Lao Kang, a taxi driver from Beijing, has always dreamed of being able to drive his car around China, but due to his age and many other reasons, he has never been able to achieve it.
It wasn't until 2021 that he learned from a friend about the activity of walking around China's border organized by WalkBar.com, so he signed up for it against all odds and walked the whole way.
He followed the team of the bar network, and self-driving enthusiasts from all over the country, lasted 96 days, traveled more than 35,000 kilometers, starting from Shanghai, and ending in Shanghai, traveled all over the southeast and northwest of the motherland, and successfully realized the life dream of driving around China.
But the realization of dreams is often accompanied by the sadness of reality.
01. Car
Car can be said to be the key word of Lao Kang in the first half of his life, he likes cars and loves to drive cars for half his life.
Lao Kang is actually not a full-time taxi driver, he works in Shougang, and has been driving a taxi part-time before retirement. But there is not much time to do every day, generally from 12 noon to 3 pm, and from 9 pm to 12 am. In a month, he can earn about 6,000 yuan with a rental and pension.
When it's not operating, Lao Kangai goes around. Lao Kang has a car, which is a compact car with a displacement of 1.6 (Changan Ford Focus).
He drove from Beijing and traveled to Shandong, Shanxi, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and other places, as well as Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, and Hainan.
Gradually, he fell in love with self-driving and began to have a dream of driving around China.
In order to realize his dream, he spent 10,000 yuan to maintain his car before he set off, and when the car broke down on the ring road, he spent more than 10,000 yuan to repair the car.
This is a normal expense, and the most important thing is that during the period of driving around China, he has to pay the management fee of the taxi company every month, and the car cannot run, and he cannot make money. In other words, after participating in the more than 3 months of driving around China, Lao Kang spent more than 3 months of management fees in vain.
Moreover, his car is relatively small, the displacement is not large, it is an ordinary car, and some road conditions around the Chinese border are also relatively difficult to walk, and when it comes to the difficult road section, it is more difficult to drive than others.
But even so, even if he paid the price, Lao Kangjue still felt that his money was well spent, and this 35,000 kilometers was his most rewarding experience!
02. Dreams
In such a long-term and long-distance epic self-driving activity, Lao Kang has gained more than just the great rivers and mountains of the motherland!
He said: "The scenery of the motherland in the east, west, north and south is very unforgettable, and it can be said that I have gone to all the places I want to go in my life." The Heilongjiang River in the northeast is very beautiful, and the Songhua River in a song is also very wide, much more spectacular than I imagined. ”
He said: "The magnificent scenery of the northwest, the Gobi desert in Gansu, the steppes of Inner Mongolia have feasted my eyes, as well as the beautiful Xinjiang and Tibet, which I have never been to before, and it can be said that there are beautiful scenery everywhere." ”
He said: "I have seen the customs and customs of various parts of the motherland, and I have felt the vast land and resources of China, which makes my life more confident, and I have no regrets in this life." ”
......
In these 96 days and 35,000 kilometers, there were many stories that he will remember for a lifetime, but the most profound one happened on the Laigu Glacier in Tibet.
The mountain road to the glacier by horse is very steep, and people have to come down and walk where the horse can't go.
"The one who helped me lead the horse was a Tibetan grandmother, who was the same age as me, very kind, but due to the language barrier, we didn't have any language communication along the way, the Tibetan grandmother took care of me very much, she supported me all the way, pulled me up, and I came to the glacier with the encouragement and help of the Tibetan grandmother. ”
On the way back, Lao Kang said: "This is probably the first and last time I have seen a spectacular glacier in my life, and I am very grateful to this Tibetan grandma who met in Pingshui, her wordless encouragement made me not give up and realize a rare life experience." ”
03. Epilogue
35,000 kilometers in 96 days, Lao Kang, who drove a taxi, realized his dream of life.
"After returning to Beijing for so long, I still can't forget the nearly 100 days on the road, and this trip finally helped me fulfill my lifelong dream, and it is also the most rewarding trip I have driven in decades. ”
Circumnavigating the journey of the Chinese dream,
The most heroic journey of life!
Would you like to come too?
2024 Journey around the Chinese Dream
will be on May 23 (Sentimental Edition),
June 16 (Dream Edition) assembled in Shenzhen,
【Registration】
Sentimental version (clockwise)
✔ The tour price is cost-effective
✔ Suitable for: People who have dreams, but are shy or suffer from no team
✔ The whole process is AA system, and there is complete autonomy in food and accommodation (P.S. But it does not mean that the organization team is completely inactive, and it will also give references
✔Starting in May, G219, G331, and G228 will be challenged clockwise
Dream Edition (counterclockwise)
✔ Photographer filmed throughout the process
✔ The whole process is all-inclusive, and the price of food, accommodation, tickets, etc. is all-inclusive
✔ The logistics support is strong, and there are doctors in the high-altitude area (Kashgar-Lhasa section).
✔ The whole process of star-rated hotel accommodation, the preferred aerobic hotel in Tibetan areas with conditions, and the selection of comfortable hotels/B&Bs in areas with limited conditions
✔Starting in June, G228, G331, and G219 will be challenged counterclockwise
· END·
[Author: Let's go to the network; Public account: Let's go to the network]