An adventurer’s journeys to the roof of the world
Print Edition
WITH a sleeping bag, tent and a pair of worn-out sneakers, Sun Zhiyi has travelled to Tibet Autonomous Region, mostly on foot, four times. He has logged the minute details of his trips in a dog-eared notebook.
“I just wanted to have a look at the sacred place on my own,” the 66-year-old Songjiang local said of his adventures.
The son of factory workers, Sun left home after graduating from middle school at age 16 and went to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of northwestern China to do his patriotic duty in the national call for people to support the construction of impoverished border areas.
After more than 15 years working far from urban amenities, he got to know some of China’s minority ethnic groups. The seed of interest in remote areas of western China was sown.
In 1979, Sun returned to his hometown Songjiang and worked as a gardener, librarian and dormitory supervisor in the Songjiang No. 2 High School. He retired in 2008.
His Tibetan travels began in 2001 when hopped a train going west. At the terminus in Gansu Province, he boarded a long-haul bus that took him to the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture located near the junction of Gansu and Qinghai provinces.
“It was a place rich in Tibetan culture and traditions, which was quite an eye-opening experience for me,” he recalled.
First long trip alone
It was his first long-distance trip alone. Sun carried simple luggage and a camera. He had no fixed itinerary. If he liked a place, he would stay there for several days.
“Gannan actually is not actually in Tibet, but its population is about half Tibetan,” he said. “They are warmhearted people who give but don’t expect anything in return. They helped me and I made many good friends there.”
For the next seven years, Sun followed the same route once a year, staying in the Gannan town of Xiahe.
“I wasn’t a tourist anymore,” he said. “I was a man going back to my ‘hometown’ to visit old friends.”
After his retirement, Sun was captivated by the idea of going to Tibet itself. In 2009 bought a train ticket to Lanzhou, capital of Gansu. From there he took a bus to Xining, the northern terminus of the Qingzang Line, or Sky Road, the world’s highest-altitude rail route, running between Xining and Lhasa.
Sun said he was fully prepared for the high-altitude sickness that afflicts many who travel in the region, but he suffered no adverse reaction.
“It was as if I was born to be there,” Sun said. “I finally stepped out into Tibet, a place I had dreamed about for eight years.”
He said he was deeply touched by Lhasa, which sits at 3,490 meters and features striking Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. At the Potala Palace, he met an old man who said he had bicycled alone to Tibet.
“He made me feel ashamed of myself,” Sun recalled.
So, on the next trip to Tibet, Sun decided to make the journey on foot.
“Walking to Tibet didn’t mean walking from Shanghai to Tibet,” he said. “I started my walk near to Tibet.”
In 2011, he set off with a tent and sleeping bag, walking from Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, to Lhasa along the G318 Road.
His first stop was Ranwu, a green-jade lake nestled in the mountains. He stayed one night in Waba Village, six kilometers from the lake. In the village, he met Ba Sang, a Tibetan grocery store owner.
“He was very hospitable and invited me to have dinner with his family,” Sun recalled.
With some simple Tibetan language he picked up during his previous trips, Sun found he had no problem communicating with his hosts. When he insisted on paying for the meal, the Tibetans refused.
The following morning, Sun set off for Lulang Town, about 300 kilometers away. He didn’t have a timetable. “I just walked as far as I could every day,” he said.
The weather on the Tibetan plateau was unpredictable. One minute it might be sunny and warm; the next, rainy and cold. The weather didn’t bother Sun. For his first few days on the road, things went well. He checked into a hostel one sunset and met a driver from Sichuan Province who gave him a free ride. It was a welcome break after walking 81 kilometers in two days.
Rescued by Tibetan villagers
On the sixth day, when he reached Suotong Village, Sun’s legs gave out. Worse, there was no hostel where he could rest overnight.
“Once again, I was rescued by warmhearted villagers,” he said.
A local fellow named Jiu Mei offered him space in his dilapidated wooden house and gave him a thick quilt for warmth. The next morning, feeling rejuvenated, Sun set off again, after secretly leaving 20 yuan (US$3.25) under the quilt to thank the man.
On the 10th day of his trip, Sun finally reached Lulang. He had walked 300 kilometers in 10 days. “I knew from this trial trip that I had the stamina to walk further,” he said.
So, in 2012, Sun hit the road to Tibet again. This time, he set off from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province. He kept a diary of everything he saw and everyone he met along the route. The entries recorded dog attacks, landslides, leech bites and fog that completely disoriented him.
He reckons he has written more than 100,000 words about his trips to Tibet.
On his home computer are all the photos he took.
“I have pictures of breathtaking scenery and hospitable local people,” he said. “When I return to those areas next year, I’ll take some photos and ask people if they still remember me.”
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