It has already been more than four years since I came to Longwu Tea Village in Hangzhou. Many people ask me why I have chosen Hangzhou, the countryside and this particular village. When a friend of mine asked me to come to the village to see if it would be the place to build our dream, I didn’t have much expectations. But the day I arrived, I was immediately attracted by its environment and atmosphere.

I have lived in different places all over the world for over a decade before, in some of the world’s most developed and underdeveloped cities. My last stop prior to Hangzhou was Tokyo, Japan. There I learned bicycle design, frame building and maintenance.

My main interest was studying sustainable mobility, and studying bicycles seemed a perfect choice for me. With the bike I made myself, I was able to travel to a lot of places. In fact, I even started a bicycle-themed guesthouse in Hangzhou, and met many people. 

Traveling by bike around the city, I felt free and happy, since Hangzhou is a very bike-friendly place, especially in the suburban areas. But at the same time, I always felt uncomfortable seeing litters in certain areas. Therefore, I made up my mind to do something about it within my power. 

Growing up in Korea, I was taught at a very young age to be socially responsible, and to make sustainable changes is undoubtedly an important aspect. While it took me some time to think about the issue, it didn’t take long for me to put my idea into action when I decided to begin it. 

About two years ago, in July 2019, I founded Eco-Venture after winding up the bicycle-themed guest house. It was not so much a formal organization than an environment initiative. The first “event” we organized was a simple trash-picking event. After discussing with my girlfriend Ava, we made simple posters and called on people to just go out in nature and pick up trash with us. The result of the “action” was exceeding my expectations. There were over 30 passionate people, Chinese and international, at the event — and in subsequent events. There were a lot more people who were interested in this action than we thought. While organizing these activities, many people asked me many professional opinions on environment protection or sustainability. Although sustainability is one of my main subjects of study, I am not strictly an environmentalist nor a professional. For me, sustainability or environmental protection should not be only a few professionals’ job. As an ordinary human being, everyone should be responsible for the environment and focus on sustainability in their work and everyday life. 

It doesn’t need great sacrifices or efforts for that to happen. It could be a simple act of throwing trash into the bins. Sometimes during our events, we could pick up more trash than expected as some pieces were hidden outside the main roads, usually unseen unless you carefully look into the nooks and crannies. In fact, the city of Hangzhou has provided more than enough trash bins, which can be easily found everywhere. Whenever we were in such areas, I wished people could be just a bit more patient to look around for the bins. 

It could be also a part of fun games or events. In our events, I found that every child could naturally make everything into a game and enjoy doing it. For example, they make it a competition to see who picks up more trash or they turn finding a specific type of trash into a treasure hunting. They were able to change the hills and the tea fields into their playgrounds. By watching them, I learned much about making events as fun as possible. If grown-ups have similar imaginations as children, we would all be able to make this world a much better place to live in than now, and having fun at the same time. And of course, the children who grew up having these experiences would become much more responsible grown-ups.

Since founding Eco-Venture, there have also been many changes in myself. For one thing, studying the sustainability field is enjoyable, including the areas that I was not interested in before. Especially since the pandemic broke out, we were not able to organize events actively, I had much more time for my studies. For another, I’ve become much cautious with regards to my own behaviors as well as their outcomes. As a person, I find myself not living in very eco-friendly or sustainable life yet, which I still strive to achieve. 

When people ask about my plans, I always say: I wish to be a bridge. What I have been doing is part of my path connecting different peoples and cultures, connecting humans with the environment, and, in a sense, connecting the present with the future. Now, Hangzhou has become the place where I have lived the longest outside my native country. It is the beautiful surroundings of Hangzhou and Longwu Tea Village that have drawn me, and as the experiences in the past few years show, it is also the belief that here people can make genuine and lasting changes.

Born in Korea, Paul Sanghoon Bhang has been a life traveler. He lived, studied and worked in over 30 countries for over 15 years before moving to Hangzhou. With a diverse interest in various subjects, such as sustainability, education, language, culture and food, Paul is the founder of Eco-Venture and a lecturer at Hangzhou Normal University.