Last Weekend I took a 2 day camping trip to the village of Luting, just outside of Yuyao in the hilly countryside. It was a trip organized in part by An Chenran, one of our members of Asia English network.
It turned out to be somewhat of a family trip, bringing together numerous parents and children, looking forward to an outdoor/camping trip full of interesting activities. I am always amazed at the families that make their way to china to set up their lives. One family in particular sparked my interest. A set of 3 Australian boys around 10 consistently impressed me with their “worldly” attitudes and intelligence. At one point I saw one of the boys chatting it up in fairly fluent Chinese with one of the old chinese trail guides. On another occasion, while I was walking down a trail, I eavesdropped in on their conversation talking about the strength of the US Dollar against other forms of currency, and the status of the world and global economy. I tried to think about what type of conversation I used to have at their age with my friends…and most of the time it revolved around some stupid noise I learned how to make with some part of my body. The youngest boy had a hat that seemed colorful and handmade… I asked him…. “where did you get that hat?”.
He replied with a sense of nonchalant… “Katmandu”.
I went along with my good friend Zach Allen, an American Ningbo Expat who manages a firefighting equipment importer and distributor here in Ningbo.
The trip was rigorous, and packed with things to do. Beginning with a 2.5 hour hike up a hilly slope to the terraced peaks, where tea was being grown, harvested, and processed in a way that seems to have been unchanged for centuries. It was almost like peering back into time, watching it all take place. Everyone had an opportunity to purchase some of the fresh tea leaves before we continued down the hill again, leaving the farmers to continue their work.
On the hike down Zach and I were wondering how difficult it was to get those huge bales of raw tea down the steep and narrow slope stretching around 4km, day after day. However they do it, it gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “hard day’s work”.
After the hike…. Immediately after the hike…. We were directed into a scavenger style hunt thru the city’s streets. It was a complete mixing of old and new… quite interesting. It was a race… where we had to use electronic “tags” to locate and log our location at 11 key “spots” throughout the city. Imagine a collection of 20+ foreigners running thru a small tea farming village full boar, barreling between old brick homes and small farmhouses… in search of electronic computerized locators. It was a truly strange mix. But it did give us a hasty chance to get a look at the town, and albeit quickly, appreciate the quaintness of the place.
Me and Zach ended up getting third, awarding us a bottle to hold our newly acquired tea.
Following the hunt was dinner, and then the night was packed with fun Chinese style activities and games. This lasted until quite early in the morning. Then off to the tents and some sleep, to be ready for some more in the morning.
The Next Day started with breakfast at a great little cabin resort on the river, followed by an awards ceremony “opening” the town to the next season of outdoor activities. It hosted the town’s government officials, as well as routines of Chinese dance.
Following the formal affair we took a walk to an obstacle style course with activities ranging from a zip line across the river to a repelling style drop off a bridge. They were not in any way life threatening, but they were fun, and the kids seemed to get a kick out of everything.
When we all had our fill… we packed up, gave back the tents we were offered, and headed back to the busses for the long ride home.
For me and Zach, this trip was a courtesy granted to us by the organizers, and was all expenses paid. These types of activities are always available to those looking… so keep an eye out. It’s always nice to get a look at china from the local perspective, and get out of the city for a while.
