Cao Shengkang: He lost his sight at the age of 8 and decided to travel around the world at the age of 35. How is he doing now?

People often say that when traveling alone, you can go as soon as you want. Modern people like to travel and experience different folk customs in different places. It is also a way to relax themselves. Especially with the rapid development of transportation nowadays, more and more people are traveling. But if you were told that a blind man traveled around the world alone, then I believe your first reaction would be disbelief and incredible. But there is such a person. As China’s first blind tourist, he is also the first blind Chinese to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the King of Africa.

He once said the famous One sentence: "Although I can't see the world, but I want the world to see me." This is such a strong blind man who traveled alone in 34 countries on six continents. Even a normal person may not be able to do such a thing, but a blind man did it. I believe many people are curious about what kind of person can travel while blind. For people who are born blind, not being able to see things may not be the most terrifying thing, but for people who have seen the colorful world, becoming blind is the most terrifying thing. And Cao Shengkang belongs to the latter. Because Cao Shengkang was not born blind but had an accident when he was young.

When Cao Shengkang was eight years old, he had an argument with a child in the village over a trivial matter. The other party pushed Cao Shengkang to the road in anger, and a passing tractor happened to knock him to the ground. The accident caused Cao Shengkang to suffer a comminuted fracture of one arm, and he also began to have problems with his eyesight until he was completely blind.

Because Cao Shengkang couldn't see after he went blind, some naughty children in school always liked to write big words such as "blind man" and "waste" on Cao Shengkang's books. He would often put a few benches next to Cao Shengkang when the teacher was away, causing him to trip and laugh. This experience made Cao Shengkang very painful, and he had to stop studying at home, and his family was too poor to allow him to study in a vocational school. In the end, the family could only lock Cao Shengkang at home, but for children under ten years old, it is their nature to be active and curious, so Cao Shengkang would often climb over the wall and run in.

But because I can’t see, I often stumble and faint. After several twists and turns, the family lost confidence in Cao Shengkang and no longer had hope. Moreover, in order to raise a child for old age, the family gave birth to a younger brother again, which also made Cao Shengkang realize that he had been abandoned by his family. This made him very painful, and he thought about committing suicide countless times, but in the end he did not make up his mind.

For the blind Cao Shengkang, growing up means the need to be independent and to support oneself. However, it is still difficult for blind people to gain a foothold in society. After all, they cannot do many things. The family once advised Cao Shengkang to learn Erhu or fortune telling so that he could rely on these things to make a living in the future.

But Cao Shengkang is not willing to live like this for the rest of his life. He feels that he should not live like this, but should have a better life. Although he cannot see things, Cao Shengkang will insist on listening to the radio, which will allow him to learn more. In order to understand the outside world and learn new knowledge, when Cao Shengkang was 19 years old, he seized the opportunity of free massage teaching for the blind. It was precisely with this skill that Cao Shengkang found a stable job.

Although he has a stable massage job, Cao Shengkang is still not satisfied and wants to highlight his self-worth. At that time, with the success of the country's bid for the Olympics, Cao Shengkang also came to Beijing Sport University hoping to practice running to qualify for the Paralympics. Fortunately, Cao Shengkang finally won a medal. It was also the beginning of Cao Shengkang's new life in Beijing. Later, Cao Shengkang's blind massage business grew bigger and bigger, and his skills became more refined. The blind massage shop also opened from one to five branches. Unfortunately, during the subsequent financial crisis, it collapsed due to involvement.

This experience also made Cao Shengkang depressed for a long time. In order to relax his mood, Cao Shengkang boarded the train to Lhasa alone and climbed up to the Potala Palace with the help of a blind stick. It was also this trip that made Cao Shengkang feel the relaxation and freedom he had never experienced before, which gave him his subsequent success. A trip around the world buys foreshadowing. After his soul was cleansed in Lhasa, Cao Shengkang regained his confidence in a better life. However, it was also during this process that Cao Shengkang began to like traveling. After he returned to Beijing, he used all his savings to reopen a massage parlor and was full of hope for the future.

But this time Cao Shengkang started to travel. After the business stabilized, Cao Shengkang would often use some of his free time to travel to various parts of the country. In just five years, Cao Shengkang visited all over the country. While traveling around the province, he also said the shocking words "If you can't see the world, let the world see me." Later, after Cao Shengkang heard the introduction of windsurfing on the radio, he also became interested in windsurfing, so he Sign up to learn windsurfing soon. Unexpectedly, Cao Shengkang won an award in the windsurfing competition in the end. These unexpected victories gave Cao Shengkang more bold ideas, and soon he made a plan for himself to travel around the world.

However, when this idea came out, it encountered opposition from the whole family. Although Cao Shengkang had had a lot of domestic travel experience, everyone was Chinese and at least they could communicate with each other in language. Certain assistance will be provided to the blind. But if you travel to a foreign country, it will be more difficult. Not only is it dangerous but the language is difficult to understand.

However, Cao Shengkang has been a person with ideas since he was a child. After he had the idea, he began to make preparations. Soon he and several traveling friends took the road from Yunnan to Laos. Cao Shengkang was very excited and panicked about his first overseas trip, but something bad happened soon. Less than three days after setting off, the traveling companion felt that Cao Shengkang was a burden and abandoned him halfway. At this time, Cao Shengkang only had 4,000 yuan, so he could only seek help from the Chinese along the way.

As a blind person, Cao Shengkang would encounter many difficulties when traveling around the world. At first, Cao Shengkang only knew a few bad English words and could not communicate with others. When eating, I also follow the smell, and at the same time, I know the price of the food by touching the boss's hand gestures. Even in such a difficult environment, Cao Shengkang did not give up his dream of traveling around the world. In the end, Cao Shengkang spent 24 days traveling to Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries, while the total cost was controlled at about 4,000 yuan. . It was also this difficult but ultimately successful trip that made Cao Shengkang more determined to stop traveling around the world.

In the next four years, Cao Shengkang traveled to 34 countries on six continents, including India, the United States, Australia, France and Tanzania. During the tour, many people helped Cao Shengkang. Many people will help Cao Shengkang disperse the crowd of onlookers, and some people actively buy tickets for him. These are the warmth they encounter on the road. Let Cao Shengkang feel that true kindness always knows no borders.

Although in the process of traveling, we encounter many twists and difficulties, but some of the wonderful things we encounter along the way are even more cherished. Although Cao Shengkang is blind, he will use a camera to take pictures of these wonderful things while traveling. Even if he cannot see with his eyes, he can still listen with his heart.