Rebecca

Rebecca and San Ge in  traditional “Dong” minority attire.

When I first met the lovely Ms. Lui, Rebecca, from Hong Kong, the first idea I had was something like amazement. Almost all of my students have wanted to go overseas, or at least to Beijing or a coastal Chinese city. Why would a well educated Hong Kong born woman want to come to Guizhou? I’m not very subtle and that was my first question. She wasn’t hesitant. She said that she had had several opportunities to marry, but was never really interested in marriage until she met Li Ming Song (SanGe).

It was on a trip to Hong Kong, that SanGe met Rebecca. She had never met anyone like him, who embraced the danger of extreme sports. Rebecca had been involved in sports in college and she was immediately attracted.

Rebecca’s Hong Kong family didn’t understand her ideas either, but they were supportive and all came to the wedding in Guizhou. It was a traditional Miao wedding. SanGe is a “Miao” minority by birth.

SanGe

Miao people have an ancient culture and are scattered around Southern China, Vietnam (Mong), and Laos. They speak their own language. It is a culture that embraces living within nature, respecting the environment. Many Miao never bother to learn Mandarin Chinese.

SanGe has always been curious about the world and the nature around him since he was a young boy. His Miao minority father could even communicate with the birds. SanGe served in the army as an artist soldier almost 30 years ago. After that he did lots of work related to music and art.

Tandem paragliding in Nepal.

SanGe had seen a hang glider on TV when he was young and wanted to fly. He later learned to fly gliders and learned paragliding. Now he has become a professional sports guide and instructor. He works with all kinds of groups from all over the world. His company which was co-founded with Rebecca, is called The Hump Exploration Ltd. [TheHumpExploration] and is registered in Hong Kong and Guizhou. It offers outdoor adventure sports like tandem paragliding, caving, as well as rock and cliff climbing. SanGe even leaves the mountains of Guizhou to take his guests scuba diving when there is a demand.

Tourists like to come to Guizhou because of the beautiful mountains, caves, and rivers. Some of them get into trouble. SanGe is one that often gets the call when emergency services people can’t, or don’t want to handle a dangerous emergency.  In their spare time, Rebecca and SanGe like to work on charitable projects such as bringing young people from Hong Kong to Guizhou for cultural exchanges.

The Liu Pan Shui Mountain Church.

Last year, while climbing with a group in Liu Pan Shui, SanGe heard music. It was so familiar, a sound from a dream that he’d had many times. The singers were singing in his native Miao language and he followed the sound. On top of one of the many mountain peaks he saw the little church. He said that he almost cried. They were singing Christmas carols in his native language. It was Christmas Day, 2016. He felt like he was walking in a dream. Of all the excitement in his life, this was one of his most memorable moments.

Youku: Mountaintop Holy Songs