Dealer Incentive · Xinjiang & Dunhuang, China · 7 Nights

Dahaidao & Dunhuang Corporate Incentive

Thirty-six dealers, eight days, from Urumqi through Hami to Dunhuang. A day crossing the Dahaidao in a private 4x4 convoy, grinding pigments at a Mogao workshop, and an awards dinner at a desert camp on the last night.

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01

The Brief

Client
A global paint and coatings group
Group
36 dealers
Length
7 Nights
Markets
Malaysia & Singapore
The challenge

A dealer incentive for a paint and coatings group, with dealers from two markets who usually work apart. The company did not want a trip with a logo on it. It wanted the dealers to feel connected to the brand again.

This time

Thirty-six people, eight days, in at Urumqi and out at Dunhuang. The design came down to four decisions, each one a departure from the usual dealer trip.

02

The Idea

The story first,
the place last.

The brand sells colour, and colour that lasts. The mineral pigments at Mogao are still vivid after a thousand years, so that is where the week went.

  1. A painted cave ceiling at Mogao, mineral blue and cinnabar still holding their colour
    01

    The place chosen last

    Day 6 · Mogao

  2. A camel caravan on the Mingsha dunes at sunset
    02

    The route run in reverse

    Day 7 · Dunhuang

  3. A line of 4x4s crossing the Dahaidao
    03

    Dealers not kept as passengers

    Day 4 · Dahaidao

  4. The Iron Flower: molten iron scattering into the night
    04

    No ballroom for the awards

    Day 7 · Desert camp

03

How the Journey Unfolds

Eight days in four parts.
An easy start, a desert finish.

XINJIANGGANSUTIANSHANUrumqiDays 1–2Heavenly LakeHamiDays 3–4DahaidaoLiuyuanDunhuangDays 5–8
The Route

In at Urumqi, out at Dunhuang, with a day in the uninhabited zone between

  1. Urumqi → Heavenly LakeWild Horse Park and a boat on the lake, an easy start
  2. Urumqi → HamiFirst-class high-speed rail, then straight into the 4x4s
  3. DahaidaoA full day in a 4x4 convoy, four to a car
  4. Hami → Liuyuan → DunhuangTrain to Liuyuan, then by coach into Dunhuang
  5. Mogao · MingshaA day at Mogao, the last day kept for the desert

Urumqi → Hami → Dunhuang · 7 Nights · 36 dealers

04

The Design Decisions

Four decisions,
each a departure from the usual.

01
Decision 01

The place chosen last.

The usual way

Pick a spectacular destination, then put the company logo on it.

This journey

First ask what the journey has to say for the brand, then find the place. The brand sells colour and protection, and Dunhuang is where colour has been protected for a thousand years. Each experience also maps to one of the client's own values: Heritage, Protection, Resilience.

The Nine-Storey Pagoda at Mogao
Painting a mud-tablet mural in the pigment workshop
A finished mud-tablet mural

WhyStarting from a destination produces a holiday with a logo on it. Starting from the story makes the week read as the brand's own.

02
Decision 02

The route run in reverse.

The usual way

In at Dunhuang and out at Urumqi, with the last day spent on a transfer.

This journey

In at Urumqi first: Heavenly Lake, Wild Horse Park, a whole roast lamb. Then south-east, day by day, to finish in the Dunhuang desert.

Heavenly Lake in the Tianshan, with a boat on the water
Crescent Lake at dusk

WhyRun the usual way, the week closes on a repeated drive. Run in reverse, the last night is the desert gala.

03
Decision 03

Dealers not kept as passengers.

The usual way

A coach all week, with the dealers watching through the windows.

This journey

Off the high-speed train at Hami and straight into private 4x4s, four to a car. The next day is spent crossing the Dahaidao, China's only legally accessible uninhabited zone: yardang castles, wind-cut valleys, the Light and Shadow Corridor, and a drone filming the convoy from above.

A wind-cut canyon in the Dahaidao
Yardang pillars in the Dahaidao from the air

WhyA week seen through coach windows keeps dealers as guests. Four to a car for a day, they get out as a team.

04
Decision 04 · The Awards Dinner

No ballroom for the awards.

The usual way

A hotel ballroom on the last night, much like every other year.

This journey

On the last afternoon, a private camel caravan across the Mingsha dunes at sunset. At night, eight courses under the stars in a private desert camp with live acoustic music, and then the Iron Flower: molten iron at sixteen hundred degrees, thrown into the dark.

A private desert camp among the dunes
The Iron Flower

WhyA ballroom makes the finale look like every other year. In the desert, the whole week comes together in one night.

The other side

Twelve thousand mirrors.

The molten-salt solar tower at Dunhuang, rings of mirrors around a central tower

The day the group arrives in Dunhuang, it stops at a solar power station where twelve thousand mirrors focus the sun on one tower. Mogao is the past; this is the future. What each dealer takes home is a mud-tablet mural painted in the workshop, with the same minerals as Mogao.

The Designer's Note

The destination is chosen last, once we know what the journey has to do. Each experience maps to one of the client's own values, so the week reads as their story, not a holiday with a logo on it.

Zelts Yang · Journey Designer
The Mingsha dunes and Crescent Lake from the air
Travel This Journey With Your Team
A design that has been travelled,
adjusted for your company.

Starting from this journey, we adjust the destination, the pace, the awards and the details to your company.

Group size
This group was thirty-six. We plan and quote for your number.
Season
Autumn, mid-September.
What can change
The awards format, the workshop, and how each market travels.
Care
A tour leader throughout; a briefing before the Tianshan day, the convoy and Mogao; cars allocated with a convoy leader; both markets meet at a connecting airport and fly on together.
Price
Quoted for your group size and dates.
Design My Corporate Journey
Next Step

Could a journey like this be designed for your organisation?

Tell us who is going, what needs to be recognised, and the feeling you're after. We'll take it from there.

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