A teenager rides an old-fashioned bike around China, writing for magazines to earn travel money.
When I met Xiao Ma, he was sitting upright in front of a guesthouse at Luhuitou in Sanya, listening to music and organizing some materials about his trip around China.
Facing the sea, spring blossoms—this poetic line by Hai Zi perfectly describes Xiao Ma’s situation at the time.
At the moment, Xiao Ma is volunteering at this guesthouse, and in two months, he will embark on his next journey.
Xiao Ma’s real name is Ma Shengdong, a post-90s young man from Hangzhou. Sanya is just one stop on his bike trip around China. “Post-90s, China’s first inverse No. 8 Taiwan cyclist, bike shop technician, cycling enthusiast… Currently riding a self-modified 28-inch ‘big rod’ bike around China.” This is how Xiao Ma introduces himself on various social media platforms.
Traveling the world on an old-fashioned bike
In June of this year, after graduating from university, Xiao Ma set off alone on his plan to bike around China by himself. He gave this plan an impressive name—Butterfly China—because his route around China resembles the shape of a butterfly, passing through every province in the country.
Why bike around China? Why not get a proper job after graduation and instead do something most people would find unbelievable? Everyone who meets Xiao Ma asks the same question.
As for the preparation and planning for this trip, Ma Shengdong didn’t have much in the way of thorough preparation. He simply packed his bags, roughly got his bike ready, and planned a rough route. He didn’t prepare anything else in detail—not even saying a proper goodbye to his family, let alone fellow cyclists.
Xiao Ma said his departure was very simple. While his mom was taking her afternoon nap and his dad had gone to work, he hopped on his bike and “snuck off.” “Perhaps it was the pressure from others’ expectations, and I worried that if I made a big deal out of it and then quit halfway. Maybe I was afraid my parents would throw away my luggage or dismantle my bike if they found out, so I chose to act first and explain later.”
Where are you going?
Going out to work. My dad found me a great job.
I really envy you, being able to go wherever you want so freely.
...
This is a great dialogue between Xiao Ma and his classmate.
What’s unbelievable is that what accompanied Xiao Ma on his trip around China was a beat-up, beyond-beat-up 28-inch “big rod” bike.
Of course, this bike was also quite eye-catching, attracting almost 100% of the attention on the road. Ever since he started riding the 28-inch bike, Xiao Ma’s circle of conversation partners expanded dramatically from just fellow cyclists to basically people of all ages and genders. The topics also became more varied, feeling closer to people’s hearts, which made him quite happy.
Riding the Yunnan-Tibet Highway solo in seven days
After arriving in Xiamen, the first stop on his trip around China, Xiao Ma took on another challenge—riding the Yunnan-Tibet Highway without support in seven days. Anyone who’s been to Tibet knows that the high altitude causes serious oxygen deprivation. Forget biking—even driving is a tough task.
But Xiao Ma managed to complete it, riding a road bike from Shangri-La in Yunnan and arriving in Lhasa in seven days.
“In August 2012, I first rode the Yunnan-Tibet Highway to Tibet. At that time, the schedule wasn’t rushed. I brought a tent and sleeping bag and enjoyed all the scenery along the way. On the road, I tried riding someone else’s road bike, and that’s when I realized this route could also be done on a road bike. That’s when I got the idea: if I have the chance, I must ride a road bike to experience it.”
After returning home, Xiao Ma accidentally saw a piece of news online: “××× entered Tibet in 8 days.” The challenge-loving Xiao Ma was instantly fired up. “To be honest, I love challenges, especially those within my capabilities. Whenever I get the chance, I definitely won’t let it slip away. Like my favorite quote: For the path that belongs to me, I will give it my all—even if I have to push my bike, I won’t stop.”
By chance, Xiao Ma’s plan gained the support of a company, and thus, he began his own personal challenge. “In the week before the start, I did daily physical recovery training, hill climbing, weight training, aerobic exercise, and cruising training… After roughly getting used to the rhythm of the road bike, I embarked on the ‘seven-day Yunnan-Tibet trip.’”
From Shangri-La to Lhasa, the total distance is 1,615 kilometers, but there are 9 major mountains (Baima Snow Mountain, Hongla Mountain, Lawu Mountain, Jueba Mountain, Dongda Mountain, Yela Mountain, Anjiula Mountain, Sigila Mountain, and Mila Mountain), two of which exceed 5,000 meters in altitude. The first three days involved climbs of over 3,000 meters each day, all at HC difficulty level (the highest difficulty in the Tour de France). For an ordinary person, just looking at these numbers would be intimidating.
Xiao Ma’s cycling log recorded: “5 flat tires, 30 kilometers hitchhiked, 2 crashes, 2 hailstorms, 7 times caught in the rain, 6 nights of riding, 2 all-nighters, 64 hours without sleep to push through 845 kilometers. By the time I reached the end, I didn’t even know how I had managed to bike through those 7 days.”
Of course, during the trip, many things happened—like being bitten by dogs or being rear-ended by a truck. Xiao Ma said all of these were invaluable memories.
If you don’t go now, you’ll be too old. Xiao Ma said he wants to travel and experience more while he’s still young.
Running a street stall, earning manuscript fees, volunteering
The journey from Hangzhou to Xiamen was part of Xiao Ma’s “Butterfly China” trip. When he set off, he had a little over a thousand yuan in his pocket, but to his surprise, upon arriving in Xiamen, he found that the sum had barely decreased.
Street vending and writing for magazines were his main sources of income.
On the first day of his cycling trip, he set up a small stall in Lin’an. Although earnings were modest, they were enough to cover his daily meals. Writing for magazines was the bigger income earner. Having studied art in university, Xiao Ma had excellent photography skills, with professional-level composition and an outstanding sense of light. The photos he took were well-loved by many travel magazines, and of course, his writing was also quite good. He would organize and share his daily cycling stories online, which attracted countless fans.
Along the way, Xiao Ma also picked up and recycled plastic water bottles. In Jiangxi, he cycled while collecting them. “The scenery along the road was beautiful, but discarded plastic bottles were everywhere. I immediately thought of collecting them. As I cycled, I picked them up, and in just one day, I gathered dozens.” “When I hung them on the back of my bike, many people thought I was a garbage collector.”
At a recycling shop, Xiao Ma sold all the plastic bottles for exactly 1.3 yuan. Perhaps seeing how hard the young man was working, the shop owner insisted on giving him 2 yuan, but Xiao Ma eventually gave 1 yuan back. “I’m not making a living by picking up trash. I hope all trash pickers in China will eventually lose their jobs. I do this just to do my part for the environment.”
At the end of each leg of the cycling journey, Xiao Ma would choose a city to rest and recover, sort through his cycling experiences, and also take on some temporary work to prepare for the next stage of his trip.