Selfie taken while cycling in Qingyuan, Guangdong
A 22-year-old man from Zhijiang, Hubei, named Xue Xiaochun, quit his job in Shenzhen and cycled over 1,300 km back home to get his driver’s license. On the afternoon of the 8th, when reporters contacted Xue Xiaochun, he had already passed through Chenzhou, Hunan, and said, “I will definitely stick it out till the end!”
Xue Xiaochun joined the military at age 18 and served as an armed police officer in Guizhou. At 20, he moved to Shenzhen to work as a warehouse manager, earning just over 4,000 yuan a month. Not long ago, as he was preparing to change jobs, the idea of learning to drive crossed his mind—but the local tuition fee of over 8,000 yuan posed a dilemma. After much thought, he decided to return to his hometown to learn, where the cost is half as much. Once he made up his mind, he submitted his resignation one month ago.
“When I was packing to go home, my bicycle became a problem,” Xue Xiaochun said. Shipping it was too expensive, and selling it didn’t seem worth it, so he decided—as others have done when cycling to Tibet—to ride his bike home and travel along the way. It sounds easy, but it wasn’t. To practice his cycling skills and build stamina, Xue bought compressed food, outdoor gear, and basic medicine online a month in advance. Beyond that, he spent most of his time practicing, almost cycling through most of Shenzhen in the process.
At 1 p.m. on November 5, Xue Xiaochun set off from Shenzhen. By 6:49 p.m. that day, he had arrived in Guangzhou and spent the night camping in Zengcheng Cultural Park. On the 6th, he braved the rain and cycled to Fogang, Qingyuan, Guangdong, and by around 11 p.m., he reached Qujiang County, Shaoguan City, Guangdong. On the 7th, he arrived in Ruyang, Hunan. “Although the whole route was via national and provincial roads, my bicycle still got two flat tires in a row shortly after entering Shaoguan,” Xue said. Despite the ongoing challenges, they didn’t dampen his spirits, and he even took many photos along the way.
Xue said that to keep expenses as low as possible, aside from eating dry rations, he mostly had simple fast food, and only stayed in hotels when he needed to shower and change clothes. “I plan to spend no more than 1,000 yuan on the road, plus 2,000 yuan for bike-related costs and 1,000 yuan for equipment—bringing the total to 4,000 yuan to get back to Yichang.” Xue will arrive in Hengyang, Hunan, on the 9th, then head to Changsha, pass through Yueyang and Jingzhou, and finally reach Yichang.