Sun Youzhi is in Yunnan.
A 25-year-old disabled youth from Henan sets off from Huixian
...to cycle 2,000 kilometers to Hainan
...on a mountain bike, with one prosthetic leg and one dream. Amidst gasps of amazement, 25-year-old Sun Youzhi embarked from his hometown in Huixian, Xinxiang, with his destination being the tropical island 2,000 kilometers away.
He said he did this to prove that he could. Along the way, he experienced a flat tire, a stolen bike, and countless hardships. Yet, he remained undeterred and continued pursuing his cycling dream. On March 31, he arrived in Guangzhou. By Shi Chuang, reporter at Zhengzhou Evening News
An accident in his freshman year led to the amputation of his left leg above the knee
“Life can sometimes be helpless, but you have to accept it and not give in.” Yesterday morning, after more than a month of arduous travel from Huixian, Xinxiang to Guangzhou, Sun Youzhi shared these words with a reporter from Zhengzhou Evening News.
At that time, light rain was falling in Guangzhou, and he waited quietly for clearer weather to continue his journey.
Born in April 1989 in Miaogu Village, Huixian County, Xinxiang, Sun Youzhi’s parents are ordinary farmers who make a living by farming. His father is also disabled, having had part of his lower leg amputated.
Poverty did not hinder his pursuit of education. Like his siblings, in September 2008, Sun Youzhi was admitted to an undergraduate university in Jinan. With bright prospects ahead, he planned to return and repay his parents after graduation. However, an accident in March 2009 plunged him into despair.
“When I woke up in the ward, I saw that my left leg was gone. I frantically tried to pull out the tubes and felt life was meaningless,” he recalled. Back then a freshman, the unprecedented pain weighed heavily on him for a long time. “I took a year off for treatment. When I returned to campus, I, with my high amputation, was afraid to walk alongside classmates, worried I couldn’t keep up.”
One-legged young man cycles 2,000 kilometers to Hainan
With help from teachers and classmates, Sun Youzhi resolutely completed his degree and obtained his bachelor’s diploma in July 2013. Like others, he began job hunting, but applications often yielded no response.
“I’m still young — I can’t go on like this. I want to challenge myself,” said Sun Youzhi. He wanted to live like everyone else. So, he bought a train ticket to Mohe, Heilongjiang. “My family was quite opposed, fearing I couldn’t handle it alone, but they respected my decision.”
Later, his footsteps reached Kashgar in Xinjiang, Lhasa in Tibet, Dali in Yunnan, and more. “When I went to Lhasa, I transferred buses 17 times and once walked for three days straight. None of that was a big deal. Along the way, I witnessed nature’s wonders, felt the beauty of life, and understood the meaning of existence,” Sun Youzhi said. He also once hiked to the summit of Mount Tai.
“Even ordinary people find those feats hard — yet I did them. What’s impossible in life?” While volunteering in Yunnan, he learned to ride a bike with the help of a disabled cyclist, and even used money earned from setting up a street stall to buy a mountain bike worth over 3,000 yuan.
On February 25 of this year, he posted on his Weibo account “@XiaozhiOnTheRoad” about his plan to cycle 2,000 kilometers to Hainan and called for travel companions. Surprisingly, he quickly received a response from Zhengzhou-based travel enthusiast Xiaomi.
Cycling along the way
Sharing travel experiences on Weibo
On the morning of February 28, Sun Youzhi set off from his rural home in Huixian. By the afternoon around 4 p.m., he arrived at his first stop: Zhengzhou.
After resting overnight in Zhengzhou, the next morning he met his travel companion Xiaomi, and the two headed south together.
“Along the way, Xiaomi kindly put my luggage on her bike — I felt a bit embarrassed,” Sun Youzhi said yesterday afternoon. He cycled over 100 kilometers daily, originally planning to complete his journey in just over a month.
However, a small mishap occurred during the trip. “On the afternoon of March 6, when we arrived in Wuhan, both bikes were stolen — as were my elbow crutch and screws for the prosthetic joint.” He said that after visiting Wuhan University, they found a small hotel nearby. The next morning, the bikes were gone.
With limited funds and unable to buy new bikes, he had no choice but to report the theft and share his ordeal on Weibo, asking for help. The Wuhan Disabled Persons’ Federation got wind of the situation and connected him with a prosthetic limb company, which provided replacement parts for his prosthetic.
A kind-hearted netizen from Jiangsu, @LingRenXinYu, also initiated a crowdfunding campaign on Weibo. Within days, 53 netizens each donated 100 yuan, raising enough to buy two new bikes. Meanwhile, a Wuhan resident lent him and Xiaomi two mountain bikes to use.
Sun Youzhi said he felt deep warmth in Wuhan.
“From my hometown to Hainan Island, I passed through Zhengzhou, Xuchang, Wuhan, Yueyang, Changsha, Hengyang, and finally Guangzhou, before going on a loop around Hainan. So far, I’ve cycled over 1,600 kilometers from Xinxiang to Guangzhou.” Throughout the trip, every time he arrived at a new place, Sun Youzhi would take photos and post them on Weibo, showcasing the local culture and sharing his travel reflections.
“Cycling such a long distance is about challenging limits, testing life, and exploring my potential — to see if I’m suited to becoming a disabled athlete,” Sun Youzhi said. This month-long cycling journey not only strengthened his endurance, independence, and willpower, “but more importantly, it’s about proving through relentless effort that I absolutely can do it — and I shouldn’t underestimate myself anymore.”