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Tag: lifebelowwater

  • Rowing Expedition from China to Japan in search of the elixir of immortality

    On Monday 3rd June 2024, 6AM Beijing time, Asia’s first ocean rower, Chinese national 孙海滨 (Sun Haibin) and Denmark’s first ocean rower, Christian Havrehed ( 黄思远 ), embarked on a 1,300km row from Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China, to retrace the route of China’s first maritime explorer, Xu Fu (徐福), who in 210BC was sent by the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang (buried with the Terracotta Army), to search for the Elixir of Immortality in the Eastern Seas. 

    As they set off, Christian Havrehed said,

    “Next stop Japan! We are making history by rowing out of China. There is no legal system for this in China as China is not open for yachting. Our expedition therefore needed a lot of help and government support and goodwill and I am so thankful for that!”

    Sun Haibin from China and Christian Havrehed from Denmark have already made history today by leaving China in a rowing boat

    The first leg of the row is an onshore non-stop 800km crossing of the East China Sea to Nagasaki, something never attempted before in a rowboat. Here the pair will clear into Japan before continuing a 500km coastal row round the Southern tip of Mainland Japan, Cape Sata, and up the east side of Kyushu Island to Nobeoka, where they expect to complete their row Sunday 30 June 2024. The total distance of the row is 1,300km. 

    Along the way the oarsmen will visit locations in Japan dedicated to Xu Fu (known in Japan as “Jofuku”) and make cultural exchange activities with the local Xu Fu Associations to celebrate and promote the story of Xu Fu. 

    Mr Havrehed is the ‘Adventure Ambassador’ for educational charity, Engage with China and studied Chinese at the University of Durham with EwC’s Director, H-J Colston-Inge from 1989 – 1993.

    “Christian and I studied Chinese together at Durham University in the 1990s,” H-J said. “The funny thing is that I was a rower back then and he was not! Fast forward 30+ years and I certainly would not have the mental or physical strength to do a massive challenge like this out on the open sea.

    At university we learned about the First Emperor of China, Qin Shihuang, famous for building the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army over 2,000 years ago.  Now Christian is stepping out into a boat to challenge the historical narrative about maritime exploration by following the journey of that same Emperor’s alchemist, Xu Fu. From the historical perspective, this is a fascinating thesis but as a collaborative China-Western project during a prolonged period of political tensions between China and the West, this is really positive. We will be watching their progress daily and praying for their safe passage.

    The oarsmen will also be supporting the UNs’ Sustainable Development Goal 14, Life Below Water, by doing citizen science for Eyesea and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, as well as offering Xu Fu Environmental Scholarships, in cooperation with Atlantic Pacific, to students in the ports they call on. 

    The row has also been recognised as significant by the Explorers Club and has been granted expedition flag nr. 139 to bring on the voyage. 

    An international Xu Fu Conference is being planned in Nobeoka 30 June 2024 to celebrate the oarsmen’s arrival and the completion of the New Xu Fu Voyage East Expedition. 

    In 2001 the pair rowed 5,000km across the Atlantic Ocean together in 56 days. A feat which went pre-internet viral in China. 

    Live tracking and info: https://yantu.com/current-expedition/the-new-xu-fu-voyage- east/#LiveTracking 

    #yantu #yantuproject #XuFu #EwC #AdventureAmbassador #SDG14 #newxufuvoyageeast #sinowestern #anythingispossible #lifebelowwater #climatechange

  • Rowing team pulls together from China in search of immortality despite political headwinds

    In just under 2 days, on Saturday 25 May, two friends from Denmark and China, will set out in a rowing boat from Shensi Island off China’s east coast province of Zhejiang on Stage 1 of an epic expedition. The first 800km of this the New Xu Fu Voyage East will take the rowing pair out into the open waters of the East China Sea to Japan. The whole journey is 1,300kms with their final destination at Nobeoko on Kyushu Island. This Yantu Project, brainchild of Christian Havrehed, 54 and from Denmark, involves nautical adventures that promote Sino-Western understanding & the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. This leg of the joureny is to retrace the route of Xu Fu, the ancient alchemist of China’s first Emperor, Qin Shihaung, and his quest to discover the elixir of immortality in 210BC.

    Christian Havrehed and Sun Haibin on a practice row on the New Xu Fu Voyage East off Shensi Island, Zhejiang Province, China

    Relations between China and the west have been at a low point for some years now but this expedition – involving Denmark’s first ocean rower, Christian Havrehed, and Sun Haibin 孙海滨，China’s first ocean rower – is underpinned by the Yantu voyage motto, “合作可以更多 : Together we can achieve more!” and their catch-phrase, “慢慢来 Don’t rush.” The expedition is the culmination of years of preparation and academic study and involves cross-cultural immersion at an extreme level.

    Christian believes that the Chinese may well have discovered America long before the 15th Century Voyage of Discovery by Christopher Columbus and this Stage 1 row is the first of four phases to assess  if that might have been possible via the Pacific Rim. During the voyage the pair will gain knowledge about ocean currents, coastlines and maritime travel that could support this thesis. The pair will also be investigating sustainable development goals 13 Climate Action and 14 Life Below Water.

    Sun Haibin and Christian Havrehed aim to re-trace the journey of alchemist, Xu Fu, in 210 BC

    So novel, inspiring and committed to scientific as well as historical exploration is this epic adventure, that the Explorers’ Club has given the expedition a Flag, only the 139th to be granted in the Club’s history since its founding in 1904.

    Testament to the inspiration that this expedition has generated in China, Christian and Sun Haibin were invited to take part in the Opening Ceremony of the Zhejiang Province 4th Ocean Games a few days ago. On Saturday morning the Danish Ambassador to China will wave them off in an official departure ceremony. The pair estimate that they will reach Nagasaki in 11 days. After that they will travel a further 500 kms around the coastline to their final destination on Sunday 30 June. As part of their charitable outcomes, the expedition will help to fund Xu Fu Environmental Scholarships to promote environmental awareness and sea rescue skills. 

    Zhejiang 4th ocean games ceremony Christian and Sun Haibin

    These last few days of preparation have involved shopping for food rations, ensuring that their water-maker works, making final adjustments to the boat, launching it in the water and sorting all their cargo into categories including “repair”, “tools”, electronics”, “medicine”, “abandon ship”, and stored accordingly. This is no weekend picnic; such a journey requires serious planning, total conviction and both mental and physical endurance. 

    Engage with China has believed in this New Xu Fu Voyage East for some years now when it first captured our imagination. We met up with Christian in Lowestoft in the UK during Covid in August 2020 to discuss the expedition. Our charity, which builds China literacy in UK schools, sees this sort of cross-cultural and educational engagement as pivotal to developing closer understanding and peace with China. We are proud to have the EwC logo emblazoned at the front of the boat alongside Yantu’s own and to have Christian as our very own Adventure Ambassador. We hope that this expedition will inspire young people, including athletes and particularly rowers, to believe that nothing is impossible.

    Sun Haibin and Christian are no strangers to ocean rowing. In 2001 they crossed the Atlantic in a rowing competition in 56 days – a journey of 5,000 kilometres. *You can buy Christian’s book about this ocean row, “From Tenerife to Barbados in a rowboat,” online.

    To find out more and to follow the expedition, click here. https://yantu.com/current-expedition/the-new-xu-fu-voyage-east/ where you can also find out ways to sponsor the expedition including inviting Christian to give an inspirational talk on his return.

    We will be following the journey with keen interest and hope that the winds will blow in the right direction and bring them safely to Japan!