Selfie of Lake
In 2007, German guy Lake hiked from Beijing to Xinjiang, covering a total of 4,646 km. He documented this journey in his new book "Walking China," which was recently published in China by Zhongnan Boji Tianjuan Publishing. During a recent interview in Beijing, Lake said that compared to the beauty of Dunhuang, the pollution in places like the Taihang Mountains also left a deep impression on him.
>> On Hiking
Family couldn’t stop him
Reporter: What’s your reason for liking hiking?
Lake: I like walking because it makes me feel like I’m on a path that belongs to me. No matter where I am, what I remember is not just the road itself, but more the feeling that I have the right to be walking there. When traveling by train, I’m just an outsider looking around. But when I walk to the same place on foot, suddenly I feel like I own it, and we own each other. I think buses are the worst form of transportation—I hate them because I’m too tall and can’t get comfortable no matter how I sit. Also, reading on a bus makes me carsick.
Reporter: Did your family question your decision to hike?
Lake: My family all opposed it. I think German parents are the same as Chinese parents—they don’t want their kids to waste their youth playing around outside. They want me to make money steadily in one place. I think all parents are like that. But I think if you can’t control your dreams, you’ll just have to let your family down. I don’t know if they’d think I’m crazy.
If I had to choose between being rich without dreams or having dreams without money, I’d probably choose the latter. Once you’ve made a decision and hit the road, they should support you—or at least stop scolding you—because you’ve started to be yourself.
>> On Cities
Development should preserve old buildings too
Reporter: What impressed you most along the way?
Lake: If I had to pick a place with real tourism value that left a deep impression, it would be Dunhuang. It’s like a little pearl—you walk through the Gobi Desert for three days through uninhabited areas, and when you arrive, it feels different. All the plants make you want to touch them. And there’s the Mogao Caves—it’s a perfect place. Of course, what also left a strong impression was the environmental pollution in the Taihang Mountains. There were coal mines everywhere, and everything was black.
Reporter: How do you view China’s urbanization?
Lake: My opinion seems a bit contradictory: on the one hand, I think development is inevitable, and some costs are unavoidable; but on the other hand, I sympathize with those who are relocated. I hope everyone can truly understand the essence of harmony and not rush things. China has ancient culture, which is a great thing—we see what ancient Rome and Greece left in Europe. Most newly built retro-style buildings are overly commercialized and lack beauty. Germany went through similar urbanization issues after WWII in the 1950s. Many German cities still retain some buildings from that time, and they’re really not pretty.
>> On Controversy
Why does he call himself a “little hooligan” on Weibo?
Reporter: You call yourself a “little hooligan” on Weibo. Have you thought about whether that might not go over well in China?
Lake: That name was given to me by Teacher Xie Jianguang, who walked across China for 25 years and is the person who influenced me the most. I consider him my mentor. If you walk out of the Gobi Desert for days and then see a beautiful woman, you’d feel differently. Teacher Xie called me a little hooligan, and I said if I’m the little hooligan, then he’s the big hooligan.
When I registered for Weibo, I wanted to use “Lake,” but I saw that someone else had already taken it, so I added a few of Teacher Xie’s nicknames for me. That way, I felt I wasn’t taking myself too seriously, didn’t have to take full responsibility, and it was kind of fine.
□ Links
Lake and His New Book
Lake is a graduate student in Sinology at Munich University and later came to Beijing Film Academy as an exchange student. Starting in 2007, Lake began his journey hiking across China. The entire trek spanned 4,646 km, taking him from Beijing through Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia, then back into Gansu via the Hexi Corridor, across the vast deserts of Xinjiang, through Central Asia, and into Europe.
The book "Walking China" documents Lake’s experiences across China—he traversed plains, cities, railways, deserts, and the Gobi, passed by the Terracotta Army, and followed the Silk Road. What illuminated his hiking journey were: the curiosity and help of strangers in the countryside, chance encounters with monks, fortune-tellers, schoolchildren, retirees, government officials, sex workers, and the deep friendship with the eccentric Teacher Xie. At the same time, his on-again, off-again romantic relationship with Sichuan girl Xiaoxiang also ran throughout the journey.