Global Courant 2023-05-08 12:25:00
A 30-year-old man in China climbed the country’s “Five Great Mountains” during the five-day Labor Day celebrations.
The man, identified by Chinese media as Mr. Zhang, spent about a month planning his trip, relying only on China’s extensive public transport network.
The five-day trip cost him 4,000 yuan ($768).
His itinerary went viral on Chinese social media platforms, the Global Times said in a report on Sunday. How his itinerary ended up on social media was not mentioned.
“The five peaks are the most famous of the Chinese mountains, so I decided to see these five first,” said Mr. Zhang in an interview with local media.
“I checked the train schedule and realized that China’s transportation system is actually quite good and it is possible to complete this quest (in five days). So I decided to go.”
The “five great mountains” are Taishan, in Shandong; Huashan, in Shaanxi; Hengshan, in Hunan; Songshan, in Henan; and Mount Heng in Shanxi.
Mr. Zhang, an avid hiker who works in Chengdu in Sichuan province, left the city on April 28, a day before the start of the holiday, which was from April 29 to May 3.
His first stop was Huanan’s Hengshan, which he reached by flying to the provincial capital of Changsha before boarding a standard train to Hengshan station.
He then took a high-speed train back to Changsha, where he boarded an overnight train to Zhengzhou in Henan to climb Songshan.
On April 30, Mr. Zhang took a high-speed train to Tai’an in Shandong to climb Taishan.
He then made a transfer in Beijing and took an overnight train to Datong in Shanxi Province to climb Mount Heng.
Mr. Zhang’s last stop was Huashan, and he left the mountain on May 3.
According to Global Times, Mr. Zhang planned his adventure “down to the minute” to avoid missing a train and ensure that his journey went smoothly.
