While many of her peers are still learning how to ride a bike, one little girl is scaling mountains, tracing coastlines, or fighting her way through jungle overgrowth.
Affectionately known as Wen Wen by her family or "China's youngest backpacker" by netizens, the four-year-old first went hiking with her parents and brother when she was just 15-months-old. At the time of writing, the family have traveled to most parts of the country, including the breathtaking Qinghai-Tibet plateau.
Her story recently made headlines and has fanned debate on what many call an unorthodox approach to parenting. Supporters hail it as a great way to teach resilience while opponents have voiced concern about what effect the experience will have on the girl's physical and mental well-being.
Regardless of public opinion, the couple, who are both hiking enthusiasts, will continue to keep their daughter out of kindergarten so that she can see and experience wild China.
Later this month, the family will walk the Sichuan-Tibet highway, one of the most dangerous roads in the world.
BORN TO BE WILD
Wen Wen hails from a well-to-do rural family in east China's Jiangxi Province. Her seven-year-old brother also spent his preschool years hiking with their parents.
The family spend seven or eight months a year hiking, visiting many destinations in the country's underdeveloped mountainous regions. "We eat and sleep with the locals. I want the kids to learn that some people's lives are harder, and that they should cherish what they have," said the father Pan Tufeng.
Pan and his wife Yuan Duan run an online shop selling wild honey collected in the jungles along China's borders with Vietnam and Laos. Yuan took a break from hiking when her son began primary school.
The father said he would never slow or stop, even if his daughter was complaining about her blistered and callused feet.
"I certainly feel bad (about her suffering), but by pushing her physical limits she will learn how to handle bigger problems later in life," he said.
One of the most strenuous tasks for Wen Wen is the honey-collecting expedition in the primeval forest in Yunnan Province, which lasts about two months every spring.
According to Pan, the family stay with a group of villagers in the jungle for at least three days at a time, living on foraged food and sleeping in tents. "She knows we were busy and never complains," he said.
Wen Wen demands no special attention during the adventure and understands how to protect herself.
"When we hit the honeycomb, the bees pour out -- but she just hides like we do. But still, it's hard not to get stung," the father said.
During an interview at the girl's home, she told Xinhua that she loves hiking. When Pan joked, "In that case -- let's go!" she cheered and rushed to get her brand-new pink backpack.
