It’s common for travelers to ask netizens for food and lodging, but have you ever seen netizens leaving their phone numbers and addresses, inviting travelers to visit? On Baidu Tieba, there’s such a post where users voluntarily reply with their contact info and addresses, inviting fellow travelers to come over. “I’ll provide food,” “I’ll offer accommodation,” “I’ll be your tour guide”—this post, created last April, has already garnered information from over 3,000 users. Netizens joke, “With this post, you’ll never have to worry about getting lost in a strange city.”
It even brought a couple together They met for the first time in Luoyang during Chinese New Year
Luzi is from Nanyang, Henan, and currently studies at Xinjiang University. He’s another young man who gets as excited about traveling as if he’s been energized—he loves seeing different landscapes, hearing different stories, and is active on various travel forums and Tieba. By chance, he stumbled upon this traveler-helping-traveler Tieba post, and without much thought, he replied with his QQ number. “I can’t really explain what I was thinking at the time—it just felt like the right thing to do.”
Then one day, a girl with the online name Momomo added him. It turned out she was planning a graduation trip to Xinjiang and wanted to ask for some advice in advance. Momomo is from Fuzhou and is currently an undergraduate at Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. “It was around May 2011 when I added him, hoping he could give me some good suggestions.” Even more dramatically, after chatting for two months, Momomo still didn’t know Luzi was male. “I always thought I was talking to a girl. Then I saw someone call him ‘senior’ on his profile, and it hit me—I went back and confirmed it with him. I was completely shocked.”
The various travel guides on Luzi’s profile deeply attracted Momomo, and coupled with the earlier misunderstanding that he was a “girl,” everything felt like fate to her. Before they knew it, the two grew fond of each other and eventually became a couple.
Now, eight months later, their relationship has grown even sweeter. They’ve agreed to meet on the 17th of this month in Henan. “After visiting the ancient city of Luoyang and checking out the historical sites, we might even go meet Luzi’s parents. Not as his girlfriend, but as a friend.” Momomo feels it’s a bit too soon to reveal their romantic relationship.
“People who love to travel all have restless hearts—they enjoy seeing the scenery while on the move. Birds of a feather flock together—we’re the same kind of people,” Momomo joked.
Contacted a Jilin netizen and left the next day
Xiaoyao is an active user on this post who left his contact info, inviting travelers to come. He’s from a small town in Jiangxi Province and is currently a graduate student at Xi’an University of Technology. Born in 1988, he’s always been passionate about traveling.
Xiaoyao told reporters that his eager hope for fellow travelers to contact him stems from one of his most unforgettable trips. That was a trip to Jilin four years ago. He initially planned to go to the northeast just to see the snow. So he started asking around for equipment and travel routes related to the northeast. The itinerary looked great, but Xiaoyao hesitated because he didn’t have any friends there. At best, he’d just visit a few attractions, follow the crowds, and it wouldn’t be for long—the cost of staying in a hotel alone would be significant. By chance, Xiaoyao got in touch with Xiaoxi through a post. At the time, Xiaoxi was still in middle school, about to enter high school. “I’ll provide food and lodging, and I’ll show you around,” Xiaoyao said. “He offered to host me, so I went. It was that simple.”
When Xiaoyao first met Xiaoxi in Baicheng, Jilin, there wasn’t much awkwardness—in fact, rural life felt fresh and fun. Xiaoxi’s family warmly welcomed them. “The snow there was so thick, and the snowy sky was beautiful.” Four years have passed, and Xiaoyao hasn’t met Xiaoxi’s family again, but occasional phone calls and online video chats have kept them in touch.
Every day, warm stories unfold
Reporters learned that quite a few stories have emerged from this post. A second-year high school student from Huaihua, Hunan, nicknamed “On the Road,” also took part in this heartwarming traveler series. “On the Road” told reporters that from last year until now, he has hosted three travelers. None of them knew each other beforehand—they connected online. When they met, they didn’t ask about age, jobs, or even names—they just asked how to address each other. Even using online nicknames was fine. How could a student like “On the Road” afford to host them? “I’m from a very small town with low living costs. I mainly provided food, all from my living expenses. I think it’s a kind of joy.”
During the interviews, reporters learned that similar travel connection posts are quite common online, and students are the most active group. Though they have schoolwork to handle, these young people always find time to squeeze in some travel. “Travelers around the world are one big family”—this is the signature of the QQ group linked to the contact posts the reporters interviewed. Built on trust, they walk, explore, and experience.
