Four hikers arrived in Jilin City on September 25, 2013, after a six-day trek from Tonghua City.
“They were carrying a large flag that read ‘Tonghua Hiking to Jilin.’ Over 300 kilometers, and they actually walked the whole way?” Around 9 a.m. that day, Guo, a taxi driver in Jilin City, called the newspaper’s hotline to report the story and expressed admiration for the group’s endurance.
Four citizens from Tonghua formed a “hiking team” and walked to Jilin City
At around 9:30 a.m. that day, reporters met the four men near Jiangcheng Square. They were wearing outdoor quick-dry clothing and hiking boots, carrying large backpacks, as well as trekking poles and sleeping mats. The man at the front was holding a large red flag that read “Tonghua Hiking to Jilin,” dated September 20, 2013. Another man at the back was carrying a DV camera, filming the scenery along the way.
“Did you really walk here?” Passersby, seeing the message on the flag, couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity. “Really, we walked here from Tonghua in six days. You can check my DV if you don’t believe us.” At this, the four men broke into proud smiles.
The man holding the flag is named Xu Baoquan, 48 years old, and a Japanese language teacher. He explained that they are all members of the Tonghua Hiking Association, which has over a hundred members who all enjoy hiking. During this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, a group activity was initiated within the community for a long-distance hiking trip from Tonghua to Jilin. As he happened to be free, he teamed up with fellow members Sun Zhongyan, Jiang Qiyong, and Sun Yongming to form the “Hiking Team.”
Total distance hiked: 278 kilometers
At around 7 a.m. on September 20, the four set off from Tonghua City with their gear and food. They had clear roles: Sun Zhongyan, 56, the association’s president and the leader of the hiking team, carried a camera to film the scenery along the way. Xu Baoquan was the flag bearer, Sun Yongming, 47, managed the finances and covered all expenses, and Jiang Qiyong, 48, served as the guide.
Jiang Qiyong explained that they started from Tonghua City, passed through Jiangjiadian Township in Liuhe County, Chaoyang Town in Huinan County, Panshi City, Yantongshan Town in Panshi City, Xiyang Town in Yongji County, and finally arrived in Jilin City. “The map showed a distance of over 300 kilometers, but I had previously traveled this route and found several ‘shortcuts.’ Most of the path we took was along national roads, rural roads, and mountainous areas, making the actual distance about 278 kilometers.”
Sun Zhongyan said that their journey mainly involved hiking, with limited time spent admiring the natural and cultural sights along the way. They would start walking around one or two in the morning and find a hotel to rest by around 7 p.m., sleeping only five or six hours before continuing on.
“This kind of hiking requires a great deal of physical strength and endurance. Just after the first day or two, our feet all developed blisters. To adapt, we used sanitary pads as insoles,” said Xu Baoquan.
Along the way, there were people who moved them, and people they moved
“Most of the time we could find hotels, but occasionally when we couldn’t, we would lay out our sleeping mats and rest outdoors for a while before continuing,” said Sun Zhongyan. The biggest challenge of the journey was reaching Yantongshan Town. “The weather forecast predicted light rain, but the rain in the mountains was very heavy, and the road was difficult to walk on. Our clothes and shoes were completely soaked.” However, everyone was very careful and no one got hurt. After walking for a while, they found a hotel, and everyone ate plenty of ginger slices and drank a lot of hot water to avoid catching a cold.
“When we reached a village in Panshi City, we were thirsty and hungry. Just then, some local farmers were harvesting sweet potatoes in the fields. We were eyeing them greedily and planned to buy some, but when the farmers heard that we had walked all the way there, they were very surprised and deeply moved, and gave us a lot of sweet potatoes,” said Sun Zhongyan. The warm help from strangers moved them greatly.
“Throughout the journey, many people asked us if we really walked here. When they learned how determined we were, many said they were deeply touched,” said Sun Zhongyan. In this way, they talked with many strangers along the way. After six days of trekking, at 7:49 a.m. on the 25th, they entered Jilin City. “We’re very proud to have successfully completed the journey. This kind of travel is mainly to relieve work and life pressures, but it also helps keep us fit and is very environmentally friendly,” said Xu Baoquan. Over the six days, each of them only spent 300 yuan.
Farthest destination: Dandong City, Liaoning Province
Sun Zhongyan said that after reaching their destination, they went to Jilin Railway Station to buy tickets and returned home the same day. “After going back, we’ll have to go to work, and won’t have much time to enjoy Jilin City anymore, which is a bit of a pity. But when we get back, I plan to turn our journey into a documentary as a wonderful memory,” said Sun Zhongyan. They have hiked to many cities before. In 2008, they hiked to Changchun for the first time, and have since also been to Baishan City, with their farthest destination being Shenyang and Dandong in Liaoning Province. “This kind of trip requires a holiday of at least three days. Next, we plan to find time to hike to Siping,” said Sun Zhongyan.