A few months ago, WildChina embarked on an innovative new undertaking. In our ongoing mission to help travelers Experience China Differently, WildChina, China’s leading cultural and sustainable tour operator, teamed up with Truth Soft Studios, a leading travel technologies firm, to launch a portfolio of travel applications for mobile phones. Today marks an important milestone in this partnership, with the launch of WildChina Touch’s first iPhone guide for the Shanghai World Expo.
What is WildChina Touch? It’s China at your fingertips. WildChina Touch mobile apps will share a unique perspective about China, both historic and modern. They are perfect companions for independent, English-speaking visitors to China’s iconic sights and cities, as they cater to an alternative style of travel.
WildChina is incredibly pleased to work with Joey Shen, Yanming Shen and James Xue of TruthSoft Studios, an innovative technology firm focused on pioneering the future of mobile travel technology. In 2005 Joey and Yanming, both with software and internet backgrounds – at Sun MicroSystems and as a Dalian University of Technology professor, respectively – met up in New York City.
During the visit, both of them were shocked by the collections of East-West art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At the same time, they appreciated the convenience of the portable audio guide machines in helping them understand the exhibition. In the next few years, both worked in and personally explored mobile internet as a means to provide a high-tech and interactive self-guided tour experience.
James Xue, who studied graphic design and was invited to redesign the tour system of Beijing’s Forbidden City with a University of Zurich team, later teamed up with the duo to accomplish this. Prior to joining Truth Soft Studios, James served as a senior Yahoo products interface designer in China. With extensive experience improving the user interface of smart phones, he realized that smart phone applications are slowly changing people’s way of life. Making the apps intuitive is essential to the viability of smart phones as an important tool in daily life.
Together, Joey, Yanming and James decided to create TruthSoft Studios together. TruthSoft’s goal is to provide a new mobile platform to revolutionize the site guiding experience. Joey is in charge of developing the iPhone platform, and Yanming is managing the Android platform. James joined as the map development innovator and third founder.
WildChina looks forward to continued collaboration with TruthSoft Studios as this exciting series of mobile phone apps develops.
