Ajian’s Cycling Adventure
A motorcycle, two backpacks. In Zhejiang, there are two individuals—one is Ajian, a Wenzhou native born in the 1970s nicknamed the “uncle,” and the other is Maomao from Lishui. Together, they have an unexpected journey: riding motorcycles from Wenzhou to circumnavigate most of China, passing through 7 provinces over nearly 13,000 kilometers, on their way to Nepal.
On the 10th, a reporter called Ajian, who is cycling around the country. When the call connected, Ajian was very excited: “I’ve arrived at Lugu Lake—it’s truly beautiful.” As he spoke, he chatted with the reporter about his journey.
It is understood that on July 2, Ajian flew from Wenzhou to Kunming, Yunnan, where he began his motorcycle ride within Yunnan. “The ride started in Kunming, then went through Dali, then to Lijiang, and today I arrived at Lugu Lake. In two days, I’ll head to Shangri-La, then next is Meili Snow Mountain, following the Yunnan-Tibet Highway to Tibet,” Ajian explained. Originally, he could have reached Lugu Lake the day before yesterday, but the scenery along the way made him stop and linger, delaying his original schedule.
“We ride at a speed of about 60 km/h, covering roughly 300 to 400 kilometers a day. It will take about 30 days to get back to Wenzhou,” Ajian said. After reaching Nepal, he will also return to Wenzhou via the route Tibet–Qinghai–Gansu–Shaanxi–Hubei–Jiangxi–Zhejiang.
When talking about the purpose of motorcycling, Ajian said it’s mainly to enjoy the scenery along the way. “Tourism and traveling are two different concepts. What we’re doing is traveling—experiencing it with our hearts.”
Maomao, the fellow enthusiast, shares the same mindset. Working in sales, Maomao told the reporter that after spending so much time in the city, he wanted to relieve stress through a cycling trip. “I’m in my 30s now, and I also want to go wild once,” Maomao said with a laugh.
He told the reporter that he originally got to know Ajian because of motorcycles. After they met, they hit it off and decided to ride to Nepal together. “I had a cycling trip experience before, when I was 20 years old—I rode from Guangdong to Zhejiang,” Maomao said.
When talking about interesting things along the way, Maomao had deep impressions. “The most memorable was once, on the road from Kunming to Dali, because the road conditions were poor, our bike flipped over. To our surprise, everyone around came to help lift me up. The people there are so kind and warm-hearted,” Maomao said. This unfinished journey has already given him a new perspective on life and adjusted his mindset.
He mentioned that July marks the rainy season on the Yunnan-Tibet Highway. To cope with various harsh weather conditions, he and Ajian also prepared professional cycling gear. Ajian said he also brought a helmet, a DSLR camera, three long-sleeve shirts, two short-sleeve shirts, and eight pairs of socks...
Ajian told the reporter that they plan to ride their beloved motorcycles around the 14th of this month via the Yunnan-Tibet Highway to Tibet, then go abroad to Nepal, and finally cycle back to Wenzhou from Nepal.
The reporter also saw a line written by Ajian on the “Ajian’s Cycling Journey” Weibo account: “If you’re in the prime of your youth and you don’t travel, don’t take risks, don’t fall in love for real, don’t strive for your ideals, don’t try a life you’ve never lived—just hanging around on QQ, scrolling through Weibo and WeChat, shopping on Taobao, doing things you could do at 80… what’s the point of youth?”
Ajian also asked the reporter to specially thank his family—without their support, his trip would not have been possible. “This time, I even brought my wife and daughter along for the cycling trip, but they’ll fly back after we reach Lijiang. I’ll continue on to Nepal with my friend.”