Biker gave up job for 5,000-km trek to Lhasa

A young man, who gave up a well-paying job, biked nearly 5,000 kilometers in three months to get to the Potala Palace of Lhasa in the Tibet autonomous region, the Shenyang Evening News reported on Thursday.

Guo Sichao, 27, worked as a plumbing engineer after graduating three years ago from a college in Northeast China's Liaoning province.

Working hard, Guo soon earned a monthly salary of 8,000 yuan ($1,306), more than twice the average monthly salary in Shenyang, Liaoning province, where he and his parents lived.

But the money did not bring him much pleasure.

“Every day, I felt my life was only about my job,” Guo told Shenyang Evening News. “Waking up at 7 am, going to work, having lots of business trips, I could see my future even though I haven't reached 30 yet.”

When he started the 4,832-kilometer, 80-day adventure on April 2, Guo opened a micro blog account on Sina Weibo and uploaded pictures of the places he passed.

To save money on lodging, Guo brought a tent to sleep in, and his entire journey cost about 5,000 yuan.

“Finally I saw the Potala Palace I have dreamed of,” Guo wrote on his micro blog on July 1. “On the Qinghai-Tibet Expressway, I have been through cold, fever, altitude sickness, but I conquered them all. This is not the finish line.”