26 years old, 126 days, 37,500 kilometers
Tang Yuangang self-driving around China. Netizens say thank you for fulfilling my dream
Tang Yuangang, a 26-year-old guy from Guizhou, spent 126 days driving 37,500 kilometers and spending 42,000 to travel around China to fulfill his dream. On June 26, 2019, he set off from Dongxing, Guangxi, and started a personal journey along the border highway. Four months later, he crossed the Qiongzhou Strait from Hainan and returned to the place where his dream started. He used his positioning to draw a successful conclusion on the "rooster picture" he walked through. It was night at that moment, tearful Tang Yuan just planted a national flag at the intersection of land and water in the motherland, lit his car lights, flashed three times, and greeted the motherland.
Not long ago, his videos of driving around mainland China became popular on video platforms such as Toutiao, Watermelon Video, Station B, etc. Many netizens were moved by the real record of his travels throughout China, and he saw perseverance and courage in him. Spirit, what many people say most is thanks: Thank you for fulfilling my dream for me.
China is so big, I want to see
Tang Yuan was just born in a small mountain village in Zunyi, Guizhou. Because of his poor family, his father went out to work when he was very young. He left at the beginning of the year and returned at the end of the year. His mother works in farming at home and leads him and his sister to live.
Dad is away all year round, and the father and son spend very little time together and can only contact by phone. Dad always tells him about the places he has been to. Xinjiang Karamay has been deeply in his mind since he was a child. “It takes dozens of hours to sit on a train, days and nights.” He had never traveled far to the outside world. The world feels very curious, and often pesters Dad on the phone to ask what the outside world is like. When he grew up, he was no longer satisfied with what his father said, and the idea of "China is so big, I want to visit" came up.
When he was in college, Tang Yuangang did not hesitate to apply for Zhengzhou, Henan Province. Although he went out of his hometown for the first time, he saw that the seeds of the world grew more and more freely in his heart. He wanted to go out one day and take a look at his own country.
After graduating in 2017, he went to Guangdong and Chongqing to work for one year and three months, because he was engaged in research-oriented work. During this period, he felt strongly that "the more you might have the chance to realize your dream, the fewer and fewer opportunities you can achieve." So he resigned decisively and began to make every effort to prepare for "Self-Driving China".
Looking back, resignation was a bit of a ruin, and it completely cut off the way for myself. "The income earned by going to university and working for more than a year did not actually save much money." It was not on impulse that he felt that "If you want to do it, don't give up halfway."
All beginnings are hard. Although Tang Yuangang didn't ask for a cent from his family, he had to pass a hurdle to convince his parents. He quit his job to do these things, but his family didn't understand it. Later, when he saw his active actions, his parents said that he wanted to do something, and they would try their best to support it.
In Tang Yuangang's memory, he was raised since he was a child. Whether he takes the exams, chooses a major, or finds a job, he basically relies on himself. "When I was in junior high school, there was no road from our home to the town. I had to bring some food and vegetables from home and walk to the town to rent a house." Since junior high school, he has to cook for himself every day. It is precisely these life experiences that have exercised his ability to be independent. "The first thing you think about is solving something by yourself." He first went to get his driver's license, then he bought an economical car, and then planned two test drives, one to practice his hands, and second to see if he could complete his plan to be on the road alone.
Two self-driving Sichuan-Tibet and Qing-Tibet have a bottom
Before self-driving around the mainland, Tang Yuangang had never been exposed to outdoor driving. He was completely self-driving Xiaobai. He didn't understand how to reduce costs, how to adapt to the road conditions, and what equipment to buy. He knew that there was a great risk in this matter. In order to "go home as safely as possible", he meticulously designed two different test drive routes to make full preparations for traveling around China.
He first started from Guizhou and ran a lap through Sichuan and Yunnan. That section of the road was full of plateaus. It was impossible to eat at restaurants in the world on the way, so he bought a set of outdoor cooking tools. In this process, I solved the problems one by one and accumulated a lot of experience.
After running Yunguichuan, he took another trip to the Sichuan-Tibet line after a month of rest. After this trip, there was no altitude sickness, which made him feel confident about his physical condition and increased his confidence. A person’s accumulation of various experiences on the road is even more valuable. “If you encounter a flat tire, you have to learn to do it yourself, because you will have to walk through no-man’s land later. Once such a problem occurs, if you don’t have hands-on experience, you will be very flustered. ."
How could you think of driving around China? Tang Yuangang said with a smile that in fact this idea has always existed, but at first he thought about whether to complete it several times. He drove more than 3,000 kilometers in a circle in Sichuan and Tibet, and more than 3,000 kilometers in a circle in Qinghai-Tibet. He felt at ease, "If there are no accidents in the middle, I will definitely be able to do it all at once."
It was already at the end of May last year that Tang Yuan returned home after self-driving on the Qinghai-Tibet line. It took Tang Yuan a month to carefully review the plan and perfect the equipment. He made up his mind, "We must leave at the end of June. If we arrive in the northeast a little later, the weather may not be particularly good." He also has one of his biggest wishes, that is, he wants to arrive in Beijing on the National Day and to the heart of the motherland. Worship. "I have never been to Beijing before. I am just in time for the 70th anniversary celebration. I really want to go to Tiananmen Square in Beijing and take a look. I have calculated it several times and should be able to catch up."
With his meager savings and the confidence to win, Tang Yuan just drove from his hometown of Zunyi, Guizhou, to his chosen starting point for self-driving: the landmark square of Dongxing, Guangxi that connects mountains and seas. The reason for choosing there as the starting point is that "the coastline of the motherland starts here, and the land border defense line of the motherland also starts here."
On June 26, 2019, Tang Yuan just set off. The wheels were rolling on the road along the side, and the scenery outside the window was racing backwards. While holding back his excitement, he cheered himself up: There are tens of thousands of miles ahead, come on!
Please take my dream to complete it
Tang Yuangang was very impressed, and his first car accident happened soon after he set off. At that time, he had just entered Luchun County, Yunnan. On a bend, the car on the opposite side occupied the road to overtake, and directly hit his car into a ditch on the side of the road. The bumper and front face of the car were so damaged that they were so damaged. It's okay. This was a huge blow to him, and even a little discouraged, "After all, he encountered an accident within a few days of walking."
The traffic police judged the responsibility and called rescue to take the car back to Luchun County for repairs. Tang Yuan had been delayed there for seven days because he was waiting for parts and sheet metal painting. While waiting, he repeated the accident repeatedly, suddenly wanted to drive, and even felt a little grateful for the first car accident he encountered early. He felt that there were a lot of things that he didn't know how to solve without going through. This process enabled him to learn a lot and increase the experience value so that he could complete the subsequent journey more smoothly.
After returning to the road, he became more attentive, "check the condition of the car before driving, pay attention to speed and concentration during driving." He feels that when the heart is strong enough to overcome all fear and pessimism, where the person is, the hope is. What made him wonder is that there has been no accident since then, only one time in Xinjiang’s no man’s land, because of carelessness, the tire was punctured and the spare tire was replaced.
How to solve the problem of food and accommodation on the road alone? When he first started running Guangxi and Yunnan, it was June and July. The weather was relatively hot, so he put the tent next to the car and lived in the tent, which was relatively cool. Every three or four days, he would go to a hotel to stay to solve the problem of bathing and washing clothes. When he drove to Tibet and Xinjiang, where it was cold in some places, he put the seat down in the car and put on the "sleeping artifact"-in-vehicle inflatable mattress to sleep beautifully.
Tang Yuangang encountered luck the most on the road, especially those self-driving experts who travel frequently would take the initiative to share their experiences with him. "My inflatable bed was recommended by a Wuhan man I met on the road. The car seat is very uneven. Putting this inflatable mattress on it will make you feel comfortable."
Before leaving, Tang Yuangang was most worried about the indifference between people, but when he was really walking on the road, whether it was a netizen or a pedestrian on the road, what he gave him the most was encouragement. What moved him even more was that many netizens would find ways to help him and support him. If you don't see him update social media, you will leave a worried message asking where he is. What made him unforgettable was that he met Brother Zheng and his wife who watched his video in Yamdrok Lake. After they recognized him, they invited him to dinner, because he was so happy that he forgot to take pictures.
There was an antifreeze alarm, but he couldn't find out the reason for a while, and he happened to be in the middle of the village and the shop. After he sent out the message for help, he did not expect that netizens would make moves. Some asked him to take a video and send it to analyze the cause, and some told him how to deal with it. Finally, the problem was solved smoothly. Along the way, he has received a lot of practical help like this, "For example, if I am not familiar with a certain place, people who have just been there will tirelessly tell me what to pay attention to there, and even help open up some channels."
Tang Yuangang was surrounded by warmth and encouragement all the way, making him feel that this is a very loving world. He can deeply understand that, in fact, many people have the same dreams, but they are stuck in reality because of various reasons. For example, some are old and young, and some are old, but they "will tell you Come on." This kind of love has no benefit. "Maybe he just wants you to fulfill his dream for him." Some people even said to Tang Yuangang, "You are me. Please bring my dream to fulfill it."
I want to show my most real experience
For Tang Yuangang, the freshness brought by the scenery will soon pass. What really tests him is the "daily repetition". He regards driving alone day after day as a challenge, and he wants to hone his willpower. "Just want to see if I can persevere, and whether I can finish it."
Out of cost considerations, Tang Yuangang took almost all the national roads. The biggest expense was gas. He seldom went to restaurants and ate simple meals made by himself. Once a small pot of stewed rice was placed outside the tent without being sealed, but when he got up the next day, he saw that it was covered with dense ants. He warned him not to be lazy in the future.
The mosquitoes are okay. What should I do if I encounter wild animals? He has a calm face: "I have encountered a snake, it's okay, you don't hurt it, it won't move easily unless you threaten it. I'm still no one When the district met a wild dog, he gave him all his supper." He even met a coyote in Tibet, looked at each other, and the other side silently walked away. The last time he was scared was at an altitude of 5,231 meters. He slept in the car for one night. When he got up the next day, he found that the car was frozen and formed a layer of ice. Fortunately, he was fine.
To Tang Yuangang's surprise, the road conditions along the way were quite good, and the cement roads were few and far between. Even in the uninhabited area of Qiangtang, Xinjiang, they were almost all asphalt roads. Occasionally, due to frozen ground, there will be uneven roads in some places. Also, when crossing the Zhangjiang River, this section of the road was destroyed by mudslides in the rainy season. He feels that many people deliberately exaggerate and mislead others by saying on the Internet how bad the road is being repaired or the car is trapped.
Tang Yuangang didn't expect that the video of driving around China by himself would become popular. At first, he instinctively wanted to record the whole process so that he could look back later, so at the beginning he simply used some editing software and didn't know how to put several shots together.
As more people followed, he found online tutorials and started to teach himself how to shoot, how to cut, how to splice, and try while learning. He also searched for a lot of other people's good shots, repeated research and exploration. Take advantage of the stop-and-go interval during the day to take as many good materials as possible, and then use the laptop to edit and send at night. He pays more and more attention to making these videos, and wants to show his most real experience.
When happiness slowly develops, people will become more integrated with each other
Many people on the road are concerned about Tang Yuangang's safety, and family and friends will remind him that places are messy, so be careful. He smiled and said that the most obvious experience in this circle is that "the security of our country is really good." Because of cooking along the way, Tang Yuangang often encountered water shortages. Especially in some remote minority areas, he could only knock on other people’s doors and ask for water. Although they could not understand each other’s words, “they are very I am very happy to help you".
There are still many personal feelings like this, which tend to dispel his original worries. He found that some of the news on the Internet was not the latest, and it was still many years ago. Once he really walked in, he could feel the actual changes very much. What surprised him most was that the difference between the east and the west was not as big as he had imagined. He felt that people from all places were very happy in their hometown. When he was in Tibet, he could clearly feel that they could only eat the most basic local products before, and now they are very developed there, and they can also come into contact with some unimaginable things. If you want to eat seafood, etc. It can be delivered by express.
In Xinjiang, he learned that the vegetables he usually eats were bought by locals in remote towns and villages. Now the government has built many houses for them, and they live there in a concentrated way. It is more convenient to buy vegetables. He also saw the kind of carts that were pulled out to sell vegetables alone, which also reflected a change in the local living standard: before he wanted to eat but couldn’t buy it, now the roads are better, the cars go fluently, and it becomes faster. Up.
Whenever he arrived at the place where his father had been, Tang Yuangang would be excited to talk to him in video. Dad said that when he went to Xinjiang in 2010, the local conditions were not so good. Tang Yuangang told him that now the village has running water. Every time he stops next to a local house, adults and children are curious about him.
Tang Yuangang also told his father that when he saw the road manager on the Duku Highway, he lived in a house like a big bucket. After living for several months, he was responsible for public toilet hygiene and information communication on the road. When chatting with them in the evening, the administrators would tell him a lot about the local affairs and were also very happy to help him. On the phone, the father and son will sigh with these rapid changes while sighing that when the sense of happiness gradually increases, people will become more integrated.
He feels like he has changed when he comes home
Tang Yuangang is not a person who can enjoy loneliness. He really doesn't even have a person to talk about when he walks alone. He will be very happy when he sees someone suddenly at a certain moment.
He remembered very clearly that when he crossed the desert from Gansu to Inner Mongolia, the car drove past the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and saw the sunset under the vast desert. At that moment, he suddenly felt very homesick, his mood became depressed, and even doubted about doing this. Does it make sense? But he knows that his parents are worried every day. At this time, he must not call home, "I'll just sing and relax." Fortunately, more and more people left messages and interactions with him, which became his most important way to resolve loneliness.
To Tang Yuangang's regret, he failed to reach Beijing Tiananmen Square on October 1. But when he rushed to Tiananmen Square four days later, he was still excited looking at the flowers. Later he learned that even if he could arrive on November, he would not be able to see the scene. But being able to come to Beijing in this way made Tang Yuangang feel particularly worthy of memories, "I celebrated my motherland's birthday in my own way."
On October 27, 2019, Tang Yuan had just traveled all over China and returned to the place where his dream started. What he was most gratified was that he saw with his own eyes what his motherland was like and knew her true face. He feels that the biggest gain is that no matter what he does now, he enjoys the process of facing difficulties and solving problems.
When he returned home, Tang Yuan just felt like he had changed himself, "I used to quarrel with my family, and I thought it was normal, but now I cherish them." Some thoughts also quietly changed, "Not everything can take money. To measure".
What made Tang Yuangang feel most happy was that he met his girlfriend and gained love on his way around China. "Because she was going to Tibet, she asked me about my experience when she saw my video. I told her what to pay attention to and what to prepare. She also likes to drive by car. We often chat and learn more about each other."
After driving back from China, fate gave Tang Yuan a sweet taste, "My home is in Zunyi, and her home is in Chongqing, not far away. I drove there for three hours. When we met, we all felt pretty good, and then again. I met my parents, established a romantic relationship and started dating."
Tang Yuan just realized his dream of planting from a young age and found his own interest, and wanted to stick to it. With the widespread dissemination of the video, some harsh sounds came from the Internet. For example, someone accused him of taking his parents' money to go out and being irresponsible. He slowly relieved, "Everyone’s experience is different, everyone’s thoughts are also different, and explanations are meaningless. Just cherish everyone who walks into your life and do your own thing." Photo courtesy of our reporter Li Zhe/Tang Yuangang