Oriental Net·Zongxiang News Intern Hu Fengyi Reporter Song Zuli
html On the afternoon of August 12, the estuary of the Yangtze River at Dishui Lake in Shanghai welcomed an unusual "tourist". He was wearing a five-star red flag, facing the East China Sea, and watching Far away, and behind him, in addition to the crowd celebrating him, there are also the 362 days, 6,300 kilometers and 8 million footprints he walked from the source of the Yangtze River.He is an Englishman and the first person in the world to walk the entire length of the Yangtze River - Xiao Dai.
Image source: Xiao Dai himself
htmlBecame acquainted with China 19 years ago: "I will come back one day"
Perhaps because he has been in China for the past two years, the British boy Ash Dykes named himself "Xiao Dai" on WeChat. Xiao Dai, 28, is an extreme sports explorer from England, Wales. When the reporter saw Xiao Dai, he was in high spirits and not at all tired from having just walked 6,300 kilometers.
Actually, this is not the first time that Xiao Dai has set a world record. A few years ago, he hiked across Mongolia and Madagascar. Such a resume also makes people wonder, why did he choose to insist on "traveling all over the green mountains"?
Xiao Dai was born in Wales, England. She has loved sports and nature since she was a child, and is full of curiosity about the world outside Great Britain. When Xiao Dai was studying for a degree in outdoor education at university, he discovered that there was a lot of practical knowledge and skills that school teachers could not teach. He had to try and make mistakes on his own to master them.
"I want to go somewhere where I have to think more quickly when I walk, to break language barriers and cross cultural differences." Xiao Dai said that he wanted to step out of his comfort zone and explore the vast world.
After clarifying his direction, Xiao Dai took on various jobs while traveling, from waiter to lifeguard to diving instructor, to ensure that his hobbies received sufficient financial support.
In 2010, at the age of 19, he and his friends embarked on his first trip to China with extremely limited funds, and this trip became the beginning of the "Yangtze River Plan" nine years later.
"We only stayed in China for two weeks, and only briefly visited several cities in eastern China such as Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong," Xiao Dai recalled. "I told myself at the time that one day I must do it. Come back here to experience the inland China and feel the vastness of China.”
In the 9 years before coming to China again, Xiao Dai also put his ideals into action step by step:
In 2014, he led With only 5,000 pounds (about 43,000 yuan) and no support from others, he spent 78 days walking across Mongolia, a total distance of more than 2,400 kilometers. The locals also gave him a beautiful name - " Lone Snow Leopard".
In 2014, Xiao Dai became the first person to cross Mongolia alone. Source: Wales News Service
In 2015, Xiao Dai successfully challenged the crossing of Madagascar, a journey of more than 2,500 kilometers and lasting 155 days. And this journey is also full of hardships, with new challenges every day: climbing the eighth highest peak in the world, being bitten by a spider, crossing the jungle, weaving a bamboo raft to cross the crocodile river. In addition to the obstacles brought by nature, Xiao Dai also encountered obstacles during the journey. Bandits were even held at gunpoint by the army. ,
In 2015, Xiao Dai became the first explorer in history to successfully cross Madagascar. Source: Wales News Service
"Another time (in Madagascar) I contracted malaria. When I got to the hospital, the doctor told me that if it was too late, I went into shock within a few hours, which was quite scary.”
When recalling these episodes, Xiao Dai’s face could not see the joy of “surviving the disaster”, but was still full of excitement and excitement for the adventure. eager.
Passed all the way: "It's very charming, but also very scary."
It is through these personal extreme experiences that Xiao Dai continues to accumulate survival experience. After several years of continuous efforts, more and more people are paying attention to Xiao Dai's adventure. The more he gets, the stronger his preparation team becomes. Now, he is no longer alone, but has a complete team to provide equipment, funds and other support.
Xiao Dai also told reporters that he had planned and prepared for two years in advance in order to hike the Yangtze River for a year. In addition to visa and route planning, he also conducted high-intensity physical training to cope with the plateau environment at the source of the Yangtze River and various extreme weather conditions along the way.
Image source: Xiao Dai himself
However, even with the most sophisticated plans, sometimes they still cannot keep up with changes.
The main source of the Yangtze River is the Dangqu River, which is the longest source of the Yangtze River. It originates from the foothills of the eastern section of the Tanggula Mountains, with an altitude as high as 5,395 meters. At that time, the temperature was as low as minus 20 degrees. This has also become the first difficulty that the "Yangtze River Plan" needs to overcome.
The temperature in Dangqu River, the source of the Yangtze River, is cold. Source: Xiao Dai himself.
During the mountaineering process, as the altitude increased, the three team members who followed Xiao Dai fell one by one due to altitude sickness and fear of the wild. His last local Tibetan tour guide also suffered from nosebleeds and vomiting due to altitude sickness. To ensure the safety of the tour guide, Xiao Dai chose to escort him down the mountain for treatment. After
, Xiao Dai set off again, accompanied by two new tour guides and a horse. This is just the beginning of a 6,300-kilometer journey. In the first month of
, Xiao Dai carried a travel bag that weighed more than 30 kilograms and was half a person tall every day. At most, he could walk more than 70 kilometers a day, while in the mountains, sometimes he could only walk more than 20 kilometers a day. kilometer.
Xiao Dai’s heavy carry-on luggage Source: Xiao Dai himself
Soon after, Xiao Dai encountered the second level - a pack of wolves.
For two whole days, Xiao Dai and his party were followed by a pack of wolves. Local residents advised Xiao Dai not to walk or sleep in the wild late at night, and this pack of wolves had just killed a local woman a few days ago. At the invitation of local residents, Xiao Dai stayed with the locals at night and moved on during the day. In order to avoid provoking the wolves, he did not light a fire or eat in the wild.
"The sounds of wolves sound charming, but also scary." Xiao Dai recalled.
Overcoming many obstacles in nature, Xiao Dai walked into the area where Bai residents live. There he encountered a third obstacle—tongues.
In order for this hike to go smoothly, Xiao Dai was specially equipped with an Mandarin translator, so he could communicate with the locals by phone at any time. And when he came near Sichuan Yibin and Panzhihua, the Mandarin translation became powerless.
It took Xiao Dai a long time to find a local who would not avoid him, but after he handed the phone to the local, it didn't take long for the local to return the phone. The translator on the other end of the phone said they had different dialects and couldn't communicate. In the end, due to the steep terrain, he had to spend an extra three or four days on a detour over the mountains, and the plan was once again delayed.
Xiao Dai said that along the way, he also asked himself, "Why do I do this to myself?" He admitted that people cannot be motivated all the time, but people can be self-disciplined. It was the latter who led him through hardships again and again. After all, in extreme circumstances, choosing to give up might mean death.
Xiao Dai recalled how he crossed the Gobi Desert alone. The fresh water he carried with him was in short supply. He was still 4 days away from the next water source, but the hot weather had almost exhausted his perseverance. He made up his mind under the scorching sun. , strictly calculate the amount of water you drink every day, and hide in the small shed you carry with you to rest for 5 minutes before setting off every 100 meters.
shattered the long-term plan and then strictly implemented every decision. This kind of self-discipline finally led him to break out of the Gobi Desert.
Touring mountains and rivers to taste delicious food: "China seems to have everything"
The road of adventure is always full of dangers and dangers, but at the same time, there are also many surprises of "a village with hidden flowers and bright flowers". During the interview with
, Xiao Dai recalled an interesting incident during his adventure in Madagascar: At that time, he was going to climb the eighth highest peak in the world, and the locals told him that according to local customs, he must bring a live chicken up the mountain. This chicken eventually became Xiao Dai's comrade in advance and retreat, sleeping on his tent, and would follow him up the mountain without even holding a rope.After climbing the peak, Xiao Dai released the chicken.
Xiao Dai said that wherever he goes, he will try to do as the locals do. He also constantly praises China's vast land and abundant resources, saying that he is surprised by China's rich geographical features, language and culture.
He sighed: "China seems to have everything."
Xiao Dai experiences dragon dance Source: Xiao Dai himself
Speaking of China's vast land and abundant resources, of course it is inseparable from the special delicacies from various places. When it comes to this, Xiao Dai even happily started his "dish name" in Chinese: "I like wontons, dumplings, steamed buns, noodles, stir-fried meat with vegetables, hot pot, and Wanzhou grilled fish ." He said that among them My favorite is Wanzhou grilled fish.
In addition to these classic dishes, Xiao Dai also experienced eating raw sandworms, blown pork liver, hairy eggs and many other weird local specialties.
Xiao Dai took many delicious photos along the way. Source: Xiao Dai himself
Along the way, Xiao Dai also became addicted to online live broadcasts. He told reporters that he was particularly shocked by the enthusiastic comments from the audience on the live broadcast platform. He liked it very much. This is a way to show everyone inaccessible places in the world through online videos. At the same time, he also promoted many environmental protection projects to everyone through live broadcasts.
Source of Xiaodai’s live broadcast on Douyu: Screenshot of Douyu official website
He said: “I don’t want people to think it’s just about me and my journey. I hope these adventure projects can also raise everyone’s awareness of environmental protection. "
Looking back: "Everything is just a matter of time"
When asked about his thoughts on returning to Shanghai after 9 years, Xiao Dai said that Shanghai has become one of his favorite cities. In the past 9 years, Shanghai has become one of his favorite cities. There are many new landmarks and the air has become much better.
The launching ceremony of Xiao Dai's "Yangtze River Plan" was held on the Huangpu River , and the estuary of the Yangtze River is also the Huangpu River. For him, Shanghai is both the starting point and the end point. The initial uncertainty, doubt and even fear were completely washed away when he finally reached the estuary and jumped into the Huangpu River. During the journey, I kept imagining the scene when I arrived in Shanghai and finally it came true.
Xiao Dai told reporters that the "Yangtze River Project" is not over yet, and he wants to compile this journey into a Chinese documentary. He also said that he "hasn't had enough" in China and is very sure that his next adventure trip will still be in China.
Xiao Dai successfully walked the entire Yangtze River. Source: Xiao Dai himself.
At the end of the interview, Xiao Dai admitted that many people had told him that it was impossible to climb the source of the Yangtze River on foot. He had to keep moving forward along the way. Motivation was also very difficult, but in the end he made the impossible possible.
"This is more than just adventure. Anyone with goals and dreams should stick to their own vision and believe in their own efforts. It doesn't matter if others think it's impossible, as long as you think it's achievable. Don't let anything stop you from moving forward. "Get up when you are knocked down. As long as you have the perseverance to move forward, everything is just a matter of time."
This is the action motto of an explorer.
Reporter’s Notes:
Xiao Dai was still very busy after completing the hike, and interviews with him had to be postponed repeatedly due to various schedules. Xiao Dai told reporters that he had been accepting interviews with media from all over the night after walking the Yangtze River and did not even have time to celebrate himself.
Some people may say that the spotlight will change one's original intention, but in the communication with reporters, whether talking about the exciting experiences during the trip or the boring preparation work, Xiao Dai has always been full of energy and passion.
Perhaps we can wish him well. In the days to come, he will continue to move forward steadily and will not be disrupted by public attention.
