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Ding Yizhou accompanies his wife Lai Min on their epic trip around the country. [Photo by Yan Huang/For China Daily]

Couple follows their hearts on epic journey

There are numerous ways to express love, but Ding Yizhou chose one that few would adopt: following a heart-shaped itinerary around China with his girlfriend, who uses a wheelchair.

Ding, 27, embarked on the trek from his hometown of Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Jan 3, 2015.

The journey was inspired by a wish of Ding's girlfriend Lai Min. She was diagnosed with hereditary spinocerebellar ataxia when she was 21. The progressive, degenerative disease has left 28-year-old Lai unable to walk.

Lai told Ding that she would like to go out and use a camera to record her visits to places across China, rather than stay put and wait to die. That inspired Ding to come up with the idea for this adventure.

Ding modified his girlfriend's wheelchair to make it more suitable for long-distance travel, and he used an Old English sheepdog to pull the wheelchair, while he rode a mountain bike.

Ding earned money by doing hairdressing and odd jobs along the way.

Ding and Lai married in Lhasa, Tibet autonomous region, in July 2015, and they are still on their journey to finish the heart-shaped itinerary.