Ten days in rural parts of China with the Light Up the World crew. A cascade of sights, sounds and memories:

The Food: Like an army, the LUTW team traveled on its stomachs, usually filling them from large rotating tables like you see at Chinese restaurants in Canada. But what was on the table was different. One dish turned out to be a steaming plate of bee larvae. There were snakes in the wine and the chickens had their heads attached. This demonstrates the bird’s freshness, and is apparently considered lucky (though certainly not for the chicken.)

Even our breakfasts felt like state occasions, as folks such as the mayor of Baoxu rolled out the congee (rice gruel with the rest of the chicken) at a breakfast banquet to welcome us.

The Kids: China’s one-child policy is relaxed somewhat in the countryside, especially for ethnic minorities such as the Yao people, so there were lots of kids around. They seemed mesmerized by the LED lights and the computer screen showing a National Geographic documentary of Dave Irvine-Halliday and his work.

Tom Keenan, Business Edge
A villager from the Lan Ding Yao test village learns about LED lighting.

We passed out little gifts – “Dishy Rabbit” whiteboards, Calgary pins and University of Calgary pencils. I remember one lad about 10 years old who patiently posed for endless still and video photographs, holding the old kerosene and new LED lamps. To thank him, I handed him an extra pencil. He tried to refuse, having received one already. I pushed it on him and he took it with a shy grin. I wonder if Canadian kids, who have so much more, would be that honest.

The Caves: Guangxi province is home to some amazing natural wonders, including an extensive system of multi-room caves. Our Chinese friends proudly pointed out the undeveloped ones, hoping this new lighting technology could turn them into tourist attractions.

Perhaps – but the Chinese idea of going caving is a lot different from ours. Instead of low power headlamps, Chinese tourists seem to expect huge multicoloured light displays when touring caverns. It will be a while before solar-powered lighting can meet that demand!

The Flashlight: One of the trophies I carried away from this trip was an LUTW keychain flashlight, sporting a tiny one-watt LED. It does an amazing job of casting light. How amazing? The week after I left China, my rented camper van broke down at midnight, deep in Australia’s bush country.

Armed only with this tiny light, my friend and I were able to flag down a passing truck and get help. That magical little LED certainly lit up my life that night . . . as it will for millions of people around the world.

(Tom Keenan is a professor at the University of Calgary and an expert on technology and its social implications. He can be reached at keenan@businessedge.ca)