BaimaDorji,founderandchairmanoftheSongtsamhotelchain.byChenJianNotacloudcouldbeseenintheazureskyasthemorningsunenvelopedShangri-La,amysterious,scenicdestinationintheDeqenTibetanAutonomousPrefectureinsouthwesternChina’sYunnanProvince.
AsingularfragrancelingeredintheairaroundSongtsamShangri-LaLodge,aboutiquehotelnestlingbetweenGandenSumtselingMonasteryandKenaVillage.Thebreezebouncingoffthenearbymountainsgeneratedasoundlikewhisperingbambooflutes.Witheredleavesfellfromseveralwhitebirchesandsmoketreesinthecornerofthehotel’scourtyard,glowinglikerustedgoldinthesun,whileafourstoryTibetan-stylebuildingcompletedthetranquilpicture.
ThatdwellingwasBaimaDorji’schildhoodhome,anditisnowoneofChina’smostprestigiousboutiquehotels.
Havingreturnedfromabusinesstripatmidnightthepreviousnight,Baimalookedwornout.ButtheTibetan’svoiceremainedascalmandgentleasaglassypondwithoutanyripples.Iponderedwhethersuchcalmnessderivesfrominternalpeaceorhisinnatetemperament.
Hishotel’smanagementteamisdiverse:somearelocalvillagers,someforeignexecutives,andothersseasonedhospitalityprofessionals.Regardlessoftheirbackgrounds,theyallseeBaimaasateacherandkinduncleasmuchasaboss.
“Baimataughtusthatgivingisthesimplestwaytofindhappiness,”explainedthemanagerofSongtsamShangri-LaLodge.“Wetreatourguestswithkind,generoushearts.Baimaisalwaysconsideratetoothersandcaresabouteveryguestandemployee,andevenhisemployees’families.”
InnateLoveforTibetanCulture
Baimafoundhisplaceinthehospitalityindustryrelativelylateinlife.
Aftergraduatingfromhighschool,BaimastudiedanimalhusbandryinKunming,capitalofYunnanProvince.Aftergraduation,hereturnedtohishometownandpracticedasaveterinarianfortwoyears.HeeventuallylearnedaboutTVproductionandbeganworkingforalocalTVstation.ThankstohisinternshipwithYunnanTV,hefoundanopportunitytostudyatBeijingFilmAcademy.AfterstayingawhileinBeijing,herealizedthatfewpeoplefromoutsideTibetancommunitiesknewmuchaboutTibetanculture,andsomeevenmisunderstoodit.“ManypeopleassumedthatTibetanswereruggedandunrefined,”heexplains.“However,Ithinkmostarereservedandevenintroverted.”
In1992,ChinaCentralTelevision(CCTV)recruitedBaima.HedevelopedthehopethattelevisioncouldserveasabridgeconnectingTibetanculturetoothersfrombeyondTibetan-inhabitedregions.“IwantedtohelpmorepeopleunderstandTibetanculturebecauseweareonebigfamily,”hegrins.
AfterjoiningCCTV,BaimaproducedsomedocumentariesonTibetanculture,whichearnedgreatacclaimfromcritics.In1998,hisTVdocumentary,PortraitsofMountains,walkedawaywiththeExcellentPrizefromMIPTV,anannualTVeventinCannes,France.
BaimalearnedalotanddeepenedhisunderstandingofcultureandlifeduringhistenureatCCTV.“Everyculturehaswonderfulthingstooffer,”heexplains.“Learningaboutthemmakesyourheartandsoulstronger.Whenyouestablishgoodcontrolofyourmind,youcandevelopyourownideasaboutmanythings.Andthroughtheprocess,you’llobtainwisdom.”
Gradually,BaimaconceivedplansforhisownplatformtospreadTibetanculture.“IwantedtoshareTibetanculturewithasmanypeopleaspossibleandinspirepeoplefromeveryethnicgrouptobetterunderstandeachother,”hesays.“We’reallessentiallyafamilylivingunderthesameroof,soweshouldworktolivemoreharmoniouslytogether.”
Duringthatera,Baimaheardfrequentcomplaintsfromhiscolleaguesabouttheless-than-idealaccommodationinDeqenaftertheyreturnedfrombusinesstripsthere,despitetheregion’spicturesquescenery.BaimarememberedseeingmanyboutiquehotelsinParisandoncestayedinoneneartheArcdeTriomphewhileonhiswaytoattendMIPTV.ThatlodgeinFranceinspiredtheideaofconvertinghishomeinKenaVillageintoaboutiquehotel.Hishomefeaturedtwocourtyardsandbuildingsinhabitedbyhisparentsandsister’sfamilythatcoveredmorethan1,000squaremeters.
SongtsamTachengLodgenestlesamidstvillages,terracedfields,mountainsandrivers.byYuXiangjun/ChinaTodayIn2001,Baimarazedtheoldbuildingsinthetwocourtyardsandbuiltthe22-guestroomSongtsamShangri-LaLodgeintheirplacewith60,000yuan(US$8,693)hehadraised.Thesameyear,hishomecountyofZhongdianwasrenamedShangri-LaCounty.
Withitsstonefacades,SongtsamBenzilanLodgeislocatedinatranquilvillage,hiddendeepinavalley.byChenJianTibetanCultureinSongtsam
BaimarecruitedthefirstmanagerofSongtsamShangri-LaLodgefromKunming,wherehewasrunningafour-starhotel.TheirdifferentoperationalideasmeantthemanageroftenconflictedwithBaima,whowantedatranquilhotelrichinculturalatmosphereratherthanabustlingbusiness.Thehotelsufferedheavylossesinitsearlydays.BaimaconsecutivelyhiredaGerman,anAustrianandaXi’annativetomanagethehotel,butnoneofthemcouldturnthingsaround.Inthosedays,thehotelcharged80yuanpernightand11yuanperpersonforalunch.
In2003,Baimabegantomanagethehotelhimself.Heevenlivedtheretotrainemployeesasmuchaspossibleandurgethemtoslowdowntomatchthedevelopmentpaceofthehotel.Eventually,Baimahiredthehotel’scurrentmanager,ZhangMin.Thankstotheirjointefforts,thehotelfinallyfoundapathtosounddevelopment.TheyhiredlocalstointroduceTibetanreligion,cultureandhistorytoguests.“IwantedeveryguesttofeeltheintimacyofTibetancultureandenjoyanaturalstay,”addsBaima.
Astimewenton,SongtsamShangriLaLodgewelcomedanincreasinglyheavyflowofguests,evenasitsrateswentup.Afterspendingonenightinthehotel,manybackpackerscanceledotherreservationstostaythereforafullweek.
Gradually,thehotelbecamefamous.Manyinvestorstriedtobuyintoit,butBaimarefused.“Ididn’tfeellikethebusinesswasstrongenoughtoabsorbextracapital,”heexplains.Inhiseyes,everymoveshouldbemadeinaprudent,reasonablemanner,especiallyintermsofnon-renewableresources.Deqenboastsunparalleledtourismresources.Ifproperlyutilized,theybenefiteveryone.InBaima’sopinion,it’sbettertopreventoutsidecapitalfromsquanderingthoseresourcesinanon-renewablemanneruntillatergenerationscanpinpointthebestwaytocapitalizeonthemsustainably.
SincethedaySongtsamShangri-LaLodgewasestablished,Baimahasbeenclearabouthisgoalofoperatingthehotelsustainably.Tothisend,heinvestedadecadeofresearchandplanning.Heneverrushedthehoteltomarketorexpandedit.
In2006,Baimaeventuallyfoundanidealpartner.“Geographically,DeqenislocatedinanareawheretheJinsha,LancangandNujiangriversflowsidebyside,”hepointsout.“Iwantmyhotelstolooklikeancientinnsalongatravelroute,eachwithuniqueviews.”
In2009,SongtsamLinkaRetreat,atoweringhotelbuiltfromscratch,openedforbusinessatopahillfacingtheGandenSumtselingMonastery.
In2011,fourmoreSongtsamhotelsopenedinDeqen,oneafteranother.
Anhour’sdrivefromShangri-LaisBenzilan,amust-seestopalongtheancientTea-HorseRoadonthebanksoftheJinshaRiver.SongtsamBenzilanLodge,situatedinasmallvillageofonlyadozenhouseholdshiddeninavalley,isonlylinkedtotheoutsideworldbyacobblestonepath.Thewindowsofthehotelfacetheentranceofthevalley,beneathwhichliesthefarmlandoflocalvillagers.
FromBenzilan,onecanreachDeqenCountyonthebanksoftheLancangRiverontheothersideoftheBaimaMountains.Everyyear,numeroustouristsvisitMeiliSnowMountain.BaimaisproudofthelocationofhisSongtsamMeiliLodge.Themysterious,snowymountainisvisiblefromguestroomwindows.
HeadingsouthalongtheLancangRiver,onecanreachCizhong,whereaFrenchmissionarybuiltaCatholicchurchintheearly20thCentury.SongtsamCizhongLodgeliesjust200metersfromthechurch.Almosteverylocalhouseholdownsavineyard.UtilizingwinemakingtechniquesinheritedfromtheFrenchmissionaryandhigh-qualitygrapesgrowingataltitudesofmorethan3,000meters,thelocalwineisfamousforitsuniquetaste.
IttakesfourhourstodrivefromCizhongtoTacheng,aplacenotedforthefamousBodhidharmaCaveandYunnanGoldenMonkeyNationalPark.There,SongtsamTachengLodgenestlesamidstvillages,terracedfields,mountainsandrivers.
Today,Songtsamhotelsformaloop,withShangri-Laatthecenter.
SongtsamShangri-LaLodge,firstopenedin2001,hasattractedtouristsfrombothhomeandabroad.byChenJian
ManyoftheTibetan-styleartifacts,furnitureitems,ornamentsandthangkapaintingsinthehotelcomefromBaimaDorji’spersonalcollection.byChenJianHomeAwayfromHome
ManytouristsareawedbythestrongTibetanflavorofSongtsamhotels.Inthefour-storySongtsamShangri-LaLodge,thestrongauraofTibetancultureiseverywhere.Everythangkapainting,carvingorfurnitureitemradiatesTibetanflavor.Thesethoughtfultouchesinjectlifeandvigorintothehotel,andevenmakeitlesslikeahotel.
ManyoftheTibetanfurnitureitemsandornamentsinthehotelcamefromBaima’spersonalcollection.Somehaveexpressedconcernaboutusingsuchpreciousitemstodecoratethehotel’slobby,restaurantandevenguestrooms,wheretheycouldbedamaged.Baima,however,considershiscollectionvaluableonlyifitisdisplayed.“Ifsuchitemsarehiddenfromvisitorstoolong,theygetdepressed,”hejokes.
Baimaadheredtotraditionalconstructionmethodsinhishotels,topreservetheoriginallookofthevillagesandnaturalenvironmentasmuchaspossible.Hehiredseasonedlocalartisanstocarryoutcarpentry,bricklayingandcoppercarving.“WhenbuildingSongtsamLinkaRetreat,Iwasluckytofindanexperiencedcoppersmith,”herecalls.“Hehadbeenforcedtotakeupstonecarvingbecauseofalackofdemandforacoppersmith.Itoldhimhecoulddocopperworkformyhotelsaslongashewanted.Now,Songtsamhasfivecoppersmithsonstaffwhoproducewaressuchasdoorknobs,knockers,potsandbasins.”
Songtsamhotelsalsocooperatewithnearbycraftworkshopsbyreferringtheirgueststovisitthoseshops,topromotethedevelopmentoflocalcrafts.
Baimaisprofoundlyawareoftheimportanceofeducation.Since2005,hehasbeenprovidingfinancialsupporttostudentsinhishomevillage.Whereverhishotelsopen,heintroducesgrantsforlocalstudentstothetuneof500yuanforeachmiddle-schoolstudent,1,000yuanforeachhigh-schoolstudentand2,000yuanforeachcollegestudent.“Lifeislong,anddoinggoodthingsmakesthewholeprocessmoremeaningful,”heasserts.
Currently,localTibetansaccountfor98percentofallemployeesatSongtsamhotels,whichenrichesthehotels’Tibetanflavor.“Mystaffmembersaremostlylocalvillagers,”Baimadeclaresproudly.“Ratherthanfollowingprotocolsofstar-ratedhotels,theyserveguestsaccordingtotheirownbeliefsandaffinityforothers.Ibelievesuchrelationshipscantouchthesoul.”
Gradually,BaimarealizedthatSongtsamhadevolvedintoexactlywhatguestswanted.“Modernpeoplefacetremendouspressuresfromfiercecompetitionandthematerialdesiresofsociety,”heexplains.“Over15yearshavepassedsincemyfirsthotelopenedin2001.InadditiontospreadingTibetanculture,IhopeSongtsamcancreateasecondhomeforguests—ahomeawayfromhome.”
Shangri-Laiswidelyknownasapure,sacredland.Thenamewaspopularizedgloballyinthe1930swhenBritishwriterJamesHiltonpublishedthenovelLostHorizon.ForBaima,anativeofthesacredland,Shangri-Laismuchmorethanpostcardsceneryoramythicalland.Hewantstheplacetoinspireasenseofhappinessineveryone,likeitdoesforhim.“ApieceofShangri-Laisineveryone’sheart,”hesays.“Itisselflessandsoul-stirring.”
AccordingtoBaima,SongtsamisbuildingnewhotelsinLijiangandLhasa,whicharescheduledtoopeninMay.By2019,SongtsamhotelswillbeopeninShannanandXigazeintheTibetAutonomousRegion.“IwanttocontinueshootingdocumentariestoshowtheamazingTibetanculturetotheworld.”
PerhapsBaima’smissiontospreadTibetanculturehasjustbegun.