"Shijiazhuang is the 100th stop on my journey. I'm very happy to be interviewed in this beautiful city!" On the 27th, Xin Liushuan, a renowned grassroots environmental advocate invited by the Environmental Protection Channel of Great Wall Online, visited the site to discuss his extraordinary "Journey Across China."
Xin Liushuan, 54 years old and from Luoyang, Henan Province, suffered an incomplete spinal cord injury in a traffic accident while on a business trip in 1988. Despite this misfortune, he developed a more resilient and courageous character. Not long after the accident, he took early retirement from a machinery plant in Luoyang. But the determined man refused to burden his family or waste time. In 2002, after careful consideration, he decided to step out of his home to do something meaningful — thus beginning his "Journey Across China."
During his travels, he explored the nation’s beautiful landscapes while promoting the concept of environmental protection. After eight long years, he had visited all 34 provinces (including municipalities, autonomous regions, and special administrative regions), including famous scenic spots and provincial capitals, including Hong Kong and Macau. Eight years later, when Xin returned to his hometown, he saw that his elderly father was very lonely at home and came up with the idea of taking him along on another trip.
On June 5, 2011, Xin deliberately chose World Environment Day to begin his second "Journey Across China to Promote Environmental Protection," setting off from Luoyang with his 94-year-old father. He said that on the 25th, they had just arrived in Shijiazhuang, a city he had visited nine years prior. Asked whether his impressions of Shijiazhuang had changed in the two visits, he smiled and said, "It's completely different — it's so much nicer now. This time, I see how rapidly Shijiazhuang has developed, with high-rises everywhere, well-connected roads, and beautiful urban greening. Ten years ago, the tallest buildings here were only six or seven stories, and the roads were bumpy and inconvenient. But in ten years, Shijiazhuang has become better and more beautiful."
Xin also revealed to reporters that during this trip, he plans to take about five years to travel through over 300 prefecture-level cities and more than 2,000 county-level cities in China with his father. So far, his journey has involved distributing over 60,000 environmental awareness materials and giving nearly 10,000 environmental speeches. He said he hopes his actions will inspire everyone to cherish life, protect the environment, conserve resources, and work together to leave a better world with green mountains and clear waters for future generations.