For China’s new globetrotters, group tours are out and Northern Lights are in

SHANGHAI, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Yuwei Zhangzou represents a new type of Chinese tourist. Last month, the Shanghai-based fashion influencer had close encounters with reindeer, visited Santa’s village and stayed in a glass-enclosed treehouse during a trip that she organised herself to Finland. Very little shopping was involved. “I was hoping to get lucky and see the Northern Lights and I got it! I was happy,” she said. As Chinese travellers gear up for the Lunar New Year holiday, which this year runs from Feb. 10 to 17, more of the people who can afford to travel abroad are eschewing the group tours and shop-til-you-drop holidays that were popular before the pandemic and opting for more adventurous, experience-based trips like…