"Cycling on the highway is not allowed—it's dangerous. Please leave the highway." At around 11:50 am on March 19, traffic police officers from the Shihezi Detachment of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region's Expressway Police Brigade spotted this violation. They immediately warned the foreign tourist, but the man clearly didn’t understand.
According to Officer Chen Shicheng, who was on duty, he saw someone attempting to cycle onto the highway about 2 kilometers away from the Manas Toll Station on the Lianyungang-Horgos Expressway heading toward Kuytun. It was only when he approached to advise and stop the person that he realized he was dealing with a foreigner.
"At the time, my colleague and I were patrolling our jurisdiction when we noticed a person wearing yellow clothes and carrying a large backpack cycling along the shoulder of the road. We stopped him," said the officer. When he approached the foreigner to speak, he found they couldn’t communicate due to the language barrier.
The officer used simple English to talk to the man. Through their conversation, he learned that the man was German and planned to cycle to Kazakhstan. The man said he didn’t know cycling was not permitted on highways.
"Go straight for 3 kilometers, then turn right at the Manas ramp toll station to exit the highway. Be careful." The officer used English to direct the German man on how to leave. He then escorted the man off the highway.
The officer said he was somewhat surprised. "I didn’t expect to encounter a German. I had thought I might meet foreign friends from Kazakhstan in Shihezi before. This was the first time I met a foreigner, and I didn’t expect the English I had learned to actually come in handy."