Crossing China on foot

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By Mao Pengfei (Xinhua) 13:53, August 22, 2013

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German adventurer Christoph Rehage said his trek across China was driven by an "inner wolf."

The recently published Chinese version of his book, The Longest Way, has become a best-seller. The book details his epic walk through extreme heat, blizzards and sandstorms as he made his way on foot from Beijing to Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Driven by this "inner wolf," Rehage set off on November 9, 2007, his 26th birthday, and arrived in Urumqi on October 25, 2008, covering 4,646 kilometers in 352 days.

Rehage met children, travelers, peasants, government officials, prostitutes, and all other walks of life as he passed through villages and cities in the northern provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu.

"It gave me a chance to see the real China and not just the modern cities," Rehage said. "I used to travel a lot in China by train as a visitor, but I don't feel like a visitor anymore when I walk to a place."

His time-lapse video of his odyssey has received more than 3 million hits on YouTube, and he has more than 100,000 followers on Chinese social network Sina Weibo, many of whom say Rehage's courage and spirit of adventure have inspired them to change their own lives.

A blogger under the name "Qian Qian Qian," which means "money," commented that the most stimulating part of Rehage's story is that "he is not eager to pursue so-called success."

The book starts with the end of Rehage's journey, and compiles stories that occurred on the way, flashbacks of his life, and his thoughts on China's history and current situation. He describes the scenery and people he encountered and how his feet hurt.

"I'm writing neither a travel guide nor a research book on China. It's just about my journey and how I interacted with people in this country."

Rehage's understanding of China and Chinese people gradually changed over the journey.

"I worried a lot about my safety at first," he said, adding that he once took all 30 kg of his luggage from a hotel room to a public toilet out of concern about theft.

"It was ridiculous," Rehage said, "the manager couldn't help but burst into laughter when she figured out why I was doing that."

He gradually learned to accept help from strangers and came to realize that people in less-developed places in China actually are more frank and hospitable.

"I made several trustworthy friends this way," said Rehage. "Meeting different people and getting to know their lives was the most amazing part of the walk."

Rehage's initial plan was to walk all the way from Beijing back to his German hometown of Bad Nenndorf, in Lower Saxony. He set up a website, www.thelongestway.com, to post stories from his journey.

"It created an identity of a cross-continent walker for me, and I had to live by that."

He set some rules at the beginning, such as letting his hair and beard grow untrimmed, and no vehicles.

"I began this walk, without my parents' and girlfriend' s support, simply because I told myself I wanted to do it. But the experiences on the way and changes in my life gradually made me feel like I was turning into the slave of my 'inner wolf.' Walking let me feel something that's more important than just walking: control of myself and love."

He decided to stop when his girlfriend in Berlin broke up with him. He flew back to Germany to win her back - in vain.

"It cost me my love, but it is still very valuable," Rehage said. "Through the trek, I saw and felt China's variety and regained control of my life from the inner wolf."

"It's very hard to gather the courage to make the first step of such a journey," he said. "But it's even harder to realize when and why I should stop."