An 18-year-old teenager from Chengdu cycled over 4,000 kilometers in 80 day

Title: An 18-year-old teenager from Chengdu cycled over 4,000 kilometers in 80 days, crossing the Eurasian continent and passing through eight countries.

Author: Diwei Xu、Zhishan Liu、Min Li

Publisher:  The Paper

Date: September 4, 2018

Link: https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_2405326

80 days, 4033 kilometers, 8 countries. This summer, 18-year-old Jerry Huang and three international classmates cycled across the Eurasian continent.

Jerry Huang is a student of Chengdu Foreign Languages School's class of 2017. He attended Chengdu Foreign Languages School from junior high to the second year of high school and was selected by the United World Colleges (UWC) China National Committee to study the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) at the UWC Mostar campus in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the first semester of his senior year. In 2018, he applied to eight U.S. universities and received admission offers from Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, University of Virginia, and Colorado College. This boy from an ordinary family in Chengdu, who loves participating in social activities, also received full scholarships worth nearly 500,000 RMB annually from Harvard, over 500,000 RMB annually from Columbia, and more than 400,000 RMB annually from Stanford.

Apart from being accepted by several world-renowned universities, Jerry Huang has another awe-inspiring plan: cycling across the Eurasian continent.

At the end of May, this cycling team set off from Bosnia, passing through Turkey, Georgia, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, and reached their destination at the Horgos Port in Xinjiang, China, in mid-August as planned.

Recording beautiful landscapes and collecting stories along the way, Jerry Huang and his Indian companion Kesava recently shared their extraordinary experiences with The Paper (www.thepaper.cn).

"This was a fantastic journey," said Kesava. "We passed snow-capped peaks, mountains, green roads, and deserts, heard some crazy stories, and encountered some interesting events. If you travel by car, things on the road go by quickly, but when you travel by bicycle, you meet many people, talk with them, immerse yourself, and you can experience more of the local culture."

As the initiator of this cycling journey, Jerry Huang also made efforts during the trip to observe the transformation of the countries along the way, sharing people's stories on the Silk Road through tweets, photos, and videos, showcasing the culture and history of the "Belt and Road" countries, spreading goodwill, and building bridges.

Preparing for four months, fulfilling a five-year dream

Not yet 19, Jerry Huang was born in Chengdu. For him, this cycling journey across the Eurasian continent was a graduation trip after high school.

When he was young, his mother often took him cycling in parks in the suburbs of Chengdu. Since then, he realized that cycling not only exercises the body but also allows him to discover new meanings in the scenery after sweating it out.

Five years ago, he dreamed of cycling from Chengdu to Lhasa along National Highway 318 upon graduating from high school. After studying in Bosnia, he met two foreign cyclists on the "Silk Road." He thought, "If I can't cycle the Sichuan-Tibet line, then I'll cycle home from Europe."

Jerry Huang is not someone who indulges in impractical dreams. To achieve this goal, in the spring of 2016, he completed his first long-distance cycling trip between two cities in Bosnia. Covering a distance of 89 kilometers, he and his classmates carried sleeping bags and tents, cooked meals, and watched the stars together, making him realize that cycling brings not only personal joy but also the happiness of teamwork.

In May 2017, he cycled 452 kilometers with a German classmate from Mostar in Bosnia, passing through four countries to reach Tirana, the capital of Albania. In March 2018, to further train his physical strength, he completed a 750-kilometer challenge, cycling from Rome, Italy, through Venice, to the UWC campus in Italy.

However, the planned Silk Road journey spanned more than 4,000 kilometers and posed greater challenges. Determined, Jerry Huang began preparations early in the year, including designing the route, training his physical strength, finding teammates, and raising funds. For instance, the route avoided cities that might experience unrest and conflict; he completed 60-kilometer round-trip rides in two weeks to improve explosive power, and increased jogging and half-marathon practice to enhance endurance; he contacted local people in advance; and prepared reflective gear to ensure traffic safety.

Despite the extensive preparations, the long journey still worried his parents. "They initially opposed it, not understanding why I would take such a big risk. I wasn't very confident either," Jerry Huang told The Paper. "But as I made step-by-step preparations, they saw that I had made many safety plans, found teammates, and received support from embassies and other parties. They gradually believed it was achievable. Moreover, their questions before departure made me take the activity more seriously."

In mid-March, Kesava Kirupa Dinakaran saw Jerry Huang's recruitment post online and decided to join the challenge. After screening, Kesava and two other teammates from Germany and Syria accompanied Jerry Huang on different segments of the journey.

On May 26, this young cycling team set off from Bosnia, and on May 31, they officially started cycling from Istanbul, Turkey. They passed through Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkmenistan. On July 19, Kesava joined Jerry Huang from Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, and they went to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and back to Kazakhstan, finally reaching the Horgos Port on August 13.

Jerry Huang explained that during the trip, they would start at 8 a.m. and rest at 8 p.m., cycling about 120 kilometers daily for 6 to 8 hours. "On relatively flat roads, our average speed could reach about 22 kilometers per hour, but on barren, bumpy gravel roads, our average speed dropped to around 8 kilometers per hour." He also regularly uploaded location information for safety and periodically informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which then communicated with Chinese embassies in the countries along the route.

Overflowing goodwill, changing stereotypes

Besides safety concerns, another challenge of this cycling trip was the high temperatures. One noon in Azerbaijan, the temperature reached nearly 50°C (122°F). "We had to drink 1.5 liters of water every hour to avoid dehydration, and the roads were particularly bad, with few people and no rest areas. My teammate felt a bit dizzy, a dangerous signal, so we stopped to hitch a ride."

Jerry Huang recalled that after waiting for a long time, they were dusted by three passing cars. "It was a double blow to both body and spirit." Fortunately, the fourth driver stopped to help them, loading their bicycles into the trunk. "It was a large truck full of cow dung and straw, but we didn't care. Although it was stifling and smelly, we felt the help that transcended borders."

In Turkmenistan, when Jerry Huang only had one dollar left and couldn't pay the entry tax, he waited alone in the corner of the hall. Unexpectedly, a Turkmen woman patted him on the shoulder. "I didn't expect her to help, but she gathered 14 dollars from her sisters and gave them to me." After crossing the border, the woman did not leave her bank account or take more food than Jerry offered. "She said, 'Young man, you need this food for your journey. Welcome to this land.' I almost cried at that moment. We had never met, and our language didn't really connect, yet she chose to be generous."

Such kindness flowed throughout the journey: in Iran, a driver offered them half a watermelon during a climb, thinking they were exhausted; a Chinese bike shop owner treated them to dinner and insisted on giving them a new bike when theirs was stolen; drivers frequently stopped to offer water; hotel staff made an exception to cook them dinner when they arrived late. These acts of kindness from strangers deeply moved Jerry Huang and Kesava. Through this trip, they discovered that despite different languages and national conditions, people share a similar sense of empathy. "It made me realize that humanity is defined by mutual understanding, care, and help," Jerry Huang said.

Moreover, this Silk Road journey allowed Jerry Huang to engage closely with locals, experiencing the social, economic, and cultural aspects of each country. He noted, "Countries along the 'Belt and Road' are undergoing transformations. Despite past hardships, people aspire for change. This trip inspired me to think about what kind of methods, countries, and governments can achieve further development."

Reflecting on the journey, Jerry Huang felt proud of seeing different facets of the countries along the route and discovering the simplicity and goodness of the people. "I'm most proud not only that we became the youngest team to cycle from Europe to China, but also that we tried to see these countries with our own eyes and share their true thoughts with the world."

Currently, Jerry Huang has started his university life in the United States. He plans to apply his studies in economics and engineering to international development, incorporating his desire to give back to these kind-hearted people and improve living standards. Inspired by Jerry, Kesava also hopes to continue cycling across India to learn more about different countries and their people.