In the summer of 2018 I will be travelling to China with the organisation World Challenge and a group of students from school, we will stay for 4 weeks. An integral part of the "challenge" is to raise the money ourselves, so I will be doing sponsored events at various points this year. The main focus of the trip will be a volunteer project that we will undertake with the Chengdu Urban Rivers Association during the final week. CURA is a non-profit non-governmental organization founded in 2003. Members of CURA consist of former experts and researchers with the Chengdu Fu-nan River Restoration Project, started in 1992; as well as local and international students, citizens and professionals as volunteers. CURA’s main project is based in Anlong Village, Pixian, around 40 km to the northwest from the heart of Chengdu city. This project has been running since 2005, and promotes ecological infrastructure (such as the use of biodigesters, constructed wetlands and composting toilets), chemical-free farming, community-supported agriculture (CSA), urban farming and nature education.

To give you an idea of what we will be doing I have described the basic itinerary for the rest of the trip. During the first week of the expedition our group will visit the cultural sites of China, including: the Great Wall,  the  forbidden  city  and the terracotta warriors. The second  and  third  weeks  will  mainly  be  taken  up  by  intense  treks  across  two  beautiful  landscapes.  We will start with a  3-day acclimatisation trek around Emeishan, then, after a long train ride and a couple of days to rest we will start our main trek  around Minya  Gongga  which  will  last  for  5  days.  Before returning  home  we  will  also  visit  the  giant  pandas  and  explore  the  markets. 

For  more  information  about  World  Challenge  visit:

  www.world-challenge.co.uk