A 24-year-old Hong Kong man finally realized his wish after riding for 39 days in Beijing

It took 39 days to travel through 9 provinces and cities, and rode nearly 3000 kilometers from Guangdong to Beijing.

Why? The answer given by 24-year-old Hong Kong youth A Mao is: only to see the first flag raising in Tiananmen Square in 2021.

On New Year’s Day in 2021, he finally realized this wish.

His story of cycling from Guangdong to Beijing has also attracted the attention and praise of many netizens.

Hong Kong youth Ah Mao on the journey.

“After waiting for nearly 4 hours in Tiananmen Square at minus 13 degrees Celsius, I finally waited for the moment when the national flag was raised.

In the crowd, I saw only the solemn national flag, and there was no distractions in my heart.

The scene was so shocked that people burst into tears.

At that moment, I felt that the trip was worth it.” The reporter from Amao Xiangnan recalled.

Born in 1996, Ah Mao, whose ancestral home is Heyuan, Guangdong Province, is the third generation immigrant from Hong Kong.

He once studied at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law for an undergraduate degree.

“Hong Kong Ah Mao” is his online nickname.

His real name is Lai Du.

“He is the ‘Lai’ of ‘trust’ and the ‘Du’ of ‘capital’.” On January 2, reporters from Nandu talked with Ah Mao who is traveling in Beijing.

He told reporters in Nandu that he had witnessed a long wave of violence in Hong Kong in 2019, which made him deeply aware of how little Hong Kong young people knew about the motherland.

“I hope to encourage young people in Hong Kong to visit the mainland personally and understand the real motherland”.

“Southern Metropolis Dialogue” I waited for 4 hours in the cold wind just to watch the flag raising in Tiananmen Square.

Why did I want to ride from Guangdong to Beijing? What have you prepared for this? Hong Kong A Mao: I’ve always liked to travel by bike.

In 2019, I lived in Hong Kong, which was deeply troubled.

At that time, I had not found a job and was temporarily lost.

I remember one day when I was sitting on the bus, I accidentally brushed a video of Huang Jiaju, a rock star, on my mobile phone.

He once said, “When a young man asks for something from the society, he should ask himself what you have given the society.” At that time, I also asked myself, what can I do for the society? I was thinking that I like cycling so much that I might as well learn about the motherland through cycling, and let more young people in Hong Kong learn about the motherland through my experience.

With this initial intention, I came up with the idea of riding to Beijing from my hometown Heyuan, Guangdong.

At that time, I also bought a lot of photographic equipment, including drones, and learned video clips from scratch.

However, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, my riding plan has been reluctantly postponed.

By the end of 2020, I feel I can’t wait any longer.

If I don’t do it now, I may have no courage in the future.

In the middle of October 2020, I went from Hong Kong to Guangdong and was quarantined for 14 days.

At the end of the isolation period, when I was preparing for the start, there was also a small episode.

I accidentally sprained my leg and had to rest for nearly 20 days.

As soon as I recovered from my injury, I couldn’t wait to embark on a cycling trip.

Nandu: Can you introduce this journey? What are your unforgettable experiences on the way? Hong Kong Amao: This journey will officially start on November 23, 2020.

I will travel through Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Shandong, Hebei and Tianjin, and finally arrive in Beijing on the evening of December 31.

The whole journey is 2910 kilometers and takes 39 days.

I think the most unforgettable thing along the way is people.

I remember that at noon on the day I arrived in Meizhou, Guangdong Province, I had already ridden for more than 100 kilometers.

I was tired and hungry.

I met a vegetarian restaurant that was closing.

The old lady who ran the restaurant gave me a lot of food and gave me free.

When she heard about my riding plan, she kept putting money and fruit in my hands.

She said that her grandchildren are all working in other places.

She knew it was not easy to live alone in other places, which surprised and touched me.

In Ningde, Fujian, I met a man of my age.

Interestingly, I was riding from the south to Beijing, but he was riding from Beijing and planned to go all the way to Hainan Island.

On December 31, last year, we arrived at our respective destinations on the same day, shared our positions with each other, and had to bemoan the magical fate.

I also met an uncle who had worked hard in Beijing for 20 years.

After his retirement, he drove a tricycle to visit more than ten provinces and cities of the motherland.

The tricycle has become his “mobile home”.

He shared his experiences along the way with me.

I like the meeting and communication between people like this, and I will get a lot of inspiration from it.

Nandu: What was the situation when you watched the flag raising in Tiananmen Square this New Year’s Day? Hong Kong A Mao: I arrived in Beijing in the evening of December 31 last year.

I was tired after riding for more than 90 kilometers that day, but I couldn’t wait to ride to Tiananmen Square to have a look.

The sense of solemnity immediately came to my mind.

I only slept in the hotel for more than 3 hours that night.

At about 3 am the next day, I got up and stood in line outside Tiananmen Square.

It was very cold in Beijing that day, only minus 13 degrees Celsius.

But I found that many people like me came to watch the flag raising ceremony.

At 6:00 a.m., Tiananmen Square was open to the public, and many people rushed to the flag raising platform at the speed of 100 meters.

The flag raising ceremony started at about 7.30.

At the moment when the national anthem was played, everyone was quiet, singing the national anthem and paying attention to the national flag in a low voice.

Although I don’t know how many times I have watched this scene on TV, when I am really in it and become a close participant, the feeling is very different.

In the crowd, I only saw the solemn national flag in my eyes, and there was no distractions in my heart.

The scene was so shocked that people were filled with tears.

At that moment, I felt that this trip was worth it..