Hiking, Gansu style

On the last day, a Saturday morning, we took the kids hiking. It turned out that it was the kids that gave us a lesson on climbing, and courage.

We have been walking leisurely towards a mountain for some time. Suddenly I heard some people shouting, raised my head, and saw some of the kids climbing the mountain. At first, I couldn’t quite understand why people were shouting. Then I realized that I was standing at the rim of a deep gorge.

Apparently some kids flew down the gorge carved out by a river (from the left side of the photo), crossed the muddy river, and ran up the opposite side (right side of the photo) in no time. Most of us were stuck on this side, trying to decide whether to take the suicidal plunge.

Despite my vertigo, I did screw up enough courage (actually foolhardiness) to slide down the gorge gingerly. Unfortunately (or fortunately), one of us was not feeling well and decided to climb back up. So, in an act of chivalry (as well as self-preservation), I climbed back up in company.

Many of us were even more conservative than I was and simply stayed on the rim.

The kids were really fantastic.