With dark skin, a tall and sturdy build, and an indomitable spirit — that’s the first impression Kaifeng youngster Song Zhaoyang gives. It was him who rode over 2,300 kilometers from Kaifeng to Xiamen, successfully fulfilling his “Xu Xiake dream.”
Recently, reporters met Song Zhaoyang, who had just returned to Kaifeng by plane. He is a sophomore in the School of Journalism and Communication at Henan University. Song’s idol is Xu Xiake, and he has always dreamed of cycling across the country. In his eyes, as someone who wants to become a journalist in the future, he should see the wider world. His father didn’t say much, just bought him a mountain bike worth over 7,000 yuan, while his mother packed his travel bag with medicine, changes of clothes, and bike repair tools, all the while repeatedly reminding him: “Be sure to stay safe, don’t be stingy with spending, eat well, sleep well, and don’t catch a chill at night.”
On July 10, Song Zhaoyang set off amid his mother’s reminders and his father’s reluctance.
From Henan to Anhui, then from Anhui to Jiangsu, from Jiangsu to Shanghai, and from Shanghai to Zhejiang. Along the way, Song Zhaoyang had one overwhelming feeling: heat. On the way to Shanghai, due to discomfort from the change in water and climate plus the scorching weather, he suffered from severe heatstroke. He had wanted to take a bus to Shanghai, but after trying to flag down a ride for 20 minutes, not a single driver would take him. The road, wide and baking under nearly 40°C heat, had trees drooping listlessly on both sides. Mechanically pedaling, his body swayed unsteadily. What should have been a one-hour journey took him two and a half hours.
Things got even tougher once he reached Fuding. The endless mountain roads made cycling extremely difficult. After struggling to get over one mountain, an even taller one loomed ahead. Every day, his physical strength was completely drained. The worst part about mountain roads is encountering bad weather. Before setting out from Daxi Town in Zhejiang, Song had heard from locals that Typhoon Saola was approaching and advised against traveling on mountain roads. But looking up at the bright blue sky, he thought it would be fine. Half an hour into the ride, however, the sky suddenly darkened, and in an instant, fierce winds and heavy rain struck. Just as he was considering turning back, his brakes failed. The usually obedient mountain bike went out of control and headed straight for the valley. Thinking, “This is it, I’m done for,” at that critical moment, he managed to make a sharp turn, and the bike crashed heavily against the mountainside — narrowly avoiding disaster. Afterward, he collapsed on the mountain road, his mind blank.
External challenges were nothing compared to the real struggle — the endless mountain roads tested his willpower and endurance time and again. The roughly 700-kilometer stretch from Ningbo to Quanzhou was almost entirely mountainous. In his own words, “It was nothing but mountains and sky.” Countless times, as vehicles sped past him, he felt like giving up. But an elderly passerby told him: “Young man, you’ve only got 5 more kilometers of mountain road left — don’t lose your resolve.” Hearing those words, Song Zhaoyang let out a few shouts into the valley and kept going.
Along the way, he encountered many unexpected difficulties, but as long as he could write in his cycling diary before going to bed, Song Zhaoyang felt happy. Everywhere he went, he promoted Kaifeng. He also met many kind-hearted people: Chang Zhixiang, the owner of a bike shop in Xuzhou, supported his journey by giving him some tire repair tools; Chen Jun, the owner of a bike store in Sixian County, Anhui, warmly invited him to a family dinner and shared practical cycling tips; and the owner of a grocery store in Zherong, Fujian, specially cooked her signature dish for him after hearing he had cycled across half of China. To repay their kindness and let them experience the warmth of the people from the ancient capital, Song Zhaoyang made a pact with them: everyone would meet up in Kaifeng during this year’s Chrysanthemum Culture Festival.
“The biggest takeaway is that I learned not to back down when facing difficulties — just push through, and it’ll be over before you know it,” Song Zhaoyang said.
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