Hitchhiking for free rides to save on transportation costs.
Carrying only a 1,000-yuan bank card, wearing a pair of 28-yuan canvas shoes, and shouldering a 15-kilogram backpack, she spent 23 days trekking alone across Yunnan and Tibet. The dream journey of Wu Kaiyue, a junior at Putian University, has recently sparked heated discussions among netizens on Weibo. Some admire her courage, calling her the real-life version of "Beijing Youth," while others question whether it's really possible to complete the Yunnan-Tibet trek with just 1,000 yuan.
Reporters approached Wu Kaiyue to learn about her travel route and specific expenses during the trip.
[Money-Saving Tips] Penniless after leaving Lhasa
"Go to faraway places to find the meaning of travel." This was Wu Kaiyue’s original intention for her trip to Tibet. The post-90s girl from Zherong, Ningde, said she wanted to travel far and wide, to a distant place, to calm her heart. After seeing picturesque photos of Tibet on Weibo, that beautiful and sacred place lingered in her mind. As summer vacation approached, her desire to go to Tibet grew stronger, and she decided she had to make the journey happen.
However, her plan to go to Tibet was immediately met with opposition from her parents. "I'm about to be a senior, and I know if I don’t go now, I might never get the chance." Wu Kaiyue didn’t give up—she took a tutoring job and started working to raise travel funds.
Wu Kaiyue (far right) sings for tips with friends on Lhasa’s bar street.
A month later, armed with the 1,000 yuan she earned, she resolutely embarked on her western journey. Wu Kaiyue said that to save money, she bought a hard-seat train ticket and endured four bumpy days to reach Lhasa. Even so, it still cost her 600 yuan.
"In Lhasa, I stayed in the cheapest hostel and ate the simplest steamed buns and drank mineral water." Wu Kaiyue calculated for reporters that accommodation cost 35 yuan per day and meals were 2 yuan per meal. By the time she left Lhasa seven days later, she had almost completely spent all her money.
Selling self-made postcards and setting up a stall to earn travel money
Wu Kaiyue said she heard about a "traveler" who wandered all over China selling self-made postcards. Before setting off, she had turned photos taken during previous trips into postcards, planning to follow the traveler’s example and sell them to raise travel funds if she ran out of money. In front of the Potala Palace in Tibet, she was once driven away by urban management officers while running a street stall. After that, she developed the “skill” of keeping an eye out for officers and running away at the first sight of them. If caught, she would show her student ID, explain she was budget traveling and had been selling postcards along the way. Looking back, she even found this to be one of the fun parts of the trip. She also told reporters that in Lijiang, Yunnan, she set up a stall too. At that time, a young man heard her story, admired her courage, and bought several postcards at once, covering her living expenses for several days.
Hitchhiking for free rides and even begging for food and drinks
Wu Kaiyue received a lot of selfless help from strangers along the way. Standing by the roadside and giving a big thumbs-up or waving enthusiastically would often get her a ride from kind-hearted drivers. She bought a pack of Zhongnanhai cigarettes and would offer a cigarette to the driver whenever she successfully got a ride. With this “ride-getting tool,” she didn’t spend a cent on transportation from Tibet to Yunnan. She rode in cars, tractors, and even postal vehicles. She skipped tickets, stole corn, and begged for food and drinks. Fellow travelers celebrated her birthday and treated her to a hotpot meal, which became the best meal of her journey.
"My parents and friends were all following my journey. If they didn’t see any updates on my QQ, they’d call to check on my safety." Wu Kaiyue admitted to reporters that by the end of the trip, she was nearly broke. It was thanks to a friend from Putian who bought her a train ticket that she was able to return home.
Waited under the scorching sun for a long time without getting a ride, then mustered the courage to ask a local Yi grandmother for food.
Met a musician on Douban and sang for tips at a bar
On the evening of August 8, she sang for tips with a musician she met on Douban at a bar street, attracting two other folk musicians to join in. More and more spectators crowded the street until it was packed. Just as things were getting lively, the police showed up, but luckily the bar owner came out to mediate. On August 9, she met fellow traveler Liu Qi, and the two, sharing similar interests, decided to travel together.
[Adventure Highlights]
Battling altitude sickness at Namtso Lake and being helped by friends
She told reporters that she wasn’t alone on her journey. Her trip began on August 1, starting from Putian and passing through Fuzhou – Chengdu, Sichuan – Lanzhou, Gansu – Lhasa, Tibet, covering nearly 90 hours.
On August 6, she took a bus to Namtso Lake at an altitude of 4,730 meters. Although the sunset was unforgettable, the severe altitude sickness caused her to faint. The next day, a friend brought oxygen tanks, and after inhaling oxygen for two hours, she recovered.
Stranded by a sandstorm and traversing the treacherous single-lane road
On the morning of August 12, Wu Kaiyue and Liu Qi began crossing the Yunnan-Tibet Highway. They took a minibus from Lhasa to Nyingchi and stayed overnight at a Tibetan family’s home there. On August 13, they hitched another ride to Ranwu, but a sudden storm and sandstorm stranded them in an unknown small town. Later, they passed through the perilous single-lane road in Tongmai—known as a deadly route where many have died every year—on their way to Markam. Along the way, Wu Kaiyue traveled parts of the 318 National Road, known as both the most beautiful and the most dangerous in China, taking in the stunning natural scenery of the Nyang River Valley, the lush green grasslands of Nyingchi, and the majestic Yarlung Tsangpo River.
On August 14, they met a group of backpackers—11 travelers from different regions gathered to share stories. On August 15, they went their separate ways, and she and Liu Qi transferred to National Highway 214 heading for Kunming.
Hiking for eight hours under the blazing sun and encountering a “bad” driver
On the way to Deqen, Yunnan, Wu Kaiyue and Liu Qi parted ways, but she met two other travelers. After failing to find a ride, the three of them hiked for over eight hours under the scorching sun, walking along a road with cliffs on one side and mountains on the other, constantly at risk of falling rocks—it was extremely dangerous. Eventually, with the help of two kind-hearted Tibetan men driving large trucks, they safely reached Deqen. On August 16, they arrived in Shangri-La.
Shuhe, Lugu Lake, Lijiang, Dali, Kunming. Near the end of the trip, while hitchhiking alone, Wu Kaiyue encountered a dangerous situation. When the car reached Kunming, the two men inside didn’t stop but instead turned into a small alley. As it grew darker and no one was around, and with her phone dead, Wu Kaiyue grew increasingly frightened. The driver then offered to take her out for a meal, and she calmly replied, "I don’t want my friends to worry. Please let me get out of the car soon. If my friends can’t reach me, they’ll call the police." After about ten minutes of back-and-forth, the driver finally let her go. She immediately ran out of the car and didn’t stop until she saw people and lights.
Covering a total distance of 2,400 kilometers, passing through Sichuan, Gansu, Tibet, and Yunnan, spending 23 days on the road, going half a month without a shower, overcoming altitude sickness, hunger, and a harsh natural environment, and witnessing the most beautiful scenery—all made Wu Kaiyue’s journey legendary. She told reporters she wants to travel across China and the world. In the future, she hopes to become an international tour guide to show foreign visitors the magnificent landscapes of China.
――Voices from Netizens――
I’m a total Converse fan: I have a friend who is too, but then she ran out of money to go home, haha.
Chenongong: I really envy her for having the heart to just go whenever she wants.
To Be Continued_517: Still wondering if I passed this schoolgirl on the road when I was cycling the southern part of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway last month. I met lots of backpackers, quite a few girls, but never anyone traveling alone. Amazing！
Solo Hiker Traveling to Distant Lands: There’s a way called hitchhiking. Thinking about it, it’s really impressive. After all, hitchhiking wasn’t popular back then on the journey from Putian to Yunnan.
Jonelin-baby: Only 1000? Walking?
Wu Kaiyue’s Weibo
Wu Xiaoyue: I’ve become so rebellious, not like a girl at all, so wild, right? Kids who want to go, just go. Don’t worry so much, don’t hesitate or waver, just pack your bags and hit the road. Go to different places, find a different you. You’ll definitely discover that you’re so different from what you thought.