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Chinese parents take young kids out of school to backpack around Asia

A couple who has been taking his young kids out of school for months at a time to backpacking treks has netizens telling the parents to take a hike.

Pan Shifeng, of East China’s Jiangxi Province, has trekked with his children through the Himalayas and the old- growth forests of Laos so they can “learn with their senses.”

And their lessons can be tough ones. Second- grader Boru and his four- year- old sister Wenwen would hike up to 30 kilometers a day on their family adventures, said Pan.

Boru has missed up to 50 days of class at a stretch. “He was not at school half the time last semester,” said Pan, “he skipped his final exams.”

Pan said he got his daughter hiking when she was 15 months old, and does not plan to send her to kindergarten.

For their next trip, the family is planning a September trek to the dry lake of Lop Nor in Northwest China.

Pan’s decision to educate his children with experience was for the most part criticized on Chinese social media.

“They are too young to be in such dangerous places! This is just about the parents’ vanity,” wrote NetEase user “gentiexiaoshenxian.”

However, there are some that share in Pan’s views on parenting. “It’s way better than going to kindergarten,” NetEase user “06IsRe” commented.