Chasing his dream, step by step
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E-mail China Daily, July 26, 2012
Though unable to play basketball or volleyball as he used to, he has maintained his habit of running on a daily basis for 50 years.
Jin worked underground in the coal mine for 18 years, which makes him appreciate life all the more now.
"I worked eight hours underground every day without the guarantee of security or even fresh air. The difficulties I face right now are nothing in comparison."
As soon as he retired in 2005, Jin decided to start his hiking trip in August, with two friends from Bukang. They first went to Lhasa, the Tibet autonomous region, intending to go to Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games after that.
"It was a historic event and we wanted to be part of it."
They all made it to Lhasa, but then his friends gave up due to illness. But Jin was motivated to go further after he saw pilgrims on their hands and knees on a pilgrimage to Lhasa.
"I realized it was the power of faith. I was motivated by them."
Jin continued his journey and arrived in Beijing in 2006.
During his stay in Beijing, he met sport officials and reporters, who encouraged him to continue his hike.
"They told me to continue as long as I was in good health."
He traveled through bustling cities and sleepy towns, slept in lumberjacks' wood cabins and road maintenance workers' lodgings.
The most difficult parts of his journey were in Tibet and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions.
"It took three or four days to go from one town to another and it was not easy to find accommodation," he says.
One of his most cherished memories was spending Spring Festival in Gutian county, Fujian province, where members of the mountaineering society treated him like family.
"They told me that travelers all over the world belong to the same family. I will never forget their kindness."
Of all the places he visited, he was most impressed by the scenery in Lijiang and Shangri-La, Yunnan province.
"With the blue sky and white clouds and the snow-capped mountains, it was like a fairyland," Jin says, adding the living costs there were low.
Jin would hike southward in the winter and north in the summer to avoid inclement weather, but occasionally he was stranded in heavy downpours with nowhere to shelter.
Each time he arrived at a new place, he would go to the local sport authority or federation of trade unions to obtain a seal.
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