most expensive hotel and the gaudiest tourist trap. She doggedly dreams to bring the spirit of the adventurer back to the Chinese travel business, and leads others towards creating new possibilities for travelers with the experiences, knowledge, and emotions a trip to China can instill.
Dandan received her bachelor’s degree in Travel Management from Beijing Institute of Tourism. Her past experience has been in premium travel and destination management in the past seven years, serving an array of valuable clients like Rockefeller Kellogg, Columbia, and Harvard. During the Beijing 2008 Olympics, she was involved in the culture programs for sponsors like Panasonic and NBC.
Dandan enjoys the thrill of swing dancing, finding the hippest bistros in Beijing, and backpack traveling around the world.
Jeanie Qin, Account Specialist
Jeanie Qin is the green spirit of the VariArts team. Growing up in a small farming village, she has been able to experience the cultural traditions and lifestyle of rural China. It’s fitting then that she introduces traditional Chinese communities and untouched landscapes to travelers who seek to escape madness of China’s cities. After graduation, Jeanie directly joined VariArts as a Specialist in special-interest tours, handling FIT clients.
After 18 years of building houses, farming and taking part in traditional ceremonies in Hebei Province, Jeanie left the countryside to study Marketing at Beijing University. As a part-time editor and radio presenter for a business program, she developed a strong acumen for combining the professional requirements of urban life with the simple values of her hometown.
When not at work, Jeanie enjoys creating original works of art, reading literature, and managing the local farming project for the office.
Henry Kang, Account Specialist
Henry’s untiring personality is only matched by his fervor for developing the finest events and programs. He maintains a wealth of relationships and knowledge to plan and execute the strongest conferences and group tours within China. Henry’s perspicacious spirit and years of experience within the tourism field prepared him to tackle any obstacle, being constantly on call and flexible at a moment’s notice. Henry’s creative personality drives him towards planning the most innovative events and green programs.
Henry was born and raised in Beijing, later receiving a Bachelor’s Degree of English from the Beijing Institute of Tourism. Prior to joining the VariArts team, he used to serve in China International Travel Service as a sales manager.
Henry enjoys riding his bike along the Beijing streets, collecting antique wooden carvings, and appreciating fine tea from all over China.
Sean Silbert, Creative Travel Manager
Sean Silbert has had a deep and intimate relationship with China, having lived in three provinces and traveled to all the four corners of the Middle Kingdom. He combines his passion for travel with lengthy experience in writing and marketing, bringing his creative talent towards planning and constructing quality tours. Sean shares his personal joy in reading about China’s rich culture and visiting interesting locations while building the most innovative and unique tours for clients from the Himalayan peaks to the Yangtze delta rice paddies.
Sean was trained in Philosophy and Chinese Language at Boston College. He has worked in print, radio, and television journalism as a business reporter, and later an arts reporter. He has done market research for microfinance firms in rural China, as well as worked with NGOs in Beijing to benefit the nonprofit sector, as well as holds a variety of interests from music and the arts to sports and, of course, practicing his Chinese.
Rose Gao, Account Manager, French-language market
Rose’s unique combination of her international background, pride in Chinese culture and love for the road inspire her to design creative and personalized travel tours. Through her intense knowledge of the French language market developed through years of study, her abilities are finely honed to bring out the most suitable destinations for her European clients. Rose views herself as a cultural ambassador, showcasing the best that China has to offer from ancient to modern times, mirrored in her ability to find and book hotels, transportation, and client services at any point in a tour. The biggest satisfaction Rose gets in her job is seeing a client’s smiling face at the end of a successful tour.
Born and raised in Beijing, Rose graduated from Foreign Affairs University majoring in French. With her fluent French as an advantage, she worked as a travel consultant in French market at TUI China Travel Agency, serving more than 70,000 clients before joining in VariArts.
Rose enjoys solitary travel, cooking Chinese food, and relaxing with classic French cinema.
