Writer publishes book on IOU-funded trip across China

A writer in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, who wrote 222 IOUs valued at 50,000 yuan ($8,170) to fund a trip, has written a book about his experience, China National Radio reported on Tuesday.

Three years ago, Liu Meisong planned to drive his car across the country without a coin in his pocket and to borrow money from the people he met with the promise to return it later. He made the trip to see whether people believed in his honesty and credit.

Liu started his trip in August 2010 and the first day was tough as he drove from Shenzhen to Haikou, capital of the island province of Hainan.

"The price of the ferry for me to cross the channel was 452 yuan ($74) which took me some 15 hours to collect," Liu said.

He met further difficulties as he had to borrow money from strangers for his fuel, food and accommodation.

"From Guangdong province to the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, I had to pass 13 toll booths, which were a really big difficulty for me. I tried many ways to get money and at the last toll booth I had to use my kettle, which was valued at more than 200 yuan, as an exchange for 25 yuan of the fee," Liu said.

With various landscapes along the road, Liu's mood also swung between bitter and sweet. Over the 100 days when he drove more than 28,510 km, Liu borrowed money from more than 200 strangers.

Every time he received money from a stranger, Liu would make a phone call to his wife at home asking her to repay the money.

Once he returned home, Liu had 222 IOUs, of which the maximum was 5,742 yuan and the minimum was 10 yuan. The total of the IOUs was some 50,000 yuan.

Liu recently published a book entitled IOU to recount his trip, which he considered a warm one as he got a lot of help from strangers.