Day 58 of Hiking in Tibet: Meet Chen You, the Chinese cart king, and stay with the Songzong Town Government

July 16, 2010

Day 58 of Hiking in Tibet

It rained all night on the plateau, which is rare. Fortunately, the rain gradually eased in the morning. Small.

Today we will walk about 25 kilometers to Songzong Town, let’s go!

I was eating the last dry food by the Parung Zangbo River when a Yu A car stopped and the driver called me. It turned out that it was the old professor from Shanghai whom I brought with me last time and whom I met later in Basu. Chartered car master. This was the third time we met, and he took the guests out of hiding. Meeting him three times in a row on the Sichuan-Tibet Line is no ordinary fate.

The four people who got out of the car were all fellow Fujianese. They were from Fuzhou. When they were traveling to Lhasa, they happened to take the master’s car out of Tibet. As soon as they got in the car, they heard the driver say something about me. Unexpectedly, they were on the road. It really happened! Meeting fellow villagers in such a far away place was particularly friendly. They also gave me a bunch of food. I happened to be out of dry food. This was a timely help, a help in times of crisis! Thank you Brother Zhuang, Brother Zhang, Sister Lan and Sister Su!

The waving person was Brother Zhuang from Fuzhou. We exchanged mobile phone numbers. He encouraged me throughout the rest of the journey and even wrote a poem for me.

Today the road has been traveling through the forest, which makes me feel like I am back in the mountains of Fujian! The difference is that we are soaking in the rain and basking in the sun at the same time...

We arrived at Songzong Town at 4:30 in the afternoon.

I was just trying to find another job to earn a meal when I got an unexpected surprise. I unexpectedly met the Chinese trolley king here: Chen You, who is what Squad Leader Xu of Class 158 calls the trolley king who pulls a trolley with food and accommodation and travels across the country! I regretted missing such an outstanding person last time. I didn’t expect that he was still on the Sichuan-Tibet line. I was so excited to see such an outstanding person...

The cart king is about fifty years old, of medium height, wearing a peaked cap. , wearing a vest, with strong muscles, looking much stronger than me. It’s actually very cold on a rainy day in the plateau, and I’m still wearing a coat! What's impressive is his eyes. The left eye is a little white and should have been injured, but the right eye is very bright. My overall impression is that this man is very powerful, physically and mentally!

I initially called the king of carts Master Chen, but later I felt that I could only be a student and junior in front of him, so I changed my name to Teacher Chen. Teacher Chen told me that this cart weighed more than 200 kilograms (my backpack weighed 20 kilograms). He pulled the cart and set off from Shanghai on September 2, 2005. He has traveled to 25 provinces and it took nearly 5 years without stopping. Pass. The next step is to leave from the Yunnan-Tibet line and travel to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and the end point is to return to Shanghai. He estimates that it will take another 5 years!

Teacher Chen showed me the postmarks he had stamped along the way, and he had stamped more than 600 of them. He also took out a stack of newspaper clippings, which were reports from newspapers from various places. It is said that more than 1,000 media have interviewed him! He started walking to cheer for the Olympics. I saw the stamp given to him by the General Administration of Sports. According to him, by 2008, his popularity search ranking on the Internet was second only to Olympic Ambassador Yang Yang.

After the Olympics, Teacher Chen was out of control. He decided to continue walking and travel all over China...

The story begins in Songzong Town, where I and the cart king Chen I was so excited about the tour that I forgot about time. It was getting dark before I remembered that my food and accommodation hadn’t been settled yet! The king of carts is a cart with shelter from wind and rain, and can provide food and accommodation. I am embarrassed to say that I am penniless and have no food and accommodation, so I can only apologize to him and say goodbye, and find food and accommodation first!

First I went to a restaurant and wanted to help them wash the dishes and then give them a meal and stay overnight, but I was kicked out!

I gave up and went hungry first, then went straight to find a place to live. I went to the police station first, the door was open, and after shouting for a long time, there wasn’t even a ghost! I simply went to the town government, or the people's government, which generously lent me the floor at the entrance of the government building for the night, but the flooring could only be laid after dark. The good thing is that there are eaves to keep out the rain, and it's safer, right?

I have found a place to sleep at night and am in a good mood! Go back to the Cart King and have a chat with him! It's rare to meet a great person like Chen You. I really want to treat him to a meal, a drink and a nice chat! I am ashamed that I am penniless and cannot protect myself! Fortunately, I had two pears left. I gave one to Chen You and made the other for dinner! The King of Carts in turn offered to treat me to dinner, but I quickly refused: "You have worked much harder than me, and I would be really sorry if I asked you to treat me to dinner."

I returned to the town government, tidied up, and laid a floor on the porch at the entrance of the building. It can keep out the rain, but the wind blows in. Very hungry.

At this time, I received a text message from Uncle Wang.

Uncle Wang: Where is Kegong now? How is your confidence? My uncle has a few words for you: Make up your mind, not be afraid of hardship, overcome all difficulties, and strive for victory. Victory will always belong to the strong and to you. .

This text message makes me feel warmer. Although I am very hungry, it is not so unbearable! Uncle Wang is a retired judge from Ankang, Shaanxi Province. We met by chance in Batang, but our short time together has become a long-lasting friendship.

Uncle Wang has returned to Shaanxi, best wishes to him!

I hide in my sleeping bag and fall asleep quickly. I won’t be hungry when I sleep!

Maybe Uncle Wang’s text message will bring me luck! An elder sister (it is said to be the wife of the deputy mayor), maybe because she felt sorry for me, made me a bowl of instant noodles and asked her son to bring it to me. I was so moved that I was speechless and started eating right away! I don’t know her name, I only know that her son’s name is Dorje! I wish her husband will be promoted to a high official position. With such a kind wife, he will definitely be a good official!

After eating instant noodles, your stomach will no longer be upset! sleep! At about ten o'clock in the evening, I heard footsteps approaching. I quickly got up, turned on the flashlight and took a photo: it was the cart king and two other young Han people, a man and a woman!

It turned out that these two young men were cadres of the town government. They met Chen You in the town. They admired the King of Carts and invited him to stay at the town government! Haha, I didn’t expect to find me sleeping in the street outside the town hall. Thanks to the trolley king, I can also sleep in the town government building!

Two young Han people, one man and one woman, both talented and handsome, are college civil servants in the town. The boy, Xiao Li, was trained by Northwest University, and the girl, Xiao Wang, took the civil service examination from Tibet University for Nationalities.

Xiao Li and Xiao Wang invited us to watch TV in their dormitory. In a small room, with a bright fire burning, we watched TV and chatted, because we all had different experiences and similar topics. We had a great time chatting, and we didn't say goodbye until twelve o'clock in the evening! Back in the conference room of the town government office building, Chen You and I kept chatting until two o'clock in the night...

Chen You, the king of carts, had a rough experience. When he was young, he served as a soldier and sold goods. He ate fruits, raised fish, and picked up rags. Later, an accident occurred during a cycling trip. His left eye was injured and six teeth were broken.

His biggest dream now is to walk 100,000 miles and set a Guinness record, then write an autobiography, build a personal museum, and set up an International Traveling Friends Festival in his hometown of Handan, Hebei!

I admire Chen You’s ambition! Wish him realize his dream soon! But the experiences he mentioned about being bewitched and encountering ghosts were so outrageous that I didn’t believe him! But it’s hard to refute him, it’s quite interesting to just listen to the story! I couldn't sleep later, thinking a lot: about travel, people who travel, the meaning of travel, about my ideals, my career, about the future...

Early the next morning, Xiao Li gave me We made a huge breakfast! After dinner, it’s time to set off, it’s time to say goodbye! Chen You pulls the cart east out of Tibet. He will continue walking with his dream for five years! I gave him a hug and wished him a safe journey!

Pick up your bags and head west, my goal is Lhasa!