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One on one wong how man 10 oct 09 part 1
Wong How Man (born 1949) is an explorer and photojournalist from Hong Kong, and founder and president of the China Exploration & Research Society (CERS), a preeminent nonprofit organization specializing in exploration, research, conservation and education in remote China. Between 1974, when he began exploring China as a journalist, and 1986, when he founded CERS, Wong led six major expeditions for the National Geographic magazine. His writing for the National Geographic was nominated for the Overseas Press Club Award of America. In his 1985 National Geographic expedition, Wong led a team that found a new source of the Yangtze River that is internationally recognized as the true geographic source of the river. During this expedition he came across the hanging coffins, Wong developped a long life obsession with this peculiar coffins. Wong documented this expedition in his 1989 book, Exploring the Yangtze: China's Longest River. Twenty years later, Wong led a team to discover a new source, four miles west of the source that he had previously discovered. Subsequently, Wong led CERS expeditions that pinpointed the source of the Mekong in 2007 and discovered a new source for the Yellow River in 2008. In 2011, he and his team defined the source of the Salween River.
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Wong has authored over a dozen books. Among these, From Manchuria to Tibet won the prestigious Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Gold Award in 1999. His book Islamic Frontiers of China was published in the UK in 1990, long before the topic became of worldwide interest. His two CD-ROMs, Exploring the Yangtze and Tibet, won 11 and 5 international awards respectively.
Wong's organization, CERS, has conducted scores of successful conservation projects, many of which became full-length documentary films. Wong is often invited as keynote speaker on important international lecture circuits for both corporations and select groups of audience. Many heads of State and elites of society have been among his audience. His work is supported by private foundations, individuals and corporations. Wong has received numerous awards, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Wisconsin in River Falls, Lifetime Achievement Award from Monk Hsing Yun. In 2002, Time named Wong as one of 25 Asians profiled in its special issue on "Asian Heroes."