Chris Yuan has contributed substantially to disaster relief and development in western China over the past couple decades. He has led emergency response teams and provided on-going support to many people, especially children, who suffered greatly from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and 2010 Yushu earthquake. In more recent years, he has specialised in outdoor pursuits and has brought together his passion for the environment and caring for the wellbeing of people in poor rural areas through the development of community ecotourism. Chris has also integrated nature education into his work, with special attention given to young people at both high school and university levels. Through the Horseback Planet Society (HPS), which he co-founded in 2016, he has enabled the launch of several local ecotourism entreprises in the Tibetan plateau region. Working together with Plateau Perspectives, HPS has successfully strengthened environmental awareness amongst its members, promoting conservation of wildlife within the growing social network. In 2017, HPS extended its work into Central Asia.