by Xinhua writers Wang Ruoyao and Cheng Di
NANCHANG, June 7 (Xinhua) -- While many of her peers are still learning how to ride a bike, one little girl is scaling mountains, tracing coastlines, or fighting her way through jungle overgrowth.
Affectionately known as Wen Wen by her family or "China's youngest backpacker" by netizens, the four-year-old first went hiking with her parents and brother when she was just 15-months-old. At the time of writing, the family have traveled to most parts of the country, including the breathtaking Qinghai-Tibet plateau.
Her story recently made headlines and has fanned debate on what many call an unorthodox approach to parenting. Supporters hail it as a great way to teach resilience while opponents have voiced concern about what effect the experience will have on the girl's physical and mental well-being.
Regardless of public opinion, the couple, who are both hiking enthusiasts, will continue to keep their daughter out of kindergarten so that she can see and experience wild China.
Later this month, the family will walk the Sichuan-Tibet highway, one of the most dangerous roads in the world.
BORN TO BE WILD
Wen Wen hails from a well-to-do rural family in east China's Jiangxi Province. Her seven-year-old brother also spent his preschool years hiking with their parents.
The family spend seven or eight months a year hiking, visiting many destinations in the country's underdeveloped mountainous regions. "We eat and sleep with the locals. I want the kids to learn that some people's lives are harder, and that they should cherish what they have," said the father Pan Tufeng.
Pan and his wife Yuan Duan run an online shop selling wild honey collected in the jungles along China's borders with Vietnam and Laos. Yuan took a break from hiking when her son began primary school.
The father said he would never slow or stop, even if his daughter was complaining about her blistered and callused feet.
"I certainly feel bad (about her suffering), but by pushing her physical limits she will learn how to handle bigger problems later in life," he said.
One of the most strenuous tasks for Wen Wen is the honey-collecting expedition in the primeval forest in Yunnan Province, which lasts about two months every spring.
According to Pan, the family stay with a group of villagers in the jungle for at least three days at a time, living on foraged food and sleeping in tents. "She knows we were busy and never complains," he said.
Wen Wen demands no special attention during the adventure and understands how to protect herself.
"When we hit the honeycomb, the bees pour out -- but she just hides like we do. But still, it's hard not to get stung," the father said.
During an interview at the girl's home, she told Xinhua that she loves hiking. When Pan joked, "In that case -- let's go!" she cheered and rushed to get her brand-new pink backpack.
The father describes Wen Wen as outgoing and thoughtful. "We're still exploring and improving our approach to parenting. We don't mean to experiment on the kids," he said.
He added that the girl and her brother seldom got sick and the boy performs well at school.
TEACH OR TORTURE?
An online poll shows that approval of the parents' practice has outweighed criticism.
Among more than 3,000 respondents of the survey on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo, about 11 percent said the method was too extreme, while 28 percent believed it was a great way for kids to learn how to cope with challenges.
Another 31 percent supported hiking but suggested the intensity should be reduced, while 24 percent agreed that "the parents' decision should be respected."
"I think Wen Wen's parents are selfish. They simply refused to change their lifestyle for the sake of children, and instead forced children to adapt to them," said a father of a teenager in Jiangxi, who declined to be named.
Li Hongbo, a sports medicine doctor with Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, said excessive physical activity would affect kid's bone growth and immune systems.
While Gu Mingyuan, with Beijing Normal University, said kindergarten helps children develop interpersonal skills, which is key to preparing them for school life. "But in the wild, it's hard for Wen Wen to meet anyone her own age."
However, supporters believed the experience will broaden the children's horizons.
"It is like the Chinese saying, 'It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books.' I would do the same if I had the money and time," said Weibo user "Tuotuobobobo."
"Is it better for kids to play with building blocks in the classroom, or to connect with nature?" said another user.
Many users claimed that even though they had never attended kindergarten, they had still had happy childhoods and their academic performance had not been effected.
In fact, many Chinese parents are exploring ways to train their pampered children, born under the one-child policy, to be strong.
A mother of a third grade student in Beijing, Mrs. Fang, said that she is considering sending her son to the countryside this summer to give him a taste of a harder life. "Whenever we cannot take the car out, he complains about having to take the subway," she said.
Physical challenges will help children later in life but they must also learn how to cope with their emotions and must develop their interpersonal skills, too, said Shu Man, head of the counseling center at East China Jiaotong University.
In early 2012, a Chinese father who forced his four-year-old son to run semi-naked in the snow in New York brought controversial, strict parenting under fire.
