The father describes Wen Wen as outgoing and thoughtful. "We're still exploring and improving our approach to parenting. We don't mean to experiment on the kids," he said.
He added that the girl and her brother seldom got sick and the boy performs well at school.
TEACH OR TORTURE?
An online poll shows that approval of the parents' practice has outweighed criticism.
Among more than 3,000 respondents of the survey on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo, about 11 percent said the method was too extreme, while 28 percent believed it was a great way for kids to learn how to cope with challenges.
Another 31 percent supported hiking but suggested the intensity should be reduced, while 24 percent agreed that "the parents' decision should be respected."
"I think Wen Wen's parents are selfish. They simply refused to change their lifestyle for the sake of children, and instead forced children to adapt to them," said a father of a teenager in Jiangxi, who declined to be named.
Li Hongbo, a sports medicine doctor with Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, said excessive physical activity would affect kid's bone growth and immune systems.
While Gu Mingyuan, with Beijing Normal University, said kindergarten helps children develop interpersonal skills, which is key to preparing them for school life. "But in the wild, it's hard for Wen Wen to meet anyone her own age."
However, supporters believed the experience will broaden the children's horizons.
"It is like the Chinese saying, 'It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books.' I would do the same if I had the money and time," said Weibo user "Tuotuobobobo."
"Is it better for kids to play with building blocks in the classroom, or to connect with nature?" said another user.
Many users claimed that even though they had never attended kindergarten, they had still had happy childhoods and their academic performance had not been effected.
In fact, many Chinese parents are exploring ways to train their pampered children, born under the one-child policy, to be strong.
A mother of a third grade student in Beijing, Mrs. Fang, said that she is considering sending her son to the countryside this summer to give him a taste of a harder life. "Whenever we cannot take the car out, he complains about having to take the subway," she said.
Physical challenges will help children later in life but they must also learn how to cope with their emotions and must develop their interpersonal skills, too, said Shu Man, head of the counseling center at East China Jiaotong University.
In early 2012, a Chinese father who forced his four-year-old son to run semi-naked in the snow in New York brought controversial, strict parenting under fire.
