'Crazy laowai' do business and have fun in China (3)

The pub crawls and other events are gaining traction among Chinese residents who want to meet new people, both foreign and Chinese.

Rae Yan from Henan Province had a blast on her first pub crawl in August.

"It was a brand-new experience for me," she says. "There were many young people and it was a good chance to relax and make new friends from other countries. All the people were outgoing and wanted to make new friends."

Since those early times, the company has expanded to include brewery tours, boat parties and limo tours while collaborating with concert promoters, local theater groups and sports teams.

"We love having a million friends and developing friendship with people around the city," Hoopes says. "We want to hear ideas and if there's an event that you want to see, tell us."

The goofy stuff, like Santacon and No Pants on the subway, are free. Photos of No Pants were shared 11,000 times on the Internet.

Adventures

Part of the company's growth has been fueled by mixing business with pleasure.

"In this city there's a need for people who want to get outdoors, see some green and have an activity that makes them feel comfortable and included," explains Woods. He searched online and found Jerry Wang who is their Chinese counterpart in Dragon Adventures.

Their most recent adventures included stops at the Harbin Ice Festival, snowboarding, skiing and luge sledding around Changbai Mountains in Jilin Province. They spent a night sleeping in a traditional kang (a heatable brick bed in north China) after a bonfire party, explored Dongsheng Forest, took a dip in the Songhua River, drove off-road vehicles to explore the Valley of the Death in the Changbai Mountains and took the night train from the White River to Shenyang in Liaoning Province.

Back in Shanghai, the group plans to expand pub crawls to Suzhou and Guangzhou and stage more free goofs.

"It's like we have this share in this community," says Woods. "Sometimes we forget that it's a business but it's a business that's based around positive relationships and open communication."

Hoopes adds, "We're really far from home and for us we've built a family here – a team of friends."

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