Recently, a set of photos titled "Endless Journey" has been widely shared among friends on social media. The photographer behind these images is a young man who had just graduated. He once embarked on a 17-day cycling journey from Taiyuan to Hangzhou. These photos were taken during his trip.
Guo Wei, who cycled until dawn, happened to witness a stunning sunrise
The young man, named Guo Wei, is a 2010 graduate of the Digital Media Art program at Zhejiang University of Media and Communications, hailing from Shanxi. This long-distance cycling trip covered nearly 2,000 kilometers. His photographic work, featured in the series "Endless Journey," won first prize in the non-professional category of his college’s first-ever University Student Photography Competition.
To convince his family, he first tested the ride from Taiyuan to his hometown Xiaoyi
Guo Wei has vivid memories of his cycling journey. "Back in my sophomore year, I came up with the idea of cycling from my hometown Taiyuan to Hangzhou. I gave myself a year to prepare, including planning the route, preparing strategies, and getting in shape. At the time, all my relatives—my parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts—thought I was just being impulsive, just a child’s whim."
Guo Wei’s father set a preliminary challenge for his dream. "To test whether I could actually make the ride, my dad had me cycle from Taiyuan to my hometown Xiaoyi, about 200 kilometers away, during the summer break of my junior year. I went there and cycled back, successfully proving to my family that I could handle long-distance cycling."
Having cleared that hurdle with his family, Guo Wei set off from his home in Taiyuan that summer to officially begin his journey to Hangzhou. He brought along a lot of gear: a saddlebag, gloves, helmet, cycling pants, flashlight, pump, and other daily necessities, as well as essential medications. "Because I wasn’t just traveling—I still had school to attend. All of this added up to 50 jin (about 25 kg), and the rear rack even broke," Guo Wei said.
"I miscalculated the time and ended up cycling through the night on the first day," Guo Wei recalled. He rode until evening, when large trucks were speeding past on the national highway, and he didn’t dare to flag them down. He cycled the whole way with a flashlight, wearing highly reflective clothing, until he reached a hotel.
On the second day, he reached the border between Ningjin and Xiajin, where heavy rain began, soaking all his clothes. Then, the road from Wuhe County in Anhui to Chuzhou City was full of undulating waves. "When I reached the highest point of a slope and looked ahead, the wavy mountain road stretched endlessly, and so did the road behind me." He wanted to stop and rest, but not paying close attention, he suddenly ran into half-meter-high cow dung and was completely exhausted.
So, Guo Wei tried to hitch a ride to a town to rest. The first car he flagged down couldn’t fit his bicycle; the second one could, but while he was hesitating, the car drove off. After deliberating for half an hour, he finally decided, "I must cycle to Chuzhou!" It was already past six in the evening, and he cycled through the night until ten o’clock before finding a place to stay.
The entire journey covered 1,881 kilometers, with the fastest day covering 140 kilometers
The entire cycling trip took 17 days. Excluding time spent sightseeing, the actual travel time was thirteen days. Guo Wei calculated that he averaged over 100 kilometers per day, with the fastest day reaching over 140 kilometers and the slowest around 60 kilometers.
Guo Wei loves to travel. In the past, he used to go by car or train, but now he prefers cycling. "Cycling is tough, but it allows me to free myself, enjoy the sense of freedom during the ride, and the joy of being close to nature. Plus, I don’t have to worry about transportation costs."
Along the way, he cycled and traveled, "I first went to Jinan and spent a day there, then two days in Tai’an, and also stopped in Xuzhou for a day." To save money, Guo Wei chose local attractions that didn’t charge admission fees, such as art galleries and museums.
Including preparation and costs for food and lodging along the way, Guo Wei spent a total of 3,000 yuan.
Along the way, Guo Wei also met several fellow travelers. One was from Yancheng, Jiangsu, and another from Changsha, Hunan. They were both university students in Beijing and had planned to cycle home together during the summer. Their only gear was their bikes and tents. "They didn’t have as much equipment as I did, so they had a particularly tough time. Cycling without gloves hurt their hands, and without cycling pants, their bottoms were sore," Guo Wei said. At night, they didn’t stay in hotels but usually camped in tents in free public parks or police station courtyards.
When asked about what he gained from the trip, Guo Wei smiled and said, "This was the happiest and most meaningful memory of my life. I set a plan every day, and as soon as I woke up, I had to head to the next place. Every day, I saw different scenery and met different people. It felt amazing. I never thought I could accomplish something like this, but this cycling trip made me realize that as long as you try and put your mind to it, you can do it."
Nowadays, Guo Wei has started working. He chose Shenzhen, which is far from his hometown, as a video director. "When I was a kid, adults used to say that if you hold chopsticks high, you’ll go far in life. It seems that’s really true," Guo Wei said, recalling how he used to hold chopsticks at the highest position as a child. But even so, in the future, he plans to keep riding his bicycle to even farther places, like Dunhuang and Tibet.