Last Friday, as we wrote about on this blog, WildChina spent the day at Bethel, an education and training center for blind childen in Hebei province. We cleaned up and prepared the foundation of a greenhouse to be constructed this year, and met some of the people behind this great organization in the process.

We invite you to peruse our Flickr photostream and take a look at our 2010 Off-Site photo album. Here we feature a behind-the-scenes look at Bethel, our work on the greenhouse, some of Bethel’s ‘main characters,’ and a couple new furry friends we made along the way.

Have questions about our trip to Bethel? We’d love to hear from you. Send Alex an email at alex.grieves@wildchina.com.

In WildChina’s ten-year history, we have been witness to many amazing and life-changing experiences on our journeys. Recently, one of these incredible stories was uncovered in a conversation with Pan Wei and Christine, two members of our Corporate Services and Special Projects team.

A few years ago, they received a request from an American Chinese family to visit Zhuhai, in Guangdong province – their ancestral Chinese village – in which one of the parents’ grandfathers had lived. After a number of emails and calls, we were able to arrange a visit for the family.

Not only did the family successfully pay a visit to the area, but they were also warmly greeted by local villagers. In fact, the village held a celebration for the family in their ancient temple. All of the villagers brought local dishes for a banquet-style meal, including a chicken that was cooked on the spot.

The family was incredibly moved by their personal experiences with the villagers, especially since one of the older community members remembered the family’s relative vividly.

For us, the fact that we could reconnect a family with their roots and cultural heritage was an incredible accomplishment. Their experiences exemplified how we can enable guests to experience China differently with a personal connection to the people and places that we visit.