by Joachim Fischer, currently in Guangzhou, China
More than 20 years ago, the present editor-in-chief of Tourism-Insider, Joachim Fischer, paid his first visit to the South Chinese city of Guangzhou, also known as Canton.
In the 5-Star White Swan Hotel on the city’s Shamian peninsula he met Xie Wei Jie, the former trainee, who had recently gotten back from a language and training course in Germany. The young Chinese was happy to meet somebody from Germany with whom he could talk in his new language.
Joachim Fischer was in China for a few weeks on business for the company Tabbert Industrie AG to present motor caravans and caravans specially produced for the Asian market during the Cantonese Fair.
During those weeks in China these two men with their different cultures built a friendship and would later meet every year at the ITB in Berlin or during the World Travel Mar in London.
Xie Wei Jie has held different postions and worked in different departments of the hotel and he was accompanied by colleagues to every fair, and as a result Joachim Fischer has since built a large circle of friends at the White Swan Hotel.
The young Chinese started into his carreer, and, after acting as Deputy Restaurant Manager, was promoted to F&B Director. The exhibitions and the trips to Germany were then no longer his responsibility, so the two friends couldn’t meet each other personally, but via mail and e-mail they held contact. Besides this the fair visitors from Guangzhou brought news and regards from the hotel and from the young leader to Germany every year.
Now, 20 years later, Xie Wei Jie is the Deputy General Manager of this 5-Star White Swan Hotel with over 800 rooms and several restaurants. Joachim Fischer is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Tourism-Insider.
These days, there was an opportunity for both of them to meet again after 12 years. The two friends from the different cultures met again in Guangzhou, South China.
Xie Wei Jie invited Joachim Fischer for a gala dinner at the VIP Club of the White Swan Hotel and the two of them exchanged memories.
Our picture shows (left to right):
Jay Hu (Sales Executive), Derek Lin (Deputy Director Marketing Dept.), Zhang Tian (Deputy General Manager White Swan Group), Joachim Fischer, Xie Wei Jie, Fiona Yang (Sales Executive, Marketing Dept.)
