Travelling through Dali with a leg of ham

[Photo provided to China Daily]

One day, her American father-in-law shipped a whole smoked ham to her, and she was stunned as she nibbled at slices of the rich, salty meat. It was a Virginia ham, a famous product of that US state, and quite like the ham she knew from home.

Since then she has traveled the world, discovering Iberico ham in Spain and Parma ham in Italy and many more. But what she remembers most was sharing those foods with locals and hearing their stories－the sort of experience she has tried to capture in the travel company she later founded, Wild China.

"When people first begin to travel," she says, "they tend to collect destinations－to go to as many places as they can. Sort of like collecting stamps. But eventually travel becomes more than getting a selfie at the Great Wall or the Eiffel Tower: People want to experience local lifestyles that are very different from their own."

While travelers may encounter language and culture barriers, she says, they have one thing in common with people anywhere in the world.

"They eat," she says, grinning.