Boy, 16, cycles 3,000km from Xinjiang to Tibet

The 16-year-old senior high school student Xu Ziheng (right) finished his trip through Xinjiang and Tibet with the help of a bike enthusiast Yan Xiliang，after cycling 3,150 kilometers in 46 days. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Li, mother of a 16-year-old senior high school student in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, is surprised as well as glad to discover her son Xu Ziheng has become mature and sensible since he came back from Tibet four months ago.

"The result is what I wanted to see and I'm even more convinced that I was right to send him to the trip although at that time it seemed quite dangerous," said Li.

It was on May 20 that after cycling 3,150 kilometers in 46 days, Xu finally reached his destination, Tibet's Lhasa, completing his trip through Xinjiang and Tibet.

"Since he entered the senior high school last September, my son began to compare daily life with his classmates and began wasting his time, which made me feel quite worried," Li said.

At the beginning of this year, when she heard the news that Yan Xiliang, a famous bike enthusiast in Harbin, planned to cross Xinjiang and Tibet by a bike, an idea flashed through her mind.

However, when she asked Yan o take Xu with him, he refused.

"He was too young to ride in such dangerous regions," Yan said. "Furthermore, he has no cycling experience at all."

But Li did not give up. Yan was finally moved by the mother's insistence and said he would avoid the dangerous routes as far as possible.

They planned to start the journey from Xinjiang's Kashgar as soon as they arrived there at the end of March.

The 16-year-old senior high school student Xu Ziheng (right) finished his trip through Xinjiang and Tibet with the help of a bike enthusiast Yan Xiliang，after cycling 3,150 kilometers in 46 days. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Unfortunately, they encountered heavy avalanches, and the landslides blocked the road they had planned to take.

They were trapped in a small village until April 5.

The continual difficulties during their trip-serious altitude sickness, intense UV radiation, absence of human beings in sparsly populated areas and lack of fresh food-kept testing the boy's will.

"The care of Yan was the great help and encouragement for me to finish the trip," Xu said gratefully.

What impressed Xu more were the people he met during the trip.

"I still remember the warm smiles on the faces of children in Tibet," said Xu. "They said hello in nonstandard Mandarin and 'tashidelek' in Tibetan to us."

Before he returned from Tibet, Xu bought a hundred bags and some candy with his money and sent them to the children living in poverty in a primary school.

"I felt quite honored that I finished the tour. The experience helped me hone a spirit of persistence and fearlessness. I believe I can overcome any difficulty I meet in the future," Xu said.

The 16-year-old senior high school student Xu Ziheng (left) finished his trip through Xinjiang and Tibet with the help of a bike enthusiast Yan Xiliang，after cycling 3,150 kilometers in 46 days. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]