In the camp, looking for another self
Camping has become a new hot word for outdoor sports in the past two years.
During holidays, it has become a new way of leisure for people to meet three or five friends, bring their family, get in touch with nature, and stay away from the city.
What is camping?
Some people use it as an attempt to pursue an ideal lifestyle, some people just look for the romance of a cloud in a book, and some people use it as a window for intimate communication with children.
Build your own "Walden"
Four or five years ago, citizen He Tianna and her friends came to a wasteland near the Sanyatang Yougu Scenic Spot in Conghua. It was undeveloped, with weeds, rocks, and lush trees... The natural environment here attracted her.
"Originally, I wanted to find a weekend retirement home with good natural scenery for the elderly at home. The scenery and air here are good, so I come here often." He Tianna recalled that she and her friends slowly transformed this original wild land into vegetable gardens and gardens. In the orchard, there is a space on the lawn for children to play, and they can also enjoy wild fun with their family and friends.
Coincidentally, He Tianna had several "big coffee" friends from the Guangzhou camping circle who came to this unformed camp as guests, and felt that this wild place had quite "potential".
After absorbing various opinions, He Tianna began to remodel the camp, "It's all from scratch. A few years ago, camps that could take a hot bath were relatively rare. I didn't think it was difficult, so I installed a water heater for the campers. A better experience." He Tianna gave an example, "Afterwards, everyone raised their opinions, saying whether we can add a sink here, and whether we can get an electric box there..."
In the past year or so, He Tianna found that the camping atmosphere in Guangdong was getting better and better, so she increased her investment, made the camp more refined, and gave the camp a nice name - "Walden".
The name of this camp comes from the American writer Thoreau's collection of essays "Walden Pond", which records what Thoreau saw and heard when he lived alone by the Walden Pond for more than two years.
This book advocates simple life and is full of love for the natural scenery.
Now this camp is mainly divided into lawn area, fruit forest area and wooden platform area.
The lawn area can see the sunset landscape; the fruit forest area has many strange rocks and streams, which has become the favorite place for children; the wooden platform area is a space with high privacy, and there are also homestays in the camp, which provide higher comfort. The requested guest resides.
As a camp operator, He Tianna is keenly aware that the camping economy has become more and more prosperous in recent years, and the camps during the "May Day" period of the camp have already been booked out.
"We want to give campers an enjoyable experience while enjoying nature," she said.
Find the cloud in your heart
A few years ago, Wen Chen fell in love with a book called "Cloud Collector's Handbook". This book introduced 46 kinds of clouds and atmospheric optical phenomena, and also collected more than 100 wonderful pictures taken by cloud lovers all over the world. of photography.
Carrying this manual, Wen Chen used camping to collect the cloud in his heart.
He officially stepped into the "pit" of camping in 2020. Wen Chen, who is engaged in film and television production, has a strong interest in nature and wild animals and plants. When the camping craze started that year, Wen Chen was eager to try it.
"It was very simple at the beginning. I bought a folding chair, a small table, a small stove and a tea set. It was less than 500 yuan. This was the initial equipment." Wen Chen recalled that he was also a teacher at the time. Camping "Xiaobai" started his camping career with everyone's guidance.
From the beginning of making tea and learning about herbs, to enjoying the fun of the wild, Wen Chen's equipment gradually enriched, "I bought tents, sleeping bags, floor mats, and cooking utensils."
For Wen Chen, this is not only a sport, but also a social way to shorten the distance between friends.
One day in 2021, two of his friends were in a bad mood due to bottlenecks in their career and family.
Three people, three chairs, three men began to tell each other stories of life.
They didn't bring all the equipment and wanted to make a bonfire, so the three of them went to the riverside to dig a "Dekota Fire Hole" with a shovel to collect dry cow dung from the roadside and make a fire for fun.
"Guangzhou is actually very big, and there are many places around where you can get close to nature." Wen Chen said: "Even if you go to a park and change your state, it's a beautiful thing."
From park gear to stargazers
Many people start their camping careers in the park.
On New Year's Day this year, Guangzhou City launched the first batch of 24 park green lawn tent areas, allowing qualified parks to designate special areas for citizens and tourists to set up tents and carry out various activities close to nature, according to the needs of citizens. Better park life and a beautiful leisure space for living and traveling.
Zheng Chen, a freelance writer, said that he started camping from the "park school".
The first time Zheng Chen had the concept of camping was when he took his children to play in Nansha Seaside Park on weekends. Seeing that there were many colorful tents of different shapes on the lawn of the park, Zheng Chen began to look up various materials when he got home.
"When I first started, I was really fanatical, and I fantasized about going to the mountains and rivers every day. I have a lot of knowledge about the parameters and brands of various outdoor equipment." Zheng Chen recalled the "fever" moment when he first started.
Before a camping event took place, he bought tents, sleeping bags, canopies, stoves, tables and chairs.
As a result, when he really took the child to the park to start a camping trip, he was embarrassed to find that it took almost an hour to build a canopy, and it was only after the help of enthusiastic campers that it was successful.
After really participating in a few camping sessions, Zheng Chen found his hobby - stargazing.
Zheng Chen, who was born in 1988, recalls that when he was a child, he would lie on the lawn and watch the stars every summer night, but now the light in the city is too complicated, and the stars are hard to find.
"It is also my wish to take children to watch the stars."
Zheng Chen began to try to explore by camping.
Outdoors in the middle of the night, there was little light interference, and the starry sky made Zheng Chen regain his childhood memories and emotions. The children also became interested in astronomy in this way, and now they can recognize many constellations.
He also has his own thoughts on camping.
"Many players are now playing 'light luxury camping' and 'exquisite camping', but I think the essence of camping is not how luxurious your tents and equipment are. In the wild, getting close to nature is the first."
Zheng Chen is a very self-disciplined camper. Every time he leaves, in addition to the household garbage he generates, he will also take away the garbage left by previous campers around him.
"'No trace camping' is the first rule of camping that I follow." Zheng Chen said, "I will take away 120% to 150% of the garbage."
In the past two years, there have been more camping enthusiasts, but the overall quality needs to be improved. Zheng Chen hopes to spread the concept of "traceless camping" to more people and become a better camping player.