On September 3, 2014, Sheng Faqiang, Chairman of Beijing Explorer Outdoor Products Co., Ltd., and Qu Xiangdong, Chairman of Xingzhi Exploration Culture Communication Co., Ltd., signed a cooperation agreement. Through a capital increase, Explorer strategically invested in Extreme Beauty, a leading domestic polar travel agency, and will use this opportunity to boost the 'light adventure and nature travel' market and strengthen the construction of its outdoor ecosystem centered around Green Wild. After the transaction, Explorer will hold a 56.52% stake in Extreme Beauty.
Sheng Faqiang (left), Chairman of Explorer, and Qu Xiangdong (right), Chairman of Extreme Beauty, sign the strategic cooperation agreement
Extreme Beauty is a nature-themed travel service agency primarily focused on polar expeditions to the North and South Poles. It holds outbound travel qualifications and is China’s first professional operator of polar expeditions. Its travel offerings include flights to the South Pole (or North Pole), trekking, icebreaker cruises to the North Pole, and cruise tours of the Antarctic Peninsula—covering all internationally accessible types of polar travel. The agency has helped over 1,200 people reach the polar regions, including more than 600 who have been to the Poles. Extreme Beauty is currently the only professional travel agency in China that is a member of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and attends its annual meetings. It enjoys widespread recognition from IAATO, AECO, Chinese scientific institutions, and polar travel enthusiasts.
With the development of China’s tourism market and rising incomes, public demand for travel has gradually evolved—from traditional sightseeing 'arrival-type travel' to deeper, experience-focused thematic travel centered around connecting with and enjoying nature. The proportion of nature-themed trips has been increasing year by year. As one of the most mysterious regions of the natural world, the polar areas have attracted growing attention, especially from high-net-worth individuals seeking high-quality light adventure experiences. According to industry reports, in developed markets such as Europe and the United States, nature-themed travel already accounts for over half of the total travel market share. This indicates significant growth potential in China’s 'nature travel' market.
Through carefully selected itineraries and continuous refinement of product and service details, Extreme Beauty has built a strong reputation and influence in the premium nature travel market, particularly polar expeditions. This investment will help Extreme Beauty strengthen its polar resources, expand its service offerings, and fully utilize the platform resources of Green Wild to provide outdoor travelers with more light adventure routes and high-quality nature travel services—seizing the rapid growth opportunities in the premium outbound travel market. Following Explorer’s strategic investment, Extreme Beauty Travel Agency will continue to work closely with its former parent company, Xingzhi Exploration, sharing high-quality customer resources and a strong cultural atmosphere.
At the same time, this investment represents a further step in Explorer’s strategy to build an 'outdoor ecosystem.' Since mid-2013, Explorer has been transitioning from a single outdoor product provider to a comprehensive outdoor sports service provider. Over the past year, it has actively implemented a series of strategic moves, including investments in the online travel platform Asiatravel.com Holdings Ltd and the outdoor activity platform Beijing Green Wild Vision Information Technology Co., Ltd. (Green Wild). Based on Green Wild, Explorer has developed a one-stop 'Outdoor Travel Comprehensive Service Platform' integrating route planning, trip organization, community sharing, secure payment, and transaction reviews. This investment not only introduces a high-quality supplier of polar outdoor travel activities to the 'Outdoor Travel Comprehensive Service Platform' but also elevates the platform’s service standards through Extreme Beauty, setting an example to improve supplier admission systems and service standardization. By fully aligning online and offline resources among Explorer, Green Wild, and Extreme Beauty, the entire ecosystem will achieve greater efficiency.
Explorer’s strategic investment in Extreme Beauty opens broader horizons for both parties’ future development and marks a solid step in Explorer’s transformation into a comprehensive outdoor sports service provider. The future outcomes of Explorer’s internet-driven, user-centered 'outdoor ecosystem' initiative are definitely worth looking forward to.