Without knowing a foreign language, having no travel companions, or prior long-distance travel experience, Li Jiawei, a 54-year-old taxi driver from Qingdao, embarked on a “just-go-for-it” journey last June 16. So far, he has visited 21 of the 22 host cities of the first 30 Olympic Games, cycling across four continents for a total of 18,000 kilometers. On the 3rd, Li Jiawei returned home weary but eager, preparing for the visa of his final destination, the UK, and planning to apply for a Guinness World Record by the end of this year.
Li Jiawei embarked on a “just-go-for-it” journey
Li Jiawei told reporters, “I only speak Qingdao dialect, know a couple of foreign phrases like hello and thank you, and abroad I rely entirely on smiling, gesturing, and charades to communicate.” Over 17 months, he wore out four pairs of sneakers. His gear—including bicycle, tent, clothes, repair tools, camera, and mobile phone—weighed over 130 pounds. Before every flight, he had to disassemble his bike for checked luggage, a process that takes 40 minutes to an hour each time.
“I used to drive a taxi and owned two vehicles. I never thought about traveling abroad. But in recent years, seeing news that visas have become easier, a dream suddenly popped into my head: what if I could cycle to all the Olympic host cities? Just thinking about it was thrilling. So I sold one taxi, contracted the other to a friend, and spent all our family savings—except for my son’s university tuition—on this trip,” said Li Jiawei. He has spent 250,000 yuan so far, 100,000 of which was borrowed from relatives and friends. Their support and encouragement have meant a lot to him.
Starting last June 16, Li Jiawei traveled through 16 European countries. Aside from flying or taking trains between distant nations, he mostly cycled alone. In March this year, he returned to Qingdao to apply for visas to South Korea and Japan, then took a ferry from Qingdao to Incheon, cycled to Seoul, and continued on to Japan. In May, he went to Australia. On July 28, he returned to China to secure visas for the Americas before setting off again.
“I’ve obtained nine visas so far. I was rejected twice by the UK and once by Germany, but after showing a photo of me with Samaranch, I was finally approved,” Li Jiawei told reporters. Along the way, he shared his journey via social media, interacting with netizens, and after being covered by multiple domestic and international media outlets, getting visas has become smoother. He is also confident about securing the upcoming UK visa.