Camping in the Chinese wilderness.

Camping in China was a great experience and if you're like me and have taken a few camping trips before then you know that all you need is a tent, a fire, and good friends and you're sure to have a few good stories to tell. We also had the responsibility of showing Poppy and Coco what a good camping trip is all about and seeing as they have never tried before we had to break them in gently, no pun intended .
We started our journey in Jinan a city just south of Beijing where we were living and working but that's a story for another time. Anyway we managed to hire a mini van to take us way up into some mountain valleys a couple hours away from Jinan. After a music filled ride up and a few good laughs with our driver who didn't really speak English but we got by with what Chinese we could speak and like most Chinese people we have met along the way he was a cool dude and helped us out a lot.

It turns out the Chinese style of camping was very different than our western camping and when we arrived in a small village in the middle of nowhere they quickly guided us to a basketball court and said we could camp here! Which the girls were very happy about as it was close to some small restaurants and the toilets. Now after explaining to the girls that this is not what proper camping is and that we would have to venture off into the wilderness and find a good spot to set up our camping site. We quickly made for the nearest forest path with all the camping gear on our backs like some sort of expedition team. After a few hundred yards up into a valley which was fairly easy to navigate we found a nice flat area which was perfect for a few tents and a fire. Exhausted and as far into the wild as they have probably ever been the girls seemed a little concerned about the lack of toilets in the forest but after reassuring them that we had already found a perfectly good bush to use as a toilet and its too late to turn back they seemed to get into the swing of things pretty well and even set up their own tents.

So after setting up the tents and preparing a fire pit to cook dinner the fun could really start. With a few cold beers in hand we decided to explore the area before it was too dark to find our way back. It was a really beautiful valley with forests that went on for miles and all kinds of colorful creatures.

When we returned to the camp site it was time to start cooking and so we decided to make some Shao Kao sticks (BBQ kebab sticks to us) and shared around the overload of snacks that we had all brought as you do on any good camping trip.

Sitting around an open fire with good friends sharing stories and singing songs really is one of my favorite things to do and seeing as everyone there was from a different city or country we had plenty of things to talk about and you can learn a lot from other peoples experiences.
We stayed up until about 2 am and we had planned to walk around some near by lakes the next day before heading home. After a good fun night it was lights out and time to get some sleep which was easier said than done for the girls who had never shared a tent with bugs before or heard the creatures of the night foraging through the leaves and left over BBQ.

The next day we packed up the sight and left the area as we had found it for the next lucky explorers. We headed back down the valley to find somewhere to leave our stuff and venture off around the surrounding areas. The near by villagers were very nice people and offered to look after our things after we had eaten at a small restaurant there and as usual they were very friendly and just shocked to see foreigners in general especially so far from the city.

A short walk later and we found a road leading alongside some lakes and small tourist spots where they were selling anything from food and bracelets to weird shaped pieces of wood polished to be used for something but i'm not exactly sure what for. The lakes and surrounding areas made for a nice walk and some good views and some much needed fresh air away from the city ,all in all it was a good way to finish up before heading home . The whole trip was great and i'm always in search of great camping spots ,so if you know of any in Osaka Japan then please get in touch.

As always thank you for reading I hope you enjoyed it and if you don't mind please give me an up vote and resteem , it goes a long way.