A lone cyclist's journey through China

Jukka Karvonen is an adventurer who dared to leave the safety of his home in Finland and journey to a country he had only seen once during a family vacation. Karvonen's experience as a long distance biker gave root to the idea of cycling clear across China. To the ordinary person, such a plan might seem impossible to realize, but Karvonen was determined he could pull it off.

Jukka Karvonen's previous biking experience in Europe and in Siberia fueled the idea of traveling to the far Orient and see China from the back of a bicycle. Karvonen has always felt a desire to understand other cultures and experience them firsthand. In the 1970s, his brother had a copy of the book "Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong," also known as Mao's "Little Red Book." Karvonen remembers skimming through the literary work and taking in the ideology of the time. Karvonen says that after a period of what seemed almost like hibernation, the vast empire of the east awoke with a rumble and revived his desire to go and see for himself what the modern Middle Kingdom really was like. In February of 2006, Karvonen set out to test his limits on a route that would lead from Shenzhen to Beijing.

Taking to the road

Jukka Karvonen flew from Helsinki to Guangzhou on February 19. Equipped with only the things he would carry on his back, Karvonen left finding a bike up to Lady Luck. A friend living in Shenzhen helped him find a hybrid mountain bike, which cost about 200 euros.

The actual biking part of the trip commenced in the city of Shenzhen in southern China. The itinerary included visiting sites such as Huang Shan, or Yellow Mountain, in western Shanghai and seeing the terracotta army in Xi'an. Karvonen says that there were several reasons for choosing this particular city for the "pedaling" off point. Karvonen made a stop at the ancient city of Xi'an... (Image: China News Service)

"One reason was that the region in itself was very intriguing. It is the first of the Special Economic Zones of China and an embodiment of the country's astounding economic development. The route I had planned traced an s-shaped curve on the map through the country's most densely populated areas all the way to Beijing. I wanted to bike on slightly smaller roads in varying terrain towards higher altitudes - swerving a little to the side from the most populated areas."

In 2005, Karvonen had visited Beijing with his family. This experience did not, however, provide any tips for the subsequent bike trip, as traffic in the Chinese capital is worlds away from the situation in the countryside. Karvonen's main tool for planning his itinerary was the internet. All in all he predicted that he would cover about 5,000 kilometers in two months during the trip. At his destination in Beijing, the odometer stopped at 5,020 kilometers.

The stranger on the back of a bike

Jukka Karvonen says that he encountered thousands of locals traveling by bike during the trip, but only one other long distance biker, who was a Canadian. The trip advanced smoothly, with only minor annoyances. The heavy load on top of the bike resulted in a few broken spokes in the back wheel. Weather was an opponent that was not so easily overcome.

"I had planned my trip so that the rainy season would not have yet started upon my departure from Shenzhen at the end of February. Except for a few occasional showers, everything went well until I reached Inner Mongolia, where I was met with rain and snow storms. Luckily I'm a very cautious person who always prepares for the worst, so even the gear that I thought I would not need during the trip came in handy. I'm just glad that the electronics that I was carrying were not damaged during the sand storms." ....and enjoyed the view of the Yellow Mountain.... (Image: China News Service)

When Karvonen reached Huang Shan, the weather was cold and snow covered the summit where the adventurer spent the night. Throughout the trip the lone biker experienced the whole range of China's weather, which is only natural considering the distance he traveled.

Karvonen says that everywhere he went, local people received him with great warmth.

"Local people were so keen to lend a helping hand that it was almost too much. A typical Finn like me prefers sometimes to be alone, so although the Chinese were all too ready to help out, I soon found myself seeking resting places away from the most densely populated areas. Whenever I stopped in front of a restaurant, in no time at all a crowd would gather to question who this stranger is and where he is from. In my experience, people in the northern parts of the country were slightly more reserved and stood farther away when they saw me. The timidness was quickly overcome though, for as soon as the first person got the nerves to approach me, all the other people also quickly gathered around me. But there was a clear difference in the dispositions of the southern and northern people."

Mission accomplished

...before ending his journey in Beijing. (Image: China News Service)