In early May, Yue Jiahuo, a young man from Changzhou who had just quit his job, packed his things, hugged his mother goodbye, and set off on his journey. With a mountain bike and a nearly 40-pound loaded saddlebag, this was his first long-distance cycling trip, and his destination was the distant Lhasa. Leaving behind a stable job and a comfortable life, he just went. “Cycling to Tibet has always been a dream of mine. Once I’d saved up enough money, it was time to make it happen.” The 27-year-old spoke calmly about his cycling adventure. To him, there are many transportation options for travel, but cycling is a way of life.
Twenty-two sheets of paper document 78 days of scenery
On May 4th, he set off from Chendu Bridge in Changzhou, cycling north all the way through Nanjing, Anhui, Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan. He traveled along the Sichuan-Tibet Highway and arrived in Lhasa after 58 days, covering a total of 4,800 km. On July 1st, after reaching Lhasa, he shipped his mountain bike back to Changzhou and continued his journey by hitchhiking to explore nearby scenic spots. Twenty days later, he finally returned to Changzhou.
Yue Jiahuo used a yellowish notebook to record the scenery along the way. The 22 full pages were filled with every detail of his journey. “Arrived in Nanjing. The air was great all the way, surrounded by greenery.” “Today, I saw a ‘white dragon horse’ by the roadside — very gentle. There was also an ascetic monk pushing a modified bicycle, kowtowing every three steps, traveling all the way from Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui to Emei Mountain in Sichuan. I really admire him.” Sometimes, the diary entry for the day would be just a few words, noting that day’s expenses, which also helped him tally his travel costs later. Over the 78-day trip, he spent around 12,000 yuan.
Yue divided the 4,800-km journey into two parts: from Changzhou to Chengdu, and from Chengdu to Lhasa. For the Changzhou to Chengdu leg, lacking a solid travel plan, he relied on his phone’s navigation and took quite a few detours. But from Chengdu to Lhasa, he had carefully mapped out a detailed route plan in his notebook well in advance — how many kilometers to cycle each day, how many mountains to pass, and their elevations, all clearly marked. He said the journey was tough, but what struck him most was how many kind people he met.
The road was rough, but there are still plenty of good people in the world
Life on the road meant uneven accommodation and food conditions. Yue Jiahuo hit the road with a tent and sleeping bag. Along the way, he stayed in family-run guesthouses — the cheapest bed cost only 10 yuan. But even these “cheap hotels” were truly basic: outside the room was a pigsty, and when he walked in, there were two centipede-like bugs on the bed. To save money on travel expenses, he endured it all.
From Chengdu to Lhasa, it was all mountains, with 10 peaks over 4,000 meters and 2 over 5,000 meters. On average, he had to climb a mountain every two days — a huge challenge. When cycling in the mountains, the biggest fear is rain, which can easily trigger landslides. Once, just as Yue reached the foot of a mountain, he saw the path ahead covered with fallen rocks. That was a close call.
Although he started the trip alone, he met many fellow cyclists along the way. They traveled together and shared plenty of fun. While crossing Haizi Mountain, he and his companions were caught in a hailstorm, cycling for over an hour in icy rain. Everyone was shivering from the cold, not knowing where to find a guesthouse. Fortunately, they met a Tibetan man riding a motorcycle who kindly led them into town and invited them to stay at his home. They offered a fire to warm up by, boiled water, and cooked food — and refused to take a single penny. “Along the way, we met many good people. Some gave us water, others helped fix my bike. It felt really heartwarming.”
Back now, but the dream continues
This was Yue Jiahuo’s first solo long-distance cycling trip. Before this, the farthest he had ever cycled was to Suzhou. Back in university, he already owned a mountain bike, and in his spare time, he would ride around for fun. The idea of going to Lhasa had been on his mind for two years. “Tibet is a sacred place for many cycling enthusiasts, and I was determined to go there too.”
When he set off, Yue wrote identifiers on the yellow waterproof cover of his backpack — one side read “Su D” (the license plate code for Changzhou), while the other side said “Changzhou — Lhasa.” When he finally arrived in Lhasa on July 1st, those signs gave him a taste of celebrity status. That day, he ran into several fellow Changzhou natives, who were full of admiration for his gear and insisted on taking photos with him.
Every journey must come to an end. On July 20th, Yue Jiahuo returned home. A few days earlier, he posted his cycling experience on Changzhou’s Hualongxiang forum, where many netizens left comments praising his journey. “I just wrote it down as a memory. Some things, if you don’t do them now, you might never do them in your lifetime,” Yue said. In a post on his social media, he wrote, “Cycling is an experience, a feeling, a way of life, and a pursuit in life.” He said he loved the feeling of being on the road — the freedom to cycle as you please, to stop when you want, to go when you want, and to move steadily toward your goal. Even after returning from Tibet, he still felt a bit reluctant to leave. “Once I’ve saved enough money, I’ll go again.”
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