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@ cherchil
2025-05-24 07:30:50
This video condenses nearly two years of my life, documenting my journey from China to Europe on a bicycle.
In 2021, I went bankrupt in mainland China. Around the same time, the person who loved me most—my mother—passed away. On top of that, my girlfriend left me because of the financial collapse. These multiple blows pushed me to the brink of suicide. But later, I thought, instead of ending my life in such a meaningless way, why not burn it in pursuit of a dream? I had never been to Europe before, and visiting it was once one of my dreams. So I decided to dedicate what remained of my life to the journey to Europe.
With no money and a poor grasp of English, I set out on the road. Because I was penniless, I hung a sign on my bike that read: “Attempting to ride to Europe without money, hoping for a bit of food.” Every day, some kind strangers would offer me something to eat. Occasionally, I also scavenged for edible scraps. Somehow, I managed to complete the journey.
The pain and hardship I endured on the road are difficult to put into words—trekking through deserts in nearly 50°C heat and suffering from multiple cases of heatstroke; enduring countless freezing nights in temperatures below -20°C with only a few pieces of clothing; suffering from altitude sickness and fever in remote highlands with no food or water; getting robbed in Kazakhstan and beaten so badly by the assailants that I nearly drew the hidden knife on me to fight back to the death. I escaped only by feigning weakness and manipulating the situation.
Because of my poor English, it was incredibly hard to seek help in foreign countries. I also had to outsmart border police at the edge of the European Union. After several failed attempts, I finally managed to break through the EU’s immigration system. Yet, the greatest pain still came not from the road itself, but from the past—my bankruptcy, my mother’s death, and my unhappy childhood. On the road, I would often break down in tears whenever these memories resurfaced. The video even includes a photo of me during one of those utterly painful moments.
To this day, I’m deeply grateful to all the strangers who gave me food along the way. Without their generosity, I probably would’ve starved to death during the journey. Because of that, I now do what I can to give back to the world.
My story is far from heroic or clean. It involved illegal border crossings and clashes with immigration police. But I never relied on smugglers or human traffickers. I crossed borders entirely on my own, using my wit and resourcefulness to beat the system. It was the EU’s immigration enforcement that couldn’t stop me.
As the philosopher Nietzsche once said, “That which does not kill me makes me stronger.” That saying was proven true in my case. I survived. I became wiser. In many areas, I now stand at the very peak of what this world can offer.
https://video.nostr.build/0c0ec73914365361e748d0613321047f34b3822fbd12fc1269246b8c2fdac383.mp4