Crouching Hyrum, Hidden Nicole

A friend from Shanghai (James) told Hyrum about Anji, a county in a neighboring province that's known for China's largest sea of bamboo, covering the mountains. It sees very few westerners. (Sssh, let's keep it a secret.) Despite the adventure getting there--we don't speak Mandarin, and there's no direct route from Shanghai->Anji, but we made it, thanks to the kindness of strangers--and despite the bajillion degree weather--the province is known for being among the hottest in China--Anji is our new favorite place in China.

First, there are mountains. Shanghai is famously flat. Anji is situated among smooth rolling mountains, covered in bamboo. Second, there is bamboo. LOTS of bamboo. The neat thing about a bamboo forest (at least the bamboo forests here), is that there are no brambles or thickets. Bamboo is the only thing growing in the forest, so you can walk for miles in any direction without a trail.

The bamboo forest we visited is the sight where many famous Chinese movies were filmed...most famous is "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"...the fighting scene atop bamboo trees. Our kung-fu isn't good enough to dance atop trees yet, but we can climb them!

The journey to the top of the mountain was also delightful. Despite our resolute refusals, the locals demanded that they carry us atop the mountain in bamboo thrones. It's their livelihood, so we decided to make a donation to the locals, and let them carry us to the top.

Coming down was even funner: a zip-line that went from one peak to another. They almost let Scottie go with Daddy...but wised up at the last minute. =( But it was a thrilling adventure for Mommy and Daddy to go...even better when you're above a sea of light green bamboo, a great view of the valley below.

We've found the Chinese people in Shanghai to be very nice and polite, and some, sophisticated. The people in Anji were delightful and simple, and among the kindest we've met in China.

What a great adventure for our family. As Bennett would say, "Epic."