Profile: Matthew Hartzell

With a lifelong passion for geography, it's no wonder that Matthew Hartzell fell in love with Yunnan Province, which shares with his native California an unparalleled diversity of environments, climates, and culture. Matt earned his formal education as an undergraduate studying history at Harvard, and as a grad student studying human geography at Penn State. His real education has come from the five years he's spent traveling the backroads of Yunnan and interacting with its people.

In the five years he's lived in the province, he's been to almost every one of its counties. Matt's research interests include alternative agriculture, human-environment interactions, historic trade routes, agrotourism, and rural tourism. Matt is currently a travel consultant and tour guide for Zouba Tours, which organizes unique trips to Yunnan's most remote and stunning locations. You can find his writing on Blogger and photos and handmade maps on Flickr.