A sixty-year-old American, Mr. Linden, wears many hats: a writer, a businessman, a traveller, an educator and the founder of a famous hotel. He has lived in a village in Yunnan Province for nearly 20 years. He now considers that he is one of the “cool new Dali people”.

Mr. Linden was born and raised in Chicago. He first visited China in 1984. He received a scholarship (奖学金) from the Chinese Government and came to study in Beijing. During his stayhe was deeply attracted by Chinese culture and would love to be its communicator.

After working and travelling in more than 100 countries, Mr. Linden gave up his job in the US, sold his house and moved to China with his family in 2004. He wanted to find a place and create a new lifestyle. After a tour around China, Mr. Linden and his wife finally decided to live in Xizhou, a small town not far from Dali.

“I’m a fan of China’s traditional buildings. Xizhou is a beautiful town with hundreds of old buildings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Traditions here keep as alive as ever and the local people treat me like family,” said Mr. Linden.

With the help of the Dali government, Mr. Linden repaired a traditional Bai-style (白族风格) house into a hotel for foreign tourists. The hotel provides international education projects for European and American schools. It also opens 50% of its room (空间) to the public, creating a place for more people to communicate with the villagers. It offers free English classes to villagers once a week.

When talking about his future plans, Mr. Linden said he wanted to do more to share the beauty of China with the world. “Our goal (目标) is to turn Xizhou into a window for foreigners to learn about China,” said Mr. Linden. “I hope that through my efforts, more people will love China.”