The Hutong ran for Concordia Shanghai its Yunnan Cycle and Service program in September 2014. Below are the impressions of Hutong Co-Founder Stacey Shine, who joined the program as an observer:

“I first went to Xishuangbanna 14 years ago, as a backpacker on an overland trip from Thailand to London. A few years later, I returned as an Intrepid tour leader on a trip where we rafted our way down the Mekong. As soon as I set foot in Jinghong last week, I asked myself why on earth did I wait 10 years to return! This area is so beautiful and so culturally diverse, it’s like traveling in many different countries at once.

Our Yunnan Cycling trip was first put together about 6 years ago, by Hutong Co-Founder Mark Thirlwall after researching the area with friends of The Hutong. Ever since that time, I have been hearing how incredible this trip is and now finally I have had the chance to experience it for myself. Last week, I joined one of our Educational Tours with Concordia International School from Shanghai. The trip was amazing and gave me a perfect opportunity to experience our incredibly dedicated and talented Education Team in action. I must confess I was totally blown away by how far we have come. Absolutely every detail was taken into consideration to ensure that the students were safe, happy and continually inspired. What I loved most, in addition to all the fun had on the journey itself, was to see our company’s values embraced by Concordia, whose students arrived wearing the t-shirts they had made with our core values printed on the back.

At the end of each day we had the ‘Golden Youzi Awards’, where students were awarded Youzis (pomelos) to highlight and thank notable behavior or outstanding attitudes. Choosing whom to award the Golden Youzis to was no easy task, as everyday there were so many moments to celebrate. The students from Concordia were an absolute pleasure to travel with and I was impressed as they all sought challenge and rode the full distance. Not one single person gave up! All of the students were gracious guests while staying in the different ethnic minority homestays and they loved interacting with their hosts, singing songs, dancing, playing games, and sharing. They had even prepared lesson plans and sports activities to entertain and teach the students in the local village school.

It was an incredibly busy itinerary with long days bike riding, as well as activities such as pottery, cooking, paper making, Pu’er tea brick pressing, monastery visits, tea picking and camp fires in the evening. Though busy, so much fun was had by all that we did not hear one single complaint about sleeping on mats on the floors, using the basic squat bathrooms, or being tired. Another of my favorite aspects of the trip was to hear the students reflections and witness their nightly devotions led by senior students. Students at Concordia are encouraged to develop their own spirituality and think carefully about what has meaning for them. Students had a very insightful discussion with the monks comparing different religions and it was very enlightening to hear their reflections from this experience.

One thing that really stood out to me upon returning to Xishuangbanna after 10 years, was to see just how much the rubber industry has impacted this area. While it was nice to see the economic growth and improved living conditions, it was really sad to see the destruction of swaths of this beautiful natural habitat. As part of the Educational Content of this trip, The Hutong had prepared a weeklong stakeholders game, where students had to interview local hosts as well as fictional characters played by teachers and Hutong staff. We were incredibly lucky to have two inspiring teachers from Concordia leading this group, who sought every opportunity possible to help us educate the students about the local area and to encourage them to think deeply and embrace local culture. Students were encouraged to ask questions and learn more about the impact the rubber industry is having on this area. At the end of the trip, after interviewing many stakeholders representing different views, students gave a presentation showing their proposals as to what to do with a fictional plot of land. I was really impressed at the deep level of thinking and creative problem-solving of the students and very proud to see how our educational team had devised such a creative, fun, interactive activity to engage the students. This game really inspired them to think deeply about issues affecting the areas we visited. One of our core values is to “light a spark” and this stakeholder’s debate definitely did that.

People often ask what did we do to make The Hutong so successful and I tell them that it’s because we have a team full of really good eggs. You may ask, what I mean by “good eggs”? Well to “be a good egg” is another one of our core values. Do you know how one bad egg can ruin an omelet? Well, one person on the team with the wrong attitude can have the same effect. Every member of our Hutong team is a good egg and every student on this trip was also a good egg. Two of the ‘best eggs’ ever, are our local partners Wendy and Echo. For many years these impressive ladies have been working as a team to raise and deliver funds to less fortunate families in the area. Their philanthropic efforts mean that they are well respected and loved by so many people in the ethnic villages we visit. Their strong relationship with the locals as well as their insider’s knowledge of these places is invaluable. Echo and Wendy are two of the most selfless, generous women I know, and their sense of humor and fun-loving attitude really make our Yunnan trips special. The only thing I’m a little wary of is Wendy’s choice of local cuisine. I know we encourage people to embrace diversity, but I have to admit I just couldn’t bring it upon myself to join her in eating live worms – though one of the students was happy to give them a go! Urgh!!

Finally, while on the topic of our core values, I feel the need to mention one more, that is “Go the Extra Li”, (or mile if you are not familiar with this Chinese word). This Yunnan trip was led by The Hutong’s General Manager, Morgan O’Hara, a man whose dedication to the company is beyond belief. Morgan consistently goes out of his way to ensure that every single person who comes in contact with The Hutong is cared for. He is continually going the extra mile to ensure that all guests, staff, partners and suppliers have a positive Hutong experience. Morgan was an inspirational leader for this trip and well looked up to by all students. Students commented on how he managed to know every single one of them by name within minutes of the trip. How does he do this they asked? I know that it’s because he really cares and that it’s important to him that he really gets to know them as individuals.

I can only hope that the students and teachers from Concordia had as an amazing time on this trip, as I did. Judging the song they made up and sang to us on the last night, aptly named “It was so fun cycling in Yunnan”, I’m pretty confident they did. Thank you so much Concordia! It was a total delight to meet and travel with each and every one of you!”