During the journey
With universities gradually breaking for the holidays, while some students preparing to go home are busy carpooling or booking tickets, the “cycling crowd” have packed their bags and set off on their bicycles with ease. Compared to the hardship of cycling in the cold wind, they prefer to enjoy the scenery along the way. They don’t want the passing scenery to just blur by...
Don’t want the passing scenery to just blur by
Yesterday afternoon, Lu Qiulong, a sophomore majoring in civil engineering at the Engineering Technology College of Hubei University of Technology, cycled out of Jiangxi and into Guangdong Province (pictured). Over the past 10 days, he has cycled nearly 1,000 km starting from Nanhu in Wuchang. “Nowadays transportation is well-developed, and taking the train home is fast, but the scenery along the way always just flashes by. I want to stop and appreciate it slowly,” said Lu Qiulong. On the eve of the winter vacation, when he told his parents about his plan to cycle home, they scolded him and firmly opposed the idea. But the stubborn young man resolutely embarked on his cycling journey. “I call and text my parents regularly every day to report my progress. Two days after setting off, my parents finally changed their attitude and started supporting me.” However, Lu Qiulong also said that in many cases he only shares the good news with his parents and keeps the bad to himself. For example, there were several nights when he couldn’t find a suitable place to stay, so he had to “squat” in the room with an ATM machine at a bank. After careful budgeting, he spends an average of about 35 yuan per day.
Lu Qiulong explained that his hometown is Chengmai County, Haikou City, Hainan Province. A cycling enthusiast who has already traveled to many places in China by bike, he is in good physical shape and confident about completing this trip.
Low-carbon “cycling crowd” becomes popular among university students during holidays
Cycling home for the winter break in a low-carbon way—there are quite a few “cyclists” in universities. This winter vacation, Feng, a sophomore majoring in sociology at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, also plans to continue cycling home. Since starting university, he has been cycling home every winter and summer vacation. Feng’s home is in Huangshi City, and it takes about five or six hours to cycle from Wuhan. He said the distance isn’t very far, taking the bus is rather boring, and cycling back not only exercises the body and showcases individuality, but is also low-carbon and environmentally friendly.
Dong Xianjian, a sophomore majoring in sociology at Huazhong Agricultural University, plans to cycle from Wuhan to Henan this winter vacation. He said that he rarely has time to travel around normally, and it’s rare to have such concentrated time during the winter break to enjoy the different landscapes along the way, such as plains, hills, and mountains, as he heads north. “Since many students go home via different routes, we first take the same-direction train together, disassemble our bikes into parts, carry them on the train in our backpacks, and then split up midway,” explained Pang Wenqiang, a sophomore majoring in management at Wuhan University of Technology. This winter vacation, some students living in southern areas such as Guangdong and Fujian even made a special detour to Hainan Island, planning to travel a bit before heading home.