Handwritten diary of over 40,000 words / Created with care over half a year / The first Chinese-language account of the pilgrimage route / Highly recommended by the Spanish Tourist Office
Europe was born on the pilgrimage road to Santiago. — Goethe
Only those who have been to Santiago or are about to go there are true pilgrims. — Dante
About the Camino de Santiago
The Camino de Santiago is one of the world’s three great pilgrimage routes.
In fact, it refers collectively to several walking routes leading to the ancient Catholic holy city of Santiago, originating from different directions. Since the Middle Ages, countless devout believers have undertaken this journey — on foot or horseback — driven by faith, penance, redemption, or hope for the future. Enduring wind, sun, rain, and the harsh trials of body and spirit, they finally reached the holy city. This tradition has lasted for over a thousand years. Although the main part of the pilgrimage lies within Spain, it actually spans across all of Europe. As Goethe once said, “Europe was born on the pilgrimage road to Santiago.” This illustrates the profound influence of the route on European history, culture, architecture, and religion.
After the Middle Ages, the Camino de Santiago experienced a period of decline, until it resurfaced in the early 20th century. Today, over 100,000 people embark on the journey every year. Its religious significance has gradually faded, and it has instead become the world’s most renowned “spiritual path.” Each year, regardless of the season, pilgrims from various countries, of all ages and professions, walk this route. They come from diverse cultural backgrounds and life experiences, embarking on a month-long trek with different motivations. Some have just quit their jobs and are searching for new life directions; others are going through emotional crises, seeking to exchange stories, explore, or simply take an extended journey across northern Spain — starting from the Pyrenees, passing through snow-capped mountains, forests, grasslands, hills, along the way encountering magnificent churches, countless pristine southern European villages, some of the best wine regions in the Iberian Peninsula, all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.
Nowadays, people walk this path to undertake a profound inner journey of self-discovery.
The Camino de Santiago enjoys great prestige in Europe. Beyond Europe, it also holds high recognition in the Americas, Australia, and even in Asia — Japan and Korea. There is an abundance of literature, films, music, and other publications about the route. Yet, it remains relatively unknown in China. In 1987, the European Parliament designated the Camino de Santiago as the first “European Cultural Route.”
About this book
—— The Way to Santiago
In the spring of 2012, Wang Sainan quit her job and set out on the most iconic route of the Camino de Santiago — the French Way.
But this is more than just a travelogue. As one pilgrim said, “The moment you reach Santiago, the pilgrimage truly begins.” The pilgrimage is not only found in Spain, or among the towns with grand and beautiful churches. We do not walk this path solely for religious reasons, but also to cleanse our souls and seek the meaning of life. In the book, Sainan weaves in stories beyond the pilgrimage — simple yet complex human tales, told through multiple narrative threads, blending reality and fiction, expanding the theme of pilgrimage across time and space, and exploring the search for personal meaning. In both the visible past and the unseen future, whether one is on the road or living an ordinary life, everyone carries their own Santiago in their heart. Perhaps it is a beloved person, or an irreplaceable dream.
“I hope this will be the first Chinese-written book about the Camino de Santiago. Along the way, I rarely met other Chinese people. The few I did encounter had chosen to start from the final section of the route, walking only the last hundred kilometers. I believe there will be people who will love this book, who will be captivated by it, and perhaps, like those I met on the road, one day they will travel far to Spain to walk this unforgettable pilgrimage route.”