The erosion in the mountains and forests of Yunnan
Mei Zhang grew up in the precious green of the Yunnan mountains and forests, where people often joked that the canyons were so narrow that they wanted to invite their neighbors across the valley to dinner, just to make a noise they could hear. But in reality, to get to each other's homes, they have to spend a whole day on the road because the trail is the only road connecting rural houses.
The nests and trails have shaped life here, Zhang, an explorer and travel worker, recalled. Her childhood was filled with images of mountain slopes extending all the way to the horizon. When you look forward, the whole mountain is a mountain. And you don't know what's waiting in the distance," she said.
Many familiar childhood trails have faded in China's modernization process. In the new city, railways and highways are growing so quickly that ancient routes are forgotten, even disappearing under the thick vegetation. But now, many roads are returning to the foot of tourists - partly thanks to Zhang himself.
She is one of the people who are making efforts to promote the restoration of Tra Ma Road - a trade route over 1,000 years old connecting Van Nam tea forests with the highest plateau of Tibet. Once bustling in the past, this route was gradually abandoned and disappeared when trade switched to modern roads and railways.
Zhang wants to revive that road, turn it into a long-distance walking route, both helping to preserve the mountainous culture where she grew up and bringing economic benefits to remote areas that few people travel to. The roads bring a sense of connection with land, with tradition, with heritage. I think there must be a way to maintain these things, she said.
Currently a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley with a focus on the Tra Ma Road, Zhang plans to return to Yunnan to continue researching and traveling on the road.
The trails revive
Zhang's work is not just in academic research. She is implementing the Ancient Waterfall Project - a network of walking routes to restore ancient trails across China. From an overnight journey on the Tay Son range in the suburbs of Beijing to a six-day trip to Tuyet Biluo Mountain following in the footsteps of Catholic missionaries, old trails are gradually being found again.
Around the world, the trend of exploring historical walking routes is also flourishing. In the dense forests of northern Sweden and Norway, the 240km Finnskogleden traces the 17th-century Finnish settlers - allowing pedestrians to complete each section or the entire journey in about two weeks. In southern Jordan, the newly expanded Wadi rum route is 120km long connecting ancient trade routes and pilgrimage routes; according to the ancient tradition of the Bedouin tourist community, most visitors will travel with local tour guides.
In the UK, the Slow Ways project is maping walking routes between towns and cities, including many prehistoric routes for visitors to easily search and plan to explore. In Asia, the 402km-long Xuyen Bhutan bo - opened in 2022 - connects Buddhist pilgrimage routes from the 16th century, winding through mountainous villages and now has a full 36-day walking tour.
According to Daniel Svensson - Associate Professor of Malmo University in Sweden, such routes not only provide sightseeing experiences. There are deeper perspectives of history that you can only find on these trails, he stressed. They are associated with a slow lifestyle - once popular in many rural areas - now disappearing.
In Bhutan, memories of the "walking" period are still vividly recounted. Sam Blyth - founder of the Bhutan Canada Foundation, the initiative to restore the Bhutan bo bo - said that before the 1960s, trails and suspension bridges were the only means of connecting the village to the village. When the modern road system was born, many villages suddenly became isolated because old walking routes were left behind.
They have been out of contact with community members for decades, Blyth said. The restoration of trails also restores those connections. Income from long-distance walking tourism helps many families repair rooms and open small restaurants. A walking route can bring more direct benefits to local people than large resorts. We want to see the benefits return to the community, added Sam Blyth.
Not only have economic significance, the trails also contain immeasurable cultural values. For the Bedouin community in Jordan and Egypt, the skills of guiding tourists - from orientation to survival in the desert - are a profession passed down from father to son. The trails are suitable for a mobile livelihood, and they continue to promote that lifestyle, said Olivia Mason, a lecturer at Newcastle University.
According to her, the trail guide profession helps many Bedouin young people stay in their hometown instead of going to the city to find a job. When I asked the tour guides children, they said, I want to be a tour guide like my father, Mason said.
But the trails are a fragile heritage. They can disappear after only a few rainy seasons, when the forest covers the path, the desert sand burys or the green moss covers all traces. Svensson believes that there is only one way to preserve them: Continue to walk on them, because, he said, You cant take a trail and put it in a museum... Thats something that needs to be used continuously. It is a testament to the vivid history.
Therefore, today's footsteps are not only a journey of discovery but also a continuation of a long-standing heritage. Amid modern life, many people choose to return to the roads their ancestors have traveled - and thereby, keep the ancient trails present.
