bye-bye Zhongguo

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It all started with a hangover.

I woke up feeling terrible. So I just lay there for a while. The ceiling was there. The room was there. The hotel was there. Everything was there. Nothing was missing. I was ready to go.

Yet I didn’t really want to.

I made the decision to leave around noon. That’s when I rolled out of bed, packed my stuff, loaded up the Caboose, and then took her and the little red bicycle to a gentleman down the street who helped me tie them together. He smiled when he saw me:

this gentleman helped me attach the Caboose to the bike on July

The border guards had told me that both the Caboose and the bike had to become ONE vehicle, only then would I be allowed to cross.

So we made them into one:

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And then I rolled up at the border:

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The border guards were still there. They laughed when they saw us: the Caboose, the little red bike, and me.

Then they pointed to a gate:

the border

I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures beyond this point, that is until one of the customs inspectors asked for a photo together:

photo on the Chinese side

I got a lot of funny looks as I tried to move the Caboose and the little red bike through the border post. When I was through, there was an open square with some people waiting for buses to take them across to the other side. I didn’t wait. I sat down on my bike and rolled in the direction of the last gate.

A soldier stopped me there. We had to wait for his superior, he said. A wasp appeared and inspected my hat and my shirt. I told the soldier that I was scared of wasps and that he please not mind me jumping around a little. I jumped around, trying to get rid of the wasp, and the soldier had a good laugh.

Eventually, his superior came, looked at my passport and waved me through the gate. And then I was through. The road lay open before me, I was neither in China anymore, nor was I in Kazakhstan:

road between China and Kazakhstan

You can see it on the map: the road between the two countries is 7km long. Someone told me this was not because either side was afraid of an invasion, but because they were planning to move the border post to a different location a few kilometers down the way.

Anyway, I started rolling down the road, and I was feeling very excited:

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I yelled “bye-bye China” in Chinese: 拜拜中国!

Then it dawned on me: my walk through this country was over. China, with all her sunsets and her sunrises, with all her smiles and with my friends who lived there, China was behind me for good. I probably wouldn’t be walking through China for a long time.

I yelled another “bye-bye Zhongguo” into the blue sky. And another one. And another one, and another one, and another one:

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I was hungover, and I was sad.

When I arrived at the other side of the border, a guard in a huge hat stopped me. He laughed when he saw me on my little red bicycle and said he wanted to try it:

border guard

I left it right there with him.

Then I pulled the Caboose into the customs area. I got some funny looks, and a lot of people in big hats started asking me questions. Then a gentleman called Marad appeared and told me he was going to buy me lunch:

Marad invited me to lunch on the Kazakh border

And that he did.

I left the border post feeling confused. Sadness was there. Fear as well. And there was joy that Marad had been so nice to me, and that I had finally taken that first step.

Kazakhstan lay before me:

first photo in Kazakhstan

I walked for a little while, listening to the sound of my footsteps on the road.

And then I turned back and took one last look at China in the distance:

last view of China

Bye-bye Zhongguo.



  • hcwave

    Hello Chris,

    I am moved by your love for China and encouraged by your determination.
    I will follow your footsteps each day.

    Bust of luck.

    路在脚下。

    Reply

  • Kahar Tursun

    You are inspirational. You are full of positive energy and humor. I just wish you best of luck in the journeys lay ahead of you.

    Reply

  • Steven

    Chris, I hadn’t been your site for years. Soon I came in , you started walking……
    Steven -Canada

    Reply

  • Brian

    I understand your feeling when you said “Bye bye Zhongguo” again and again on your way to the KZ post. I truly believe you will have a good chance to walk thru China again in the future, if you like to of course:-). Good luck and be safe with the rest of your journey.

    Reply

  • Jingjin

    Hi Chris,

    Now you are resuming your walking! May you a safe trip!

    I am still going through your old posts, now at march 2008. That’s really a long time ago isn’t it? Sometimes I looked at the photos you shot, and I felt like sucked in that very moment. Hard to explain the feeling, like struck by nostalgia. I’ve never been to most places, but they seems, sounds, and smells so Chinese that I could recognize.

    Anyway, I as a Chinese, really want to thank you. Thank you for spending time and looking into this country, thank you for recording those many moments. What you’ve done means A LOT.

    Best wishes!

    Reply

  • Rob

    You are a great guy. Your experience inspired me so much. China will be much better in the future, because of so much great Chinese people. I welcome you to China again.

    Reply

  • John Hames

    Chriistoph, an epic moment, “bye bye Zhongguo!” You had me in tears too. Congrats, old friend, and many happy trails as you start another leg of your longest way. Glad to be back on the trail here, with you.

    John

    Reply

  • Dylan

    I wish you all the luck in the World, you’re an inspiring man full of positivity and good humour.

    Reply

  • 冯力

    是吗?想像不到你会如此这般离开中国……你的经历无疑是最为经典的一部电影,一部小说,一部最伟大的作品。上帝会保佑纯真的心灵,保重!! 上天自然会看见一切。想必不是谁的错,是阴差阳错…

    Reply

  • 张宇

    期望你还能再来中国,希望有生之年能够见到你真人。

    Reply

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