A Chinese man's 3 year around-the-world trip

By Lin Liyao
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, May 7, 2016
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For a graduating student, to find a stable and lucrative job is undoubtedly the priority. But He Jianghai, then 27 years old, chose to quit his job at a local bank after working for two months.

He Jianghai takes a picture with his girlfriend Ciara Metzoian. [hsw.cn]

He Jianghai takes a picture with his girlfriend Ciara Metzoian. [hsw.cn] 

Traveling around China and then the world

In the beginning of 2013, He Jianghai graduated from a university in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, and was enrolled as an employee at a local bank in Guangzhou. In most Chinese eyes', being a bank employee is absolutely a good job due to fixed working hours and a desirable salary. However, He felt his work was boring and made a plan to travel around China in March of 2013.

At the very start, He traveled in China's Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, and then went to Tibet as a hitchhiker. In Tibet, he made a group of friends and embarked on his first-ever travel abroad with them to Nepal.

He said, "At the beginning of the trip, I only planned to travel across the country. I had never imaged that I could go abroad and travel around the world."

After Nepal, He went to India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Africa, before arriving in Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. As a football fan, He said he was so excited when he got a visa to visit there.

During the summer of 2014, He also visited Peru, Chile, Argentina and several other South American countries. In Argentina, he was lucky enough to be able to buy a ticket to the Antarctic at a last minute price. Finishing his travels in South America, He went to North America to continue his around-the-world trip.

Traveling abroad not as difficult as imagined

Before this trip, He had never traveled abroad. "When I was in high school, my English was very poor," He said. "At college, I passed the College English Test Band 4 (CET-4). [A required English level specified in China's national college English syllabuses]." During his travels abroad, He learned English through books and a mobile translation app, and improved his oral English by chatting with his foreign friends.

Another problem needed to be solved during his trip was expenditure. In order to save money, in most cases, He made himself a couch surfer, but sometimes, he slept in railway stations or temples. "I preferred to take the bus, train, or ferry during my trip because they are cheaper than planes." said He.

He even sold small wares as a street vendor. "While traveling in Turkey, I met a Chinese businessman, who gave me many small wares bought from Yiwu in China. I sold them there and made some money." He said.

In recent years, overseas purchasing agents are very popular in China. Inspired by this, He opened a store online while traveling in Brazil, and bought jewelry there and sold them to the Chinese market. As of now, his online store is still open and doing well.

Falling in love while traveling abroad

While traveling in Guatemala, He met an American girl named Ciara Metzoian, who was studying Spanish there. The two shared similar hobbies and soon fell in love with each other.

In October 2015, He and his girlfriend traveled in the United States together and then visited Beijing, Sichuan, Guangdong and other places in China. After one year of learning, Ciara can speak fluent Chinese, and the two traveled in Taiwan this April.

"When I told my friends I went to China, they all said it's incredible." Ciara said, also commenting that she often chats with her family and friends online, and introduces China and her trip experience to them. Her brother and sister are both interested in China now.

None of He's family members imagined that He could find his love during the trip. He's parents are so happy about that. He said that they planned to get married in his hometown of Xi'an this summer.

In the past three years, He has traveled more than 40 countries and regions across six continents. The only place he hasn't been to is Oceania. He said he and Ciara were going to apply for work visas from the Australian government, and travel around the continent while making money.

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