Brian first came to China in 1984 working for CBS News in Beijing where he participated in interviews with many Chinese leaders including Deng Xiaoping. He completed graduate work at the University of Illinois, Hopkins Nanjing Centre, and Stanford, before returning to China in 2004 to preserve and restore a Chinese nationally protected heritage site- now known as The Linden Centre. As an unprecedented adventure, the Lindens remain the only foreigners to revitalise such important national heritage structures in China. Originally built in the early 20th century, the Linden Centre is Brian's attempt to create a sustainable model of tourism development and heritage preservation. Brian now has seven nationally protected heritage sites, each of which focuses on preserving existing historic buildings, while incorporating locals in planning and managing the final product- a heritage hotel. Their sustainable business model has been praised by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the US Secretary of State, and hundreds of media and scholars. Join us at YCW Shanghai to learn how Brian has adopted this sustainable business model to grow his company without taking on private investors, while leveraging existing structures to revitalise local communities with the approval of the Chinese government.