A life cycle full of adventure

He planned to go on from there to cycle past the national boundaries through Kazakhstan, Iran and other Asian countries, and then Turkiye to enter Europe.

"My destination is Paris, France, before the Summer Olympics on July 26, 2024," says Zhu, who was originally from a small village in East China's Jiangxi province.

"It's my way of celebrating the Games," Zhu says.

Over the past 11 years, Zhu has traveled through 45 countries and regions across four continents, covering a distance of over 90,000 kilometers.

"From Asia to Africa, from South America to North America, I have encountered many wonderful people and experiences, and witnessed various unique customs," Zhu says, adding that he has also had his fair share of challenges and even life-threatening situations.

"But everything was worth it," Zhu says.

The idea of traveling around the world budded when he was learning about geography at school.

"My classmates joked about my insanity, but I couldn't help but picture all the beautiful and wonderful scenes awaiting me," he says.

After Zhu raised about 200,000 yuan ($28,100), he quit his job at a Shanghai trading company to go cycling in 2012.

"I figured I had lived at least a quarter of my life already, and I didn't want to waste time waiting," he recalls.

His parents initially opposed his decision. "My mother was worried about what if something happened to me on the road," he says.

However, his persistence eventually won their tacit consent.

Zhu embarked on his first daredevil journey from Shanghai when he followed National Highway 318 and cycled westward through Zhejiang province, Chongqing, Sichuan province and the Tibet autonomous region before making inroads in Nepal.

"It was like a dream and my heart was pounding," Zhu says about the moment when he set foot in the foreign land.

Everything was new and exciting to him, from the welcoming Nepalis who invited him to their home to the way locals went about their lives.

As he went further to Ethiopia in 2014, he was amazed by the indigenous tribal women wearing big circular or oval discs inserted in their lower lips.

"They also liked to adorn themselves with patterns all over the body, such as those featuring cow horns and tree branches," Zhu says.