Pedaling cross-country to chase dreams

Answers on the way

For every rider, there is a reason to cycle. For Zhang, he likes to pedal to explore the uncertain and escape from everyday life.

Most of his peers find a 9-to-5 job and live a routine life, but Zhang yearns for something different. After his Southeast Asia sojourn, he took up a job in the real estate sector.

"When the opportunity comes, I will try other routes, like the Sino-Russian Tea Road and the ancient Silk Road," Zhang says.

The Sino-Russian Tea Road, stretching for 4,760 km, including 1,480 by water and 3,280 by land, once saw tea from Fujian province carried all the way to Mongolia and Russia, about 200 years ago. The Silk Road refers to a network of trade routes used by traders for more than 1,500 years, connecting China and the Far East with the Middle East and Europe, extending approximately 6,437 km across some of the world's most formidable landscapes.

For Zhang, it seems that once you hit the road, the journey to discover the world will never stop.

Zhu also feels the same, with cycling as a way to discover more unknown and interesting things which will, in turn, enrich his soul and his life in many ways.

Zhu's journey starts with his childhood dream that as long as the Earth is round, he can cycle around the planet.

"If you have a dream, just hit the road. When you keep exploring, all the anxiety, fear and hesitation will be gone with the wind. Then you can become who you want to be and pursue your dream," Zhu says.