When Daisy and Marco first met while working in Beijing, they shared a deep-seated passion for global exploration. Both had spent formative years studying abroad—Daisy in Paris and Marco in San Francisco—giving them a unique dual perspective on what it means to navigate unfamiliar cultures as a foreigner. Little did they know that these international backgrounds, combined with their everyday professional lives in the Chinese capital, would eventually lay the foundation for a burgeoning digital media venture.
The catalyst for their entrepreneurial journey arrived in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As global travel restrictions eased, friends they had made during their respective study-abroad programs began visiting China. Naturally, these travelers turned to Daisy and Marco for guidance, bombarding them with practical, ground-level questions about navigating the vast country. Inquiries ranged from basic logistical queries about train ticket pricing and the acceptance of international payment methods like Mastercard to specific dietary concerns, such as identifying gluten-free options in local restaurants.
In answering these questions, Daisy and Marco repeatedly encountered a frustrating systemic issue. Much of the existing English-language information regarding travel in China was either hopelessly outdated or scattered across a dozen different, unverified websites. Recognizing a significant gap in the digital landscape, the pair had a realization. They asked themselves why they shouldn’t build the exact kind of China travel resource they would naturally send to a close friend—one featuring current, firsthand, local tips rather than stale, generic advice. Thus, the concept for Wander in China was formally established.
How to build an audience with noodles
In the early days of launching the platform, Marco and Daisy held conventional assumptions about what digital audiences wanted to read. They naturally expected their articles covering classic, high-profile tourist attractions—such as Beijing’s historic Forbidden City or the iconic Bund waterfront in Shanghai—to drive the majority of their traffic. To their surprise, however, the digital audience had entirely different priorities, demonstrating an overwhelming appetite for niche culinary content.
A prime example of this unexpected shift was an early post detailing xie huang mian, or crab roe noodles. The article quickly became one of Wander in China’s first major viral hits, prompting the co-founders to significantly expand their coverage of local food and dining culture. This early lesson in audience behavior taught them to look beyond standard guidebook tropes and pay closer attention to the genuine curiosities of foreign visitors.
As they continued developing content, Daisy and Marco learned to actively listen to traveler discussions across online forums and social media platforms. For instance, a single technical question posted on Reddit regarding the train route from Fenghuang to Chongqing inspired them to write a detailed logistical piece on the connection. While the topic hardly seemed glamorous or conventionally "sexy," it addressed a precise pain point for readers trying to map out multi-city itineraries.
Those targeted articles served as a crucial learning curve, teaching the creators to prioritize what travelers were actually asking rather than relying on assumptions about what people might want to read. Over time, they realized that some of the most enduringly useful topics were also the most fundamental: digital payments, mobile mapping applications, ride-hailing services, high-speed train logistics, hotel accommodations, and the mechanics of putting an entire cross-country trip together. This user-first approach gained significant traction, and within approximately three months of operation, Wander in China was generating reliable organic traffic, encouraging the pair to experiment with affiliate marketing strategies.
Monetizing the site with automation
To dip their toes into the world of site monetization, Marco and Daisy initially integrated a handful of affiliate widgets by hand. Just a couple of weeks after implementing these manual links, they secured their first successful booking: an entrance ticket to Yu Garden sold for five dollars. While the modest commission was far from quit-your-job money, it provided an encouraging psychological boost, proving that their editorial model had viable commercial potential.
Yet, operational challenges quickly emerged. Wander in China’s readership proved to be remarkably diverse, attracting families, couples, and solo travelers originating from numerous different countries around the globe. The co-founders quickly discovered that it is nearly impossible for a single, static affiliate link or widget to appeal effectively to such a varied demographic. Furthermore, as a two-person team, they simply lacked the time required to hand-pick and continuously update targeted offers for eleven different locales and distinct visitor profiles.
Seeking a more efficient solution, they learned about a free tool called Drive. Industry peers explained that the software was designed to automatically monetize publishing platforms by dynamically serving travel deals that matched both the specific reader’s profile and the surrounding editorial context of the article. Despite the promising description, the founders harbored natural reservations. They hesitated initially because they had never utilized automated monetization tools of that nature and remained uncertain of how the technology would perform in practice.
Eventually, in November 2025, they decided to take a calculated risk and integrate the tool into their publishing workflow. The results validated their decision, positively impacting their earnings through Travelpayouts while simultaneously streamlining their daily operations. By automating the placement and optimization of commercial offers, Drive significantly reduced the hours Daisy and Marco previously spent manually searching for suitable products, cross-checking various affiliate platforms, and converting links by hand. Furthermore, because their digital property is multilingual, the automated system offered a far more logical alternative to placing identical static widgets across every page and hoping international visitors would interact with them.
Beyond basic content
What truly sets Wander in China apart from traditional travel blogs is its integration of custom interactive tools designed to solve specific traveler dilemmas. Drawing on her professional background in web development, Daisy took the initiative to code an Allergy Assistant, a specialized digital tool intended to help international visitors navigate complex Chinese culinary traditions safely despite dietary restrictions.
In addition to the allergy utility, the platform features a dedicated Itinerary Builder and a Budget Calculator. According to Marco, the philosophy behind these digital tools is straightforward: sometimes modern travelers do not need another lengthy, descriptive article; they simply require functional utilities that help them execute specific tasks efficiently. While these interactive features do not generate direct affiliate revenue on their own, the founders view them as strategic assets that encourage visitors to spend more meaningful time engaging with the blog.
Diversifying their digital footprint, the pair also recently introduced a proprietary digital product titled the Free China Travel Guide. Readers can access the comprehensive resource by subscribing to the site’s email newsletter. While organic search engine traffic continues to serve Marco and Daisy exceptionally well, they remain pragmatic about the ever-changing nature of the web, understanding that owning a direct audience through an email subscriber list provides a valuable safety net.
Looking toward the future
With their operational foundations secure and traffic steadily growing, Daisy and Marco have outlined an ambitious roadmap for the next phase of Wander in China. High on their list of priorities is introducing their global readership to secondary and tertiary Chinese cities that typically receive little coverage in Western media, such as Datong, Luoyang, and Foshan. Beyond digital publishing, the founders harbor long-term ambitions to bridge the gap between the virtual screen and physical reality by eventually curating and offering their own localized travel experiences on the ground.
For the time being, however, the duo remains committed to building their platform incrementally. They view Wander in China as a long-term enterprise, and with plenty of uncharted territory left to explore, they are eager to test new ideas as the platform continues to evolve.
