In a country that’s getting worldwide recognition for its economy, and having some of the largest and fastest growing cities in the world, it’s easy to forget that it’s still home to some of the most spectacular natural beauty this planet has to of-fer. Telling people they’d better get out of the of-fice or factory to appreciate it before it’s paved over or their legs atrophy to the point of where they can’t is important, but few are the ones to actually take action.

www.doyouhike.net is more than just an address in the online world. It’s a non-profit organization that’s dedicated to the important cause of envi-ronmental protection and appreciation, through the promotion of outdoor activities and living a healthier lifestyle.

The website is designed to inform fans of health and nature about when and where group-hiking, camping trips, outdoor sports and other health-oriented activities are going to occur. Besides giving the time and location of such events, the website also features sections on travel insurance, outdoor equipment, proper medical care when in the outdoors, as well as it links to other envi-ronmental protection sites online.

Helping Youself

Vivian, an avid hiker and volunteer, found out about the site from a supplier who knew she’s interested in fitness. About the activity she says, “Hiking is about relying on yourself. You can’t always depend on people helping you. So our motto here is “Help Yourself.” After you’ve helped or taken care of yourself, then you can help and take care of others, and then you might actually want to help others,” and adds about the people involved, “The hikers are all called “donkeys” because of the way we all just “plod” along. The more experienced hikers are called “old donkeys” and the less experienced ones are “new donkeys.””

Yorke is an old donkey that’s logged over four years of “plodding”. About the attitude of the people he says, “Yorke is just my nickname; we don’t like to use full names or family names. We want to keep this fun and informal. We’ve all come here just to hike, not for business contacts. It’s a genuine non-profit organization based entirely on the work of volunteers. Everyone is equal here, whether you’re the owner and CEO

of a huge corporation or an office assistant. We’re all the same when we’re hiking.”

Of course get a bunch of nature-happy health freaks together and there’s no stopping friend-ships from being formed. Vivian stated, “It’s a great way to meet new friends, people have met here and gotten married, I think they even had a baby recently.” And while you might not meet Mr. or Mrs. Right on the hike itself, the exer-cise gotten during it certainly isn’t going to hurt your chances when you get back to the rest of your life, and what better place to do that then in splendid nature?

Road to appreciation

On Sunday, December 23rd, six to seven hun-dred participants and volunteers went for a 50-kilometer hike in the Da Ling Shan For-est Area. It was remarkably beautiful up in the mountains, walking in the crisp cold air, dense with fog that reminds one just how dirty the air in the city really is, as Yorke put it, “As you climb the mountain, you smell the fresh air and breathe in the scent of the flowers. There’s no better way to exercise.”

City life can make a person forget that there are places like this. Places that can touch you right to your core, not with what it’s saying, but with what it’s not. Places that can remove every thought and concern without you even noticing and remind a person that there’s so much more to life then the day to day stress.

Appreciation of nature while exercising and be-ing eco-friendly during such hikes aren’t the only ways doyouhike.net hopes to help the environ-ment. The organization urges people to take the “doyouhike” mentality with them when they re-turn home, as Yorke remarked, “We ask people to pick up litter and clean up the environment

while they are hiking, but then remind them that their environment doesn’t end when the trail does. There’s no reason they can’t just continue picking up and cleaning everywhere they go.”

For anyone interested or think going for a 50km hike might have been fun, Vivian warns, “This is not just a fun trip; no one is here to take care of you. If people aren’t properly dressed or properly prepared, we ask them to go home. Again our motto is “Depend on yourself.” Don’t depend on other people, no matter who you are or what you do. There are no “bosses” here. We’re all just donkeys.”

Hiking For Awareness

12 HERE! DONGGUAN | JANUARY 2008

“Hiking is about relying on yourself. You can’t always depend on people helping you. So our motto here is “Help Yourself.”

by Greg Lypka

That’s not to say that should you fall on km38, everyone is going to just hike right by you, look down and say, “Help yourself.” Volunteers ready to help, if needed, wore gray caps while other hikers wore orange caps. The caps were all de-signed by the volunteers and are sold at cost-price. Other volunteers were using their own cars to drive the route and were ready to take anyone home immediately if necessary.

A 50km-hike is not a short walk after all, but getting to the finish line isn’t everything, as Viv-ian says, “You can go as far as you want, stop at anytime for any reason and just go home if you need to. Everyone will just be glad you came in the first place.”

For eight o’clock on a Sunday morning up in the Da Ling Shan Mountains that were actually rather cold, there was certainly a “party” mood. Vivian could hardly take five steps without see-ing someone that was just as excited to see her. At which point they would run up and embrace in a long, deep and affectionate hug. Children of all ages ran with their parents and some “don-keys” even had speakers in the outer pockets of their backpacks to blast some tunes while hik-

ing. Someone had even brought their small dog, which while officially not allowed due to clean up concerns, was still very popular.

About why they want more people to be in-volved Yorke says, “With the Chinese economy improving the way it is, I think people should be spending their free time on something better then just drinking at the bar and wasting their good fortune. I want people to spend their free time working towards better health and a bet-ter environment.” While Vivian adds, “Most of these people sit in offices all week long. They need to get outdoors and move their bodies. Working your butt off all week just to get drunk Saturday night and sleep on Sunday is a sure-fire way to see all that hard earned money you’re making now get spent on health care in your later years. There are hikes going on like this in all the major and modern cities in China such as Huizhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou and even Hong Kong.”

For further information, visit www.doyouhike.net (in Chinese).

HERE! DONGGUAN | JANUARY 2008 13

“07’ Enter Dongguan. Green (nature) - harmony - health”

“As you climb the mountain, you smell the fresh air and breathe in the scent of the flowers. There’s no better way to exercise.”