Six Senior Chinese Cyclists Make Their Way across Southeast Asia

The six senior cyclists pose for a photo in Fangchenggang city, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Jan 15, the day before their departure. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Every time Han Qiming is asked about his bike journeys, he feels proud and can't stop telling interesting stories.

Han, 71, a retired engineer from Harbin, capital city of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, finished an approximately 6,000-kilometer bicycling journey through Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos together with five fellow travelers two weeks ago.

Starting from the Chinese-Vietnamese border port of Dongxing in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the six cyclists, aged from 55-71 and hailing from Harbin, finished their journey in 74 days.

Han Qiming poses for a photo in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, on Jan 22. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"I fell in love with cycling ten years ago after I bought a second-hand bicycle," Han said. "At first I cycled for dozens of kilometers every day in urban areas and one year later, I finished a 21-day journey in the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu together with another cyclist."

Over the past ten years Han has cycled to almost all the cities and tourist destinations in Heilongjiang.

"I had the idea of cycling to foreign countries after finishing an 81-day journey from Harbin to Sanya (Hainan province) at the end of 2017," he said.

Han Qiming (second from right) and four of his fellow travelers pose for a photo on the way to the coastal city Da Nang in Vietnam on Jan 24. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Han began to organize the trip in mid-2018 and finally set up the team along with three men and two women.

"We all have rich cycling experience and have finished several trips in China over the past years," Han said. "Before starting we spent plenty of time preparing for the journey, including checking our equipment and planning our route, hoping to avoid too much trouble during the trip."

The six senior cyclists pose for a photo in coastal city Da Nang in Vietnam on Jan 24. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"During the long journey, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Southeast Asian countries and different local cultures and traditions," he said. "We also experienced the most memorable Spring Festival in our lives."

The team arrived at Phan Rang-Thap Cham, a city in Vietnam on Spring Festival Eve, Feb 4, and decided to make dumplings to celebrate the traditional festival.

Han Qiming poses for a photo in coastal city Da Nang in Vietnam on Jan 25. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"To our surprise Spring Festival is also celebrated by Vietnamese people, although they don't eat dumplings," he said. "Streets were decorated with countless flowers and people joined in various outdoor celebrations."

"We sent our handmade dumplings to the boss of the inn we lived in and received great praise from his family members," he said.

Now Han is expecting to cycle to farther to see more different people, sceneries and cultures.

The six senior cyclists pose for a photo in Hoi An, a city in Vietnam, on Jan 26. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The six senior cyclists pose for a photo by the seaside in Nha Trang, Vietnam, on Feb 2. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Han Qiming poses for a photo on the street of Chiengmai in Thailand on March 20. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Han Qiming (first from right) and his fellow travelers pose for a photo with some foreign tourists in Luang Prabang, Laos on March 28. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]