Outdoor Activities（在线收听）

The week-long National Day holiday is due to start in one day's time. What are your travel plans? Many people nowadays prefer to take part in outdoor activities, such as mountain climbing, outdoor camping and drifting. Many of these intrepid explorers seek travel companions on online forums. However, as accidents during outdoor activities have been on the rise in recent years, experts suggest that people carry out as much preparation as possible before they go exploring.

Zhang Wan has more.

 
It has become more and more popular for people to make plans for outdoor exploration based on their own interests. Some place invitations on the internet in an attempt to find travel companions. When you read through some of the outdoor activity websites online, it's easy to find a large number of such invitations. Pu Minghui, marketing director of an outdoor activity website explains:

"The current trend is that more and more invitations, posted by outdoor activity team leaders, are appearing on the website. Meanwhile, invitations from people who just want to find travel companions are also sharply on the rise. From this, we can see that more people are participating in outdoor activities nowadays."

Ms. Chen is a veteran outdoor traveler. She says the reason she loves outdoor activities is because she feels freer to choose where and when she travels.

"You're free to make your own travel plans, and you can get closer to local people, ultimately giving you a better travel experience."

However, as more people have embraced outdoor activities, more accidents have occurred in recent years. As recently as April of this year, Beijing police conducted two rescue missions for amateur mountaineering teams who were trapped in Beijing's surrounding hills.

According to data by the China Emergency Relief Union, the number of outdoor accidents in 2010 was as high as 182, with 52 death as a result.

Yuanshan, a rescue team leader says they started recording incidents in 2007. Their statistics reveal that the number of accidents have been rapidly increasing in certain places, particularly in Shanxi, Henan and Zhejiang provinces.

Experts say the main reason for these accidents is that some team leaders are not qualified, while some outdoor travelers are not fully prepared, skills wise, to join demanding outdoor activities.

Yuanshan suggests people prepare fully before taking part in outdoor activities.

"Whether it's during the winter or summer, be sure to take warm clothing or thick blankets with you when you enter mountainous areas. It's advisable to take a thermal blanket with you, because it will keep you warm should you become trapped on the mountain."

Outdoor activity veterans also suggest that people do their utmost to keep their communication equipment working. If it fails, you should leave a message, explaining your situation, with the people you meet on your way.

For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.