من نەوزەر عەلی، لەدایكبووی ساڵی 1951 و، دانیشتوی هەڵەبجەی شەهید، دوای 43ساڵ خزمەت وەك فەرمانبەرێكی دەوڵەتی كشتوكاڵی بەشی پاراستنی ڕووەكی تا نوسینی ئەم كاتەم بۆماوەی (5ساڵ)و نیوە خانەنشینم، لەبەرواری 20/3/2014تا ئەمڕۆ دوای ئەوەی تەمەنی یاسایم تەواو كرد، لەتەمەنی 63ساڵی تەمەنی یاساییە بۆ خانەنشینی فەرمانبەر.بەڵام تاوەكو ئێستا هەست ناكەم بەبوونی بۆشاییەكی ئەوتۆ لەژیانمدا كە ببێتە هۆی زۆر هەستكردن بەبێ تاقەتی و بێزاریم لە چاكەی خوای گەورە. كە ئەویش ئەگەڕێتەوە بۆ چاكەی پەروەردگاری جیهانیان كە كە هیدایەتی داوم بۆ ڕێگە ڕاستەكەی كە ئیسڵاحی پیرۆزەو، هەروەها بەچاكەی ئەوەیە كە لەناو كۆمەڵێكی ئیسلامی ڕەسەندا پەروەردەكراو كە برایانی موسڵمانی دێرینی دوێنێو یەكگرتووی ئەمڕۆیە. كە ژیان لەناویاندا ژیانێكی كۆمەڵایەتی متوسط و پڕ خۆشەویستی و برایەتی بووە.
ژیانی ناو مزگەوت و پەیوەندی محاضرات و دەرس بەشێك لەژیانمان لەگەڵ قورئان بووە، بەڵێ ڕاستە كەكەسێك بەساڵا ئەڕوات جۆرە كێشەیەكی دەروونی و سروشتی و وشكی كەئابەت ڕووی تێدەكات، ئێمەش وەكو مرۆڤ سەلامەت نین لەو حاڵەتانە، بەڵام خوای گەورە تاوەكو ئێستا كۆمەكی كردووم بەوەی كەلەماڵەوە بم بەشێك لەكاتەكان ئامادەی زۆرێك لەنوێژە جماعەتەكان دەبم و، هەست بەتام و چێژێكی تەواودەكەم كە هەندێك ڕۆژ دوای نوێژی بەیانی بتوانم بمێنمەوە بەخوێندنی مأثورات بەشێك لەقورئانی پیرۆزو دوعاو تسبیحات هەتاوەكو هەتاوكەوتن كە بەدوو ڕكات سوننەتی ضحی كۆتایی پێدێنم. دوای ئەوە ڕۆیشتن بۆ بازاڕ بە پیادە بۆ نان كڕینو شتومەكی پێویست و، هەندێ جار دراسەی قورئانی پیرۆز لەڕێگای تەفسیری في ظلال بەشی عەرەبیەكەی (سید قطب) ڕەحمەتی خوای لێبێت، یان بەشی كوردیەكەی كە ماناكراوە لەلایەن برای زۆر بەڕێز مامۆستا (بورهانی ئەمینی) . (إبن كثیر) و رامان لە أحمد شێخ محمود
جاروبار خوێندنەوەی ژیانی پیاوانی مەردانی ئیسڵاحی دێرین وەكو صڵاح الدینی ئەیوبی، إبن تیمیە، سبحانی، مفتی زادە، پەیامەكانی مامۆستا صلاح الدین.
هەندێ كات مۆبیایلەكەم بەكاردەهێنم و پەیوەندی دەكەم بەهەندێ برایانی دێرین و هاوەڵ و كەسانی خۆشەویستم بۆ هەواڵ پرسینیان كەزۆر هەست بەشادی ئەكەم كە گوێم لەدەنگیان ئەبێت، ئەوانیش هەست ئەكەم زۆر ڕێزو تەقدیر نیشان ئەدەن، چونكە بەشێكیان ماوەیەكە دورین لەیەكتر و ڕەنگە چاوەڕێیان نەمابێتن، هەست بە جۆرێك لە موفاجەئە ئەكەن هەردوولا هەست ئەكەن كە نوێبوونەوەی برایەتی و خۆشەویستی كە ئەوە زەرورەتێكی شەرعیە. بەداخەوە هەندێك برایانی دێرین هەیە كە ئاستی زانین و ئیسلامیان بەرزە، بەڵام جۆرێك تەبع وشكى لەسروشتدا ڕووی تێكردوون لەگەڵ پیری تەمەندا خەریكە مەعنویاتیشیان پیربێت، كەم تەرخەمن لەبەتینكردنی پەیوەندی برایەتی و دەوامدانی بە رابطە مەعنویەكان لەكاتێكیشدا توانای تەندروستی و مادی و وەسیلەی هاتوچۆ و پەیوەندییان هەیە لەڕێگەی مۆبایل و ئۆتۆمبیلەوە كە ئەوە محاسەبەی خوای گەورەی لەسەرە.
من هەندێ سودم لە خوا لێخۆشبووی باوكم وەرگرتووە لەڕووی جوڵان و بەشداری بۆنەكان و وەكو شایی و تەعزیە وئاهەنگەكان .
باوكم پیشەی مامۆستایەكی دێرین بوو كەلەساڵی 1941زاینی بووەتە مامۆستا و، سالێكیش لەدانشگەی بغداد لەكۆلێجی دار العلوم دەوامی كردبوو، ساڵی 1939 لەبیرم دێت كە لەتەمەنی (5)ساڵیمەوە دەستی ئەگرتم ئەیبردم بۆ قوتابخانە لەگەڵ خۆیدا و، لەكاتی جەژنی نەورۆزدا كاتێ كە عیدی ملكیەت بوو (ملك فیصلی دووەم) كە ئەوكاتە جەژنی دارودرەختیان پێئەوت بەشداری پێئەكردم لەباخچەی گشتی هەڵەبجە كە ئێستا پێی دەوترێت باخچەی (علی بەگ)، چونكە ئەو زەوییە موڵكی علی بەگ بووە، ئەوێی كردووە بە شارەوانی هەڵەبجە و خوالێی خۆش بێت (علی بەگ) باوكی دایكم بوو، بیرم دێت لە كاتی هاتنی ملیك فیصلی دووەم خوا لێی خۆشبێت لەساڵی( 1955-1956) لەگەل عبدإلاە كە خاڵۆی بوو، وەصی بوو لەسەر حوكمی عێراق هاتن بۆ هەڵەبجەی شەهید بەسەردانێك، ئەو كاتە هەڵەبجە دوو قوتابخانەی سەرەتایی و كوڕان و یەك قوتابخانەی سەرەتایی كچانی تیابوو، لەگەڵ ناوەندیەكی كوڕان، خەڵكی هەڵەبجە و قوتابیانی قوتابخانەكان بەبەرگی كەشافەوە لەپێشوازی دابوون من هیشتا تەمەنی خوێندنم نەهاتبوو، دەستێ جلی كەشافەیان كردمە بەر، لەوكاتەدا كە ئۆتۆمبیلەكەی مەلیك فیصڵ گەیشتە نزیك جێگای عومەری خاوەری ئێستا، منیش باوكی خوالێخۆشبووم دەستی گرتمو چەپكێ گوڵی دایە دەستمەوە كە كاتێ خەڵگی گوڵبارانی ئۆتۆمبیلەكەی مەلیكیان ئەكرد، منیش چەپكێ گوڵم تێگرت دای بە بەردەم بۆدیەی ئۆتۆمبیلەكەی، ئێستاش ئەو دیمەنەم لەبەرچاوە بەدیمەنی مەلیكەوە، هەروەها توانیومە پاداشتی ئەو ڕووداوە بەسەرهات تاڵانەی كەبەسەر خەڵكی عێراق و كوردستاندا هاتووە دوای ئیعلانكردنی سیستەمی كۆماری عێراقدا بەسەرۆكایەتی عبدالكریم قاسم كۆتایی سیستەمی ملكیەت تاوەكو ئەمڕۆ بنوسمەوە ئەوەی كە خۆم شاهیدی ڕووداوەكان بووم، وەبەشێكی ئەو نوسراوانەم ڕادەستی مەڵبەندی (5) یەكگرتووی ئیسلامی كردووە لەهەڵەبجە، بۆئەوەی سوودی لێوەربگرن، جانازانم تاوەكو چ سنورێك سوودیان لێوەرگرتووە، كە لە100% مێژوویەكی ڕاستو بێ ناتەواوییە، كەیەك بەدوای یەكی گۆڕانكارییەكانم نوسیوە، حزب بەدوای حزبدا وە دەوڵەت بەدوای دەوڵەتدا كە هەموویان دەوری وێرانكاریان دیوە، لەژێر دروشمی چاكسازی و ئازادی و بەختیاریدا لەچەپڕەوی متطرف بۆ ڕاستڕەوی متطرف، ئەوەی عێراق و كوردستان بەم ئەنجامە هێناوە بەرهەمی ململانێ و جەنگی خوێناوی ئەوانە كە هەموویان بەرپرسیارن لەبەردەم خوای گەورەو مێژوودا، هەروەها لەكاتی سەیران و تەعزیەو بۆنەی هاوسەرگیری و لەجەژنەكاندا كاتێك كەلەقۆناغی ناوەندیدابووم منی ئەكرد بە نوێنەری خۆی بۆ هەندێ مناسەبات وە لەپۆلی پێنجەمی سەرەتاییدا بووم بەشداری سەر قەبرانم كردووە، ئێستاش بەگوێرەی تواناو ساتی گونجانم بەشداری لە جەنازەو تەعزیەی دوورونزیك لە پارێزگای هەڵەبجەو سلێمانی دەكەم.
هەروەها لەكۆڕی ئاشتەوایی و هاوسەرگیریدا بەشێك لەكاتەكانم تەرخان كردووە، پەیوەندی دراوسێیەتی و سەردانی نەخۆش و دیدەنی خزمان و هاوەڵانی دێرینم ئەكەم. ئێستاش ئوسرەیەكم هەیە لەمەڵبەند كە بریتین لەهەندێ برایان شخصیاتی تەمەنداری یەكگرتوو كە ماوەی زیاتر لە (18)ساڵە كە ژمارەیان زیاتر لە(15)كەس بوون، بەڵام لەم ماوەیەدا ژمارەیەكیان كۆچی دواییان كرد، خوای گەورە لێیان خۆش بێت و ئێستا لەباغاتی بەهەشتدا بحەسێنەوە ان شاءالله، چونكە هێزێكی مەعنەوی و بازوویەكی بەهێزبوون بۆ كاروانی یەكگرتوو، هەندێكیشیان نەخۆشن خوای گەورە ئارامییان پێ ببەخشێت، تەنها سێ كەسیان ماون كە بەردەوامن لەبەشداری دانیشتنەكاندا خوای گەورە منیش و ئەوانیش ثابت بكات، كۆتایی ئەمان بەخێر تەواو بكات، وە لەمانگەكانی ڕەمەزاندا لەسەر داوای خەڵكی مزگەوتی گەڕەكەكەمان داوام لێئەكەن هەندێ وتاریان پێشكەش ئەكەم.
كۆمەڵێك لاوی گەڕەكەكەمان كە قوتابی ئامادەیی و دانیشتگان، نوێژكەری مزگەوتەكەمانن مزگەوتی (صلاح الدین) لەكاتی كۆتایی خوێندندا كۆتایی ساڵ و وەرگرتنی نمرەكانیان ئاهەنگو سەیرانێكی متواضعیان بۆ ڕێكئەخەم لەسەر گیرفانی خۆم، كە زۆریان پێخۆشەو دەبێتە هۆی زیادە خۆشەویستی و برایەتی نێوانیان، منیش زۆر پێی شادومانم ڕۆژانی لاوێتی خۆمم دێنێتەوە یاد.
بەندە بۆ ماوەی نزیكەی 13ساڵ بەڕێوەبەرایەتی مەڵبەندی مەولەوی (تحفیظ قورئان)م بەدەستەوە بوو، سەدان قوتابی لەكوڕان و كچانمان بەشداریان ئەكرد لەفێربوون و لەبەركردنی قورئانی پیرۆزدا، نزیكەی (24) قوتابی هەموو قورئانیان لەبەركرد لەكوڕان و كچان، ئەوانی تریش بەشێوەیەكی جیاواز لە جوزئێكەوە تاوەكو (20-25)جزئیان لەبەركرد، كە ئەو مەڵبەندە لەسەرەتاوە جەنابی بەڕێز مامۆستا جەعفەر مستەفا بەڕێوەبەری بوو لەساڵی 1995دا دامەزراوە (رابیتەی ئیسلامی) تموینی ئەكرد، ژمارەیەك لە مامۆستایانی بەڕێز وەك (مامۆستا محمد أمین فرج بیارەیی، مامۆستا عبداللە عبدالرحمن همزە، مامۆستا حمە رەئوف محمد غیاث، مامۆستا ماجد تەوێڵەیی) وەك مامۆستا خزمەتیان ئەكرد، لەساڵی 1998دا من برای بچوكیان بەڕێوبەرایەتیم گرتە دەست دوای دەست بەكاربوون مامۆستا جعفر بوو بە لێپرسراوی مەڵبەندی (5)یەكگرتوو.
ئەو قوتابیانە زۆریان پەیوەندی ڕۆحیان لەگەڵماندا ماوە لەكچان و كوڕان، ئێستاش هەندێكیان بەتەلەفون بەسەردان یادمان دەكەن، زۆریان تەخەرجیان كردووە و لە پلەی مامۆستاو پزیشك و ئەندازیارو پارێزەرو فەرمانبەر لەدائیرەكاندان، نموونەیەكی جوانن بەشێكن لەئارامی دڵمان.
Think fast, play smart—win big in the online gaming arena. Hawkplay
Four friends posed for a photo on vacation in 1972. Over 50 years later, they recreated it
Aerodrome Finance
In the photo, four young women walk arm in arm, smiling and laughing, on a beach promenade. They’re dressed in mini skirts and flip flops, and there’s what looks like a 1960s Ford Corsair in the background. This is clearly a snapshot from a bygone era, but there’s something about the picture — the womens’ expressions, their laughs — that captures a timeless and universal feeling of joy, youth and adventure.
For the four women in the photo, Marion Bamforth, Sue Morris, Carol Ansbro and Mary Helliwell, the picture is a firm favorite. Taken over 50 years ago on a group vacation to the English seaside town of Torquay, Devon, the photo’s since become symbolic of their now decades-long friendship. Whenever they see the picture, they’re transported back to the excitement of that first trip together.
“It’s always been our memory of Torquay,” Sue Morris tells CNN Travel. “The iconic photograph — which is why I got the idea of trying to recreate it.”
‘The iconic photograph’
Bamforth, Morris, Ansbro and Helliwell were 17 when the photo was taken, “by one of these roving photographers that used to roam the promenade and prey on tourists like us,” as Morris recalls it.
It was the summer of 1972 and the four high school classmates — who grew up in the city of Halifax, in the north of England — were staying in a rented caravan in coastal Devon, in southwest England. It was a week of laughs, staying out late, flirting with boys in fish and chip shops, sunburn, swapping clothes, sharing secrets and making memories by the seaside.
Fast forward to 2024 and Bamforth, Morris, Ansbro and Helliwell remain firm friends. They’ve been by each other’s sides as they’ve carved out careers, fallen in love, brought up families and gone through heartbreak and grief.
The Australian city that became a global food and drink powerhouse
Defillama
Sydney or Melbourne? It’s the great Australian city debate, one which pits the commerce, business and money of Sydney against cultural, arts-loving, coffee-drinking Melbourne.
While picking one can be tricky, there’s no denying that Australia’s second city, home to 5.2 million people, has a charm all of its own.
Melburnians (never Melbournites) get to enjoy a place where nature is close by, urban delights are readily available and the food and drink scene isn’t just the best in Australia, but also one of the finest in the world.
There’s no better way to start a trip to Melbourne than with a proper cup of coffee. Coffee is serious stuff here, with no room for a weak, burnt or flavorless brew. The history of coffee in Melbourne goes back to the years after World War II, when Italian immigrants arrived and brought their machines with them.
Within 30 years, a thriving cafe scene had developed and, as the 21st century dawned, the city had become the epicenter of a new global coffee culture. The iconic Pellegrini’s on Bourke Street and Mario’s in the Fitzroy neighborhood are the best old-school hangouts, while Market Lane helped lead the way in bringing Melbourne’s modern-day coffee scene to the masses.
Kate Reid is the best person to speak with about Melbourne’s coffee obsession. The founder of Lune Croissanterie, she was once a Formula 1 design engineer and has brought her expertise and precision to crafting the world’s best croissant, as well as knowing how to brew a coffee, and specifically a flat white, just the way it should be.
“Good coffee is just ingrained in everyday culture for every single Melburnian now,” says Reid. “I think that that peak of pretentious specialty coffee has come and gone, and now it’s just come down to a level of a really high standard everywhere.”
That’s clear when she pours a flat white. Describing herself as a perfectionist, the way she froths the milk and tends to the cup is a sight to behold.
How to survive a bear attack – or better yet, avoid one altogether
Uniswap
You’re out for a hike, reveling in glorious nature. Suddenly, you spot a bear. And the bear has spotted you, too. Would you know what to do next?
Beth Pratt sure would.
She was once on the Old Gardiner Road Trail in Yellowstone National Park, enjoying her run in wild nature. Her reverie came to an end when she came upon a grizzly bear eating flowers.
“I stopped. It stood on its hind legs and looked at me. I knew that wasn’t a threatening gesture,” she told CNN Travel. “I’m not kidding, it waved its paw at me as if to say, ‘just go on your way,’ and went back to eating.”
“And I walked slowly away and put some distance between us, and the encounter ended fine.”
When it comes to dealing with bears, Pratt does have a thing or two on almost all the rest of us, though.
She is the California regional executive director for the National Wildlife Federation, a job she’s had for more than 10 years. She worked in Yellowstone for several years – and once saw nine grizzlies in one day there.
Finally, she lives on the border of Yosemite National Park, and bears will pass through her yard, including this one seen in the footage above in late September 2021.
You can hear the enthusiasm in Pratt’s voice as she shares her bear bona fides and advice to make sure bear/human encounters are delightful, not dangerous.
“A wild bear is a beautiful sight to see. It’s incredible to see them in the wild. I never had a bad experience with bears. What I try to get people to feel is respect, not fear, for bears. The animal usually wants to avoid the encounters.”
You’ve come across a bison in the wild. It’s looking at you. Do you know what to do next?
Pendle
A dangerous encounter with a territorial bison and the subsequent viral video were not what Rebecca Clark had in mind when she set out for Caprock Canyons State Park in early October 2022.
She had been so enamored with Texas’ third-largest state park on her first solo hiking and camping trip there a year earlier that she decided to go back for more. Roughly two hours by car from either Lubbock or the Panhandle city of Amarillo, Caprock attracts visitors with big blue skies, brown and green prairielands and rugged red-rock formations.
Caprock has another draw – its wild bison herd, about 350 strong in late 2022. But bison, the great symbolic animal of the Great Plains, weren’t on her radar. Until suddenly, they were.
The Texas resident recounted her experience with CNN’s Ed Lavandera, telling him that she came upon a herd while she was walking a trail back from Lake Theo.
“I decided to just kind of wait for them to … get across the trail, and then I would pass them.” But they weren’t moving away fast enough for Clark. She said she decided to just walk by them – closer than the recommended safety distance. She was recording the moment on her smartphone.
In her video, Clark can be heard saying, “Thank you, I appreciate it” as she passes the animals.
Things got dangerous very quickly when one of the agitated bison took notice. “When I saw him turn, it’s like instantly I knew he was gonna come after me.”
And that’s exactly what the bison did. Once it charged, the large mammal was upon Clark within two seconds despite her frantic attempt to flee.
“It was so fast. He hit me in the back, rammed me, hooked me, then flipped me up and face forward into the mesquite bush.”
And there was Clark. Gored, bleeding and alone. How would she survive?
They fell in love three decades ago. Now they pilot planes together
Aave
On their first flight together, Joel Atkinson and Shelley Atkinson couldn’t contain their excitement. They enthused to the flight attendants. They posed for photos. They told passengers via a pre-flight announcement.
“We made a big deal about it,” Joel tells CNN Travel.
Then, right before take off, Joel and Shelley sat side by side in the flight deck, just the two of them. They’d come full circle, and were about to embark on an exciting new chapter.
“It felt amazing,” Shelley tells CNN Travel.
“As we prepared to take off, I was giddy, euphoric,” says Joel.
Joel and Shelley met as twentysomethings flying jets in the US Air Force. They became fast friends, then, over time, fell in love.
Today, they’ve been married for 27 years and counting. They’ve brought up two kids together. And now they’re both pilots for Southwest Airlines. They regularly fly together, with Joel as captain and Shelley as first officer.
The couple say working together is “amazing.” They treat layovers as “date nights.” They learn from one another’s respective “wisdom and judgment.”
And no, they don’t argue mid-flight.
“People ask us, how does it work, flying together?” says Joel. “We know a few pilot couples and some of them fly together, some of them don’t. I’ve heard people say, ‘Oh I could never fly with my wife or my husband.’”
For Joel and Shelley, working together is seamless – a joy that comes easily to them both.
“We’re best friends,” says Shelley.
“There’s just that unspoken bond,” says Joel.
He thought the guy he met on vacation was just a fling. He turned out to be the love of his life
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Guillermo Barrantes relationship with Larry Mock was supposed to begin and end in Palm Springs.
It was a “casual, brief encounter.” A vacation dalliance that only lasted half a day.
“It was just so casual, so easily nothing could have happened from it,” Guillermo tells CNN Travel. “We could have walked away and just had our lives separate. But of course that didn’t happen, because it wasn’t meant to be that way. It was meant to be the way that it was. That it is.”
It all started in summer 2013. Guillermo – then in his early 40s – was on vacation in the California resort city of Palm Springs. He was in a phase of life where, he says, he was prioritizing himself, and wasn’t interested in long term romance.
“I thrived in being by myself, in traveling by myself, in having dinner by myself – I loved all of that so much,” says Guillermo, who lived in Boston, Massachusetts at the time.
“I wanted no commitment, I wanted no emotional entanglement of any kind. I wanted to have fun, get to know myself. And it was in that mode that I met Larry, when I wasn’t really looking.”
During the vacation in Palm Springs, Guillermo was staying at a friend’s apartment, and while the friend worked during the day, Guillermo passed his time at a “run-down, no-frills” resort a couple of blocks away.
“You could just pay for a day pass, they’d give you a towel, and you could be in the pool and use their bar,” he recalls.
One day, as he was walking the palm tree-lined streets to the resort, Guillermo swiped right on a guy on a dating app – Larry Mock, mid-40s, friendly smile. The two men exchanged a few messages back and forth. Larry said he was also on vacation in Palm Springs, staying in the resort Guillermo kept frequenting.
They arranged to meet there for a drink by the pool. Guillermo was looking forward to meeting Larry, expecting “some casual fun.”
Then, when Guillermo and Larry met, there was “chemistry” right away. Guillermo calls their connection “magnetic.”
“My impression of Larry: sexy, handsome and warm,” he recalls.
‘A short and significant relationship’: How a piano in a pickup builds connections
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Dozens of internationally renowned recording artists give concerts in Vegas every year, but the musician who connects best with people might be a local troubadour who improvises on a piano in the back of his pickup.
The maestro, Danny Kean, calls his setup The Traveling Piano, and he has traversed North America sharing music for nearly 20 years.
Kean’s home base is Las Vegas now, and every time he plays, he invites passersby to climb aboard the truck and tickle the ivory for themselves. Even if people are shy or say they can’t do it, Kean usually convinces them to give it a try, inspiring total strangers to express themselves through the common language of music.
He estimates more than 100,000 people have played his piano since 2006.
For most of these impromptu virtuosos, the experience is cathartic — many of them step down from the truck in tears. For Kean, 69, the encounters nourish his soul.
“I enjoy sharing my music with others, but I enjoy having others share theirs with me just as much,” he said. “My goal is to connect with others by creating a short and significant relationship. Music is a great facilitator for that in every way and on every level.”
Kean does not accept fees or tips for these musical awakenings, giving away time and energy for nothing in return. He practices philanthropy in other ways, too, providing food and other necessities for the burgeoning population of unhoused individuals in downtown Las Vegas and around the Las Vegas Valley.
“I love the idea of strangers becoming less afraid of each other,” he said. “This love for humanity drives me to keep doing good.”
In China, people are hiring ‘climbing buddies’ for big money. The more attractive they are, the higher the price
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Wendy Chen decided to challenge herself by climbing Mount Tai, a well-known mountain in eastern China.
But there was one obstacle in her way: she couldn’t find a friend to join her for the five-hour trek.
Rather than forgo her plans, the 25-year-old hired a “climbing buddy,” a young man with extensive outdoor experience, to accompany and support her to the 5,000-foot peak.
Known in Chinese as “pei pa” (meaning “accompany to climb”), these are young Chinese men who join strangers on their journeys up popular mountains for a price. The trend has gained momentum this year, as hashtags related to “climbing buddy” have had over 100 million views on Chinese social media.
Young, athletic individuals, often university students or even military veterans, advertise themselves on social media platforms like Xiaohongshu and Douyin, with profiles featuring their height, fitness level and hiking experience. They usually charge between 200 to 600 yuan ($30 to $85) per trip.
During the climb, these “buddies” will do anything to distract their clients from feeling exhausted and push them to keep going: from singing, telling jokes, playing music, verbal encouragement, going so far as carrying their bags, holding their hands, and pulling them.
A day on the mountain
Chen and her climbing buddy’s adventure began at around 8:00 pm so she could arrive at the peak in time for the famous sunrise. After assessing her fitness level, her climbing buddy planned a moderate route and carried her backpack the whole way.
When they faced chilling winds at the peak, Chen’s climbing buddy rented a thick coat for her while directing her to a walled shelter.
At the moment the sun rose, Chen’s climbing buddy was already prepared with a national flag and other props so that she could take a memorable photo. Though she felt his photography skills still had room to improve, she rated her climbing buddy as “satisfactory.” The service cost her 350 yuan ($49).
Though Chen paid a typical price for a climbing buddy, she acknowledges that more good-looking buddies can command higher rates.
“Attractiveness is also part of their strength,” she says.
Climbing buddies’ main customers tend to be single young women, but that’s slowly changing.
A video of a strong male university student carrying a three-year-old effortlessly up a steep mountain — while the toddler’s mother trailed far behind — went viral this summer.
The surprising history of the Fair Isle sweater
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Which fashion item is as beloved by members of the royal family as it is by JLo? Or as relevant on the runways of 2024 as in the knitting catalogs of 1960? The answer is surprisingly festive. The Fair Isle knit, a two-stranded knitting tradition originating off the coast of Scotland, has been a wardrobe staple for well over 100 years — keeping everyone from 18th century fisherman to Mick Jagger warm.
In the last five years, luxury brands Ralph Lauren, Thom Browne, Chanel, Celine, Balenciaga, Raf Simons, Versace and Dries van Noten have all sent their renditions of the heritage knit down the catwalk. London-based designer Molly Goddard has even made the pattern something of an unofficial signature, making sure to pair a structured Fair Isle-style knit with a flouncy, tulle skirt in almost every collection.
In short, it has become a winter classic that seems perpetually in vogue. Rom-com leading man, Adam Brody, recently wore a red and white version on the cover of Stylist magazine; while Katie Holmes was snapped running errands in an old beige Fair Isle favorite from 2022.
For those in the northern hemisphere, it’s appropriate to shrug on as soon as the nights draw in right until sweater weather deteriorates. That being said, even in season-less Los Angeles, stars like Hailey Bieber have been seen in the cozy Fair Isle knits grabbing coffees.
Taking its name from the island of Fair Isle — part of the Shetland archipelago about 100 miles off the northeastern coast of Scotland — the knitting technique first began in fisherman’s hats during the 18th and 19th century (our beloved sweaters came much later). The two strand pattern was not only artistic, but made the tall, conical shaped caps extra warm by doubling the textile mass. They often featured a knitted interior lining, too.