Huang Renyi, 50, of Jianyang City, started from Beijing on August 15 last year, and traveled 35,259 kilometers across four municipalities and 18 provinces and autonomous regions before returning to Beijing on January 15.

Huang said the idea for the tour came from "Running Naked," a book written by Christophe Peres, a French man who bicycled across China in 2001.

Peres' 22,532-kilometer trip, from the city of Kashi in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the west to Beijing, was undertaken to raise funds for children threatened by heart disease, congenital abnormalities and other serious illnesses.

Huang left home with only his bicycle, some clothes, tools for repairs, a few spare tires, a water jug and pocket money amounting to a few U.S. dollars.

He was treated to free meals and lodging at many restaurants and hotels. When he sprained his ankle climbing a snow-covered mountain on September 18, a soldier with the People's Liberation Army gave him medicine.

All these events have been recorded in his diary and by his camera lens.

Huang said he plans to write a book based on the adventure, hold an exhibition of the photos he took and apply for a Guinness World Record.

(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2003)