Top Page	Mountains, Valleys & Waterfalls
Origin of Gansu
The origin of Gansu dates back to December of 1985, when two foreign women came to my workplace which is related to a local newspaper company. They wanted to make an application to join our company‘s monthly hiking trip which they had been suggested to join from a young Japanese woman. They came from the United States together with their husbands who were transferred to Hiroshima from Detroit, Michigan. Our company used to hold the monthly mountain climbing mainly for senior citizens, retired company employees, and housewives every second Tuesday. That outing was going to Mominoki Forest Park in the northwestern part of Hiroshima Prefecture. The destination was very popular among them, so it took two chartered buses with a group of 80 people. When we arrived there, there was snow everywhere. The participants shouted with joy, particularly those two new comers and enjoyed walking in the 40 cm deep snow, playing catch with snowballs like kids. It seemed the two liked our hiking trip, partly because the landscapes here are quite different from their hometowns which are almost flat and have no mountains. After they joined the regular hiking program six times in a row, they wanted to take their husbands and friends hiking on Sundays, not on Tuesdays. I noticed that there were many other people from abroad who were interested in hiking. Thus, some of my friends and I began to organize Sunday’s hiking trips for non-Japanese people. At the early times, we used to go on a hike in and around Hiroshima City several times a year with a small group of 15- 20 people including several foreigners. In 1991 we named our hiking group Gansu after the old Hiroshima dialect which means “desu” in Japanese or “be” in English. This was when Hiroshima residents were often encouraged more and more to have international exchange aiming at the Asian Games scheduled in 1994. We determined to have a hiking trip every month and explore our prefecture from the islands in Seto Inland Sea in the south to the Chugoku Mountains in the north. We are really proud of Hiroshima’s abundant natural beauty, from plenty of greenery in spring to summer and beautifully tinted leaves in autumn, to a fascinating landscape of snow in winter. Moreover, many cities, towns, and villages hold traditional festivals and a wide variety of cultural events throughout the year. At the same time, we wanted to make Gansu a really fun place to interact. In June, 1997 we could celebrate the 100th hiking at Hiroshima City Forest Park. Fortunately we are still alive to be able to organize monthly adventurous international exchange hikes. On behalf of the Gansu members, I would like to say “ Thank you very much for your cooperation” to everyone who has helped us to be able to go on for the past 13 years. We hope you will continue to support us as well from now on. Hirosan Hiroyama This essay appered in the No.127 Gansu newsletter in September,1999.