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December 2, 2013

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Do your own local ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’

By Wu Huixin | December 2, 2013, Monday | Print Edition

The celebrity parenting reality TV show “Where Are We Going, Dad?” has become extremely popular in China. It invites five celebrity dads from different fields and their children to spend quality time together in new settings without the company of mothers to accomplish various survival-style tasks.

The celebrities and their children have had adventures in a village, a desert, a watertown, and an island. When families watch the show on Friday at 10pm on Hunan Satellite TV, they are not only moved by the affection between children and fathers, but also awed by China’s beautiful
landscapes.

In Hangzhou, it’s possible to enjoy four local places that share some similarities with the locations shown in the TV show. They present a chance to enjoy the great outdoors with your kids to improve the parent-child bond.


Heqiao

The first destination of “Where Are We Going, Dad?” was Lingshui Village in Beijing. Hangzhou also boasts an old village in Lin’an County, Heqiao Village, which features brick houses and streets, lush vegetation, temples and hills.

In the show, fathers and children stayed overnight in some spartan local houses. But don’t worry — the accommodations in Heqiao are better. The village has a couple of guesthouses equipped with modern bathrooms and offering local cuisine.

Local vegetables and poultry are available at good prices — you may want to take some back. The village has a long and proud history. Old Street Block has more than 100 antique buildings, many
established during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), featuring up-turned eaves and carved beams.

Local crafts are also alive and include fish-shaped lanterns. Parents and children can work on making their own Heqiao lantern.

How to get there: Take the Hangzhou-Huizhou Expressway, get off at Changhua, and continue on Changlin Road and Changwen Road until you reach Heqiao.


Jingshan


The second setting for the TV show was Shapotou in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, a place of oasis and desert. Though Hangzhou doesn’t have a desert, there is a place that offers children a chance to be around animals like at Shapotou.

Jingshan, located in Yuhang District, has several farmhouses open to visitors, where people can fish and feed animals, observing and learning from rural life. Sleeping over in local familyrun
inn is a good choice.

Jingshan is also noted for its tea ceremonies. It is an ideal place for children to learn the centuries-old tea culture and sample delicacies made of tea.

How to get there: Take the Hangzhou-Changxing Expressway and get off at Jingshan


E’shan

Audiences were impressed by the picturesque scenery of the TV show’s third episode, which was filmed in Puzhehei in Yunnan Province, a community of the Miao and Zhuang ethnic minorities.

E’shan is Hangzhou’s only village of mainly ethnic minority residents. For hundreds of years, people of the She ethnic minority live there and maintain their folk customs, distinctive dress, cuisine and crafts.

E’shan is a great place to experience local folkways and unique local foods.

Like other Chinese ethnic minorities, She people are expert in singing and dancing, sometimes expressing their emotions in song.

The tinikling dance is the most famous traditional She folk art. Two people beat, tap and slide bamboo poles on the ground and against each other in coordination with one or more dancers who step over and in between the poles in the dance.

If you come to E’shan, lodging in local She people’s houses is recommended. She people build houses with wood and thatch roofs. Though they look humble from the outside, the inside is equipped like a modern home.

How to get there: Take the Hangzhou-Xin’anjiang-Jingdezhen Expressway, get off at Tonglu, and then take Yingchun Road to Qiaobei Road to Tongqian Road and then Xuqi Road to E’shan.


Yushan Town

The episode aired the past two Fridays was filmed in Jiming Island in Shandong Province. In Fuyang County, Yushan Town lies near the estuary of the Fuchun River and has geographic characteristics similar to Jiming Island.

The beautiful landscapes of Yushan Town attracted the renowned painter Huang Gongwang 600 years ago. Inspired by the scenery, Huang created the world-famous painting “Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains.”

The location near the Fuchun River makes the freshwater fish and shrimp worth trying. Also, parents and children can go with local fishers to catch fish.

Residents live in two-story cottages, where you can put up for the night.

How to get there: Take Zhonghe Elevated Road to Shidai Avenue to Qiaodai Line and then to Chunyong Line to reach the town.

 

Hangzhou


 

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