Practicing calligraphy is also one of Li Jingtian’s great passions.
A 76-year-old man, traveling across the country on limited savings, is a kind of perseverance that is truly astounding. And the way he collects memories from his journeys is even more admirable.
Read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles.
While technology brings convenience to people, it seems to also provide a better excuse for our lack of mobility. At times like this, I especially hope everyone can have the same determination as Li Jingtian.
In a room no larger than 10 square meters, a bookshelf occupies an entire wall, and 76-year-old Li Jingtian is at his desk, wielding his brush. Only after finishing writing the phrase “Read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles” in one go did he turn to look at the reporter.
This small room serves as both Li Jingtian’s study and the space where he collects travel tickets and writes about his travel reflections. “At the end of March, my wife and I are going to Taiwan, so I will have visited every part of China. What I want most now is to set up a museum for train tickets and entrance tickets to document my decades of travel,” he said to the reporter on the evening of March 19, through the rising steam of tea.
Traveled across China in 30 years
Li Jingtian sees himself as a farmer, but in his life, he actually only farmed for 10 years. He has been a middle school Chinese teacher, a quarry worker at a commune stone pit, the “manager” of a village convenience store, and the head of a township water conservancy project team. In 1985, he started his own timber processing factory and ran it for 21 years, with factory director being his final title.
His experience as a middle school teacher gave him the habit of taking notes on the go. “Wherever I go, I write things down. Whenever I have insights or reflections during my travels, I jot them down in a little notebook I carry with me,” he said. In addition to keeping a travel diary, he also preserves entrance tickets and train tickets from the attractions he’s visited, organized by province, totaling over ten notebooks.
His first long-distance trip was in 1984, when he went to Beijing on official business as a village cadre. “After finishing the work, I visited Tiananmen, Badaling, and the Temple of Heaven.” Among the attraction tickets he has collected, the oldest is a ticket to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests at the Temple of Heaven from 1984, which cost 0.50 yuan at the time. “Back then, fifty fen was a lot—I skipped a meal to afford it.”
In 2006, the timber processing factory closed for various reasons, and he began traveling across the country with his wife. “This year, my wife and I are going to Taiwan. We’re leaving at the end of March, and after that, I’ll have visited every part of China.”