Dare to dream, dare to do
With just 1,400 yuan, 21-year-old Chengdu girl Jian Lina traveled over 2,000 kilometers and explored the Sichuan-Yunnan route in 24 days. “I want to show everyone through my actions that traveling isn’t just for the rich — us common folks can do it too.”
Hitchhiking all the way, she even traded three apples for a free ride
Big eyes, a pointed chin, and around 1.60 meters tall. At first glance, it’s hard to believe that Jian Lina is the Chengdu girl who traveled solo on a tight budget.
After graduating from university, Jian Lina had a typical 9-to-5 office job. Just one week away from becoming a full-time employee, she suddenly handed in her resignation: “I’m going traveling on my own!” And so, she set off with her two months’ worth of internship salary.
Throughout her trip, two-thirds of the journey was made by hitchhiking. One of the most memorable moments happened in Daocheng: trading three apples for a free ride to Mount Yading. Introduced by a friend, she met “Nan Ge” and two others, hoping to get a lift to Mount Yading. At first, they were hesitant and didn’t agree right away. Jian Lina then took out three apples from her backpack and said, “Have these apples I brought back from Daocheng — they’re super delicious!” “Nan Ge” laughed and said, “Are you trying to bribe us with apples, little sister?” In the end, she got her ride to Mount Yading. “Every time I hitchhike, I hear different travel stories and meet different people. These stories move me and teach me a lot.”
Money-saving tips — the local market is her cafeteria
During her travels, Jian Lina would visit the local market in every place she went because not only were the fruits and vegetables cheap, but there were also affordable snack stalls. A bowl of noodles for 5 yuan, fried rice for 6 yuan... Over 24 days, she only spent a little over 300 yuan on living expenses. “The stuff at markets is really cheap, and it’s mostly sold to locals, so prices aren’t usually jacked up,” Jian Lina summarized from her experience. When she met other travelers, she’d also share meals with them, bringing the cost down to just over 10 yuan per person. “I’m not picky about food — as long as I’m full. When traveling, save where you can.” While trekking in Meili Snow Mountain’s Yubeng village in Deqen, Lina even got by for a whole day with just a 5-yuan pack of compressed biscuits and a bottle of water.
For Lina, saving money means she can go to more places. “Let your body suffer, and your eyes feast!” she wrote in her travel journal.