Why Puyu

Puyu (璞屿) means raw, untouched treasure — nature's quiet power in its purest form.

Puyu Retreat is a curated travel experience company specializing in cultural and wellness journeys across China. We design small-group retreats that go beyond the itinerary — blending living heritage, ancient healing traditions, and immersive access to landscapes and practitioners that most travelers never find.

From the rock tea valleys of Wuyishan to the Hui villages of Huangshan, each Puyu journey is built around a single idea: that the most meaningful travel experiences don't just show you a place — they change how you feel inside it.

Whether you're drawn by China's healing arts, its UNESCO landscapes, its artisan traditions, or simply the desire for a journey that goes deeper — Puyu is where that begins.

China, unfolded slowly.

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We built Puyu because we needed it, too.

Rachel Xia grew up navigating the worlds of Disney and Budweiser China, shaping how global brands speak to local hearts. Rania Zheng spent years at Amazon and Expedia, building products used by millions. We met as classmates in a joint US-China hospitality program — two people who understood, from the inside, what high-pressure careers quietly take from you.

We called it "hidden anxiety" — the kind that doesn't show up on a Monday morning but accumulates over years. We both felt it. And we both knew a weekend getaway wasn't the answer.

So we went looking for something real. We spent years on the ground across China — researching landscapes, meeting practitioners, tracing the healing traditions that had existed long before wellness became an industry. We built those journeys for Chinese travelers first. The results were consistent: guests arrived distracted and left transformed.

Puyu is how we share that with the world. Rooted in Eastern philosophy, designed with the precision of people who've lived in both worlds, and built with one intention: to offer you the retreat we once searched for ourselves.

Our team

  • Rachel Xia

    Co-founder

  • Rania Zheng

    Co-Founder

  • Dawn Gu

    Head of Operations

The rest is a conversation

Questions about a retreat, a date, or where to begin — we answer personally, usually within a day.

Start an inquiry