On the 11th, Sun Jiangjie and Liu Yi, sophomores at Wuhan Textile University, returned to school from Yunnan.
Over the past 15 days, they had set off from Wuhan with just 147 yuan, raising travel funds by giving speeches and selling gum and tissues, passing through the four provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, and Yunnan to reach Lijiang, Yunnan for their trip.
“Why did you come up with this journey?” Yesterday, Sun Jiangjie told reporters, “Traveling across Yunnan to see our country’s magnificent landscapes was a small dream of ours. We wanted to prove through this unique way of traveling that post-90s college students can make it happen.”
For this “shoestring” trip to Yunnan, Sun Jiangjie and Liu Yi each joined two backpacker groups, both composed of college students. To better challenge themselves, Sun Jiangjie only brought 147 yuan, while Liu Yi didn’t bring any money at all.
On February 25, Sun Jiangjie and Liu Yi set off from Wuhan, passing through cities such as Changsha, Jishou, Fenghuang, Huaihua, Kunming, and Dali before arriving in Lijiang, covering a total distance of 2,651 kilometers. To raise travel funds, they carried pre-prepared goods such as gum, lollipops, and tissues. At each stop, they would give speeches on buses or sell goods on local university campuses to raise money for the trip.
The money they earned was only enough for travel expenses, so the teams Sun Jiangjie and Liu Yi were in camped outdoors in tents at each stop. “We usually choose to camp on campus or in front of ATM vestibules, mainly considering safety,” said Sun Jiangjie.