喜林苑，一个美国人的中国守望

K： Brian, what’s your story? Why did you come to China?

B： In 1984, I had an opportunity to come to China, mainly because a lot of people in the states were not aware of the scholarship opportunity that I found and discovered. I come from a background that is not necessarily very academic. So I’m more of a working class background. And I came to China upon arrival and I found China accepted me and embraced me, and gave me confidence that I never had in the States. My goal was always, in some way, to repay China for starting my life...

K： I knew you were a reporter with the 哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）, and you’ve interviewed a lot great people including Deng Xiaoping. So why did you establish the Linden Centre? Why suddenly change from someone who’s that significant to someone who runs a (small) hotel in a rural village in China?

B： But I think that, interestingly enough, I never really left my working class background. I’m still always identified with more of the common people, and even though I went on to Stanford and Hopkins, it never really was me. I’m still proud of where I come from and my roots. What I was a little disappointed was that I saw China is constantly changing, and the changes that I saw economically were just (something) that I was so proud of China. I mean obviously changes in your quality of life and everything. But at the same time I always felt like in some ways you are losing what made you such a unique culture and unique country. And everything became a product, and everything has been turned into something that can be made profit from. And I wanted to come (back) in… almost to remind China that its culture was something that needed preservation. And I believe that this preservation was not only for the Chinese, but also for the world. So I had very selfish reasons as a world citizen that I felt China and its culture are an important part of our civilisation and humanity. And I wanted to come here to remind everyone that it needed a little more care.

K： But the funny side of this story is that… although you said everything was turned into a product… this very hotel, Linden Centre, was so successful, from the beginning up until today. So conservation does not mean that you cannot make profits. So what is the Linden Centre model and… did you know it was going to work when you started?

B： It did not matter too much if it was going to work. Because I knew that, on one hand, if nothing else, if we failed as a business, at least I put my efforts into preserving a national relic here in China. I was always going to be very proud of that. But I think what we have been very successful at doing is incorporating the community into our whole story and into our business. So we are striking a balance in social responsibility and profit. I’m not trying to be a non-profit, a NGO, notacharity. But I do believe that there are certain things we can learn from the charities. And I think China needs now some companies that are willing to consider their social impacts and not how much profit their CEO can make, and how many Land Rovers they can drive. So this is something that we are trying to show a different model. The physical model is very evident: everyone who comes in here (will see that) this building will live and lasts for hundreds of years from now. We have overcome a lot of the obstacles of soundproof, of small rooms, by installing a certain home-style of certain indigenous, passion and culture and friendliness that most hotels do not invest in. they tend to only invest in the hardware. We have had to invest more in their software to meet the granger of this hardware, even though it is not always the most fashionable for “土豪”. It is still going to be, for China and for the humanity, a masterpiece for hundreds of years. And many of the new hotels that are being created are solely the cater of a certain fashion from Shanghai and Beijing. They will be out of fashion in 10 years and those customers will be coming here and they would be asking: “where is the Dali culture?” I see Mediterranean culture, I see 田子坊 culture. So this is how we wanted to create a different style and model.

K： As you said you observed a new change among the Chinese new rich, when they are tired of this materialism, and their Land Rovers and everything. And they’re looking back and they are seeing what we can offer from cultural perspective. So what do you see the future of Linden Centre? Do you see that the Lincoln Centre can be expanded it into something enormous, like a chain of hotels or something?

B： I believe we could do that. But our goal is not just to become something that is solely (big). We want to do it in our own way. We want to stay to true to our mission. Right now we can just go out and take the opportunity to setup a very luxurious hotel, and call it the Linden Centre. But is not our model, there are enough people doing that in China right now. The problem I see is that they are setting up a president and they are showing us a model that continuously has to be out-completed by larger investments. So if you have a 50 inch TV, somebody were just go in and invest a 60 inch TV. It’s going to make you to sell batter to your customer. Or a bigger bath tub, or a bigger bed, or a 60 sqm room. So instead of relying on some of the indigenous culture, what it does is continuously set up a more distant reality of the life around them. The local people, the Baizu people are not living in 60 m² rooms per person/per couple. And I think that is sad that we are coming into their culture and their land and saying that your culture is not enough. “You need to dress up a little bit, you need to have a bigger bath tub; if we don’t have a bath tubs, nobody is going to come to appreciate your culture”. To me that’s very sad, so this is something that we’re trying to change.

K： Thanks for that for your sharing and your idealism for China. I think it is quite important for us to understand from a local perspective the significance of your work end of Linden Centre as a brand as well so that’s why I joined in at the first place. I’m from Yunnan, but I was educated in Singapore, Ireland and the UK. I got my first degree in tourism and hotel management, and Masters and PhD in sustainable tourism development. So it is a great opportunity for me to connect all the personal parts into something realistic. I can really do something that is tangible, and meaningful as well. I always compare China to other places in the world, especially the UK. As everybody knows England was the first country to start the industrial revolution, they have established a polished and modernised capitalism system. Everybody looks at the UK, they think of the manufacturer, consumption, products and of course, the monarchy… So, everybody talks about London, basically. But in fact, the heart of the UK is in its countryside, it is how British people live they life. In the weekends they all go to the rural areas to seek the freshness, and to escape their boring daily life. Somehow they appreciate the countryside so much more than their own cities. So think it’s something that is missing today’s China. Rural villages on the proud of who they are, but they should. Places like the Linden Centre really gave them an opportunity to realise the sparkling traits in their culture and in their own life. So I think what we do can be, and should be, a little bit more significant than what we are.