A couple in their 60s plans to travel around the world by tricycle from Shenyang

Li Linxiang and his wife set off on their "Dream-Carrying" solar-powered tricycle and wave to friends seeing them off.

  At 6 a.m. on the 25th, an elderly couple in their 60s from Shenyang set out from their home. Dressed in sportswear and carrying sleeping bags and food, they drove a specially made solar-powered tricycle and gradually disappeared from view amid the farewells of their loved ones. This marks the beginning of a global journey by 66-year-old retired worker Li Linxiang and his 63-year-old wife Zhao Yafan. They plan to spend five years traveling to 100 countries.

  Before departure, Zhao Yafan told reporters that they are both ordinary workers. Li Linxiang used to work at the Shenyang Machinery Manufacturing General Factory. After retiring in 1999, to fulfill a promise he made to his wife 20 years earlier to travel across the country, the couple gradually toured many provinces in China, covering a distance of 80,000 kilometers, and also visited several countries in Southeast Asia. Whether traveling domestically or in Southeast Asia, they always rode their self-made tricycles. Over the years, they have become well-known "travel enthusiasts" in China.

  They have welded a total of five tricycles themselves. The vehicles are equipped with beds and daily necessities, allowing them to cook and sleep on the vehicle.

  Li Linxiang said that over the years, their travels have brought many unexpected rewards and given them a new perspective on life, prompting them to decide to keep going and explore the world.

  This round-the-world trip is estimated to cost 500,000 yuan, with just the visa fees for 100 countries amounting to 100,000 yuan, and crossing the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans also requiring a significant sum. Li Linxiang said they are well-prepared—traveling frugally along the way, and if necessary, they will have their son sell their 50-square-meter home.

  After departing from Shenyang, they plan to exit from Xinjiang at the end of September, then visit 100 countries located in Central Asia, North Africa, Northern Europe, East Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, and South America. They aim to reach North Korea in 2018 and return home from there, with the entire journey taking five years.

  The tricycle they are driving this time is the most technologically advanced of their five vehicles. It features a dual-power system, including solar power as well as two sets of lithium batteries and three sets of motors. On sunny days, they use solar power; on cloudy days, they rely on the lithium batteries; and if both solar and battery power fail, they can still pedal manually. Under normal conditions, the tricycle can travel up to 18 kilometers per hour.

  To ensure the smooth progress of their journey, their plan is: upon arriving in each country, first locate the Chinese embassy, and they have also prepared a translated message to seek help: “We are retired seniors from Shenyang, China, traveling through your country in our self-made solar-powered tricycle home on wheels. We would like to rest here and stay overnight, leaving at dawn. Nod if it’s okay, shake your head if not.”

  After deciding to travel the world, the elderly couple, aware that five years is a long time and unsure whether they will return safely, instructed their only son: “If anything happens, no matter where we are, please donate our bodies to the local area. We will have no complaints.”

  On the morning of the 25th, relatives, fellow travelers, and journalists came to see the elderly couple off, wishing them “a happy departure and a safe return.”