Sixty-year-old Backpackers: Rekindling Love on the Road
This elderly couple, relying on each other for survival, has traveled to over 30 countries and regions in three years.
In a small street in southern Beijing, the warm sun lazily shines as cars wind their way forward. Upon knocking and entering, Wang Zhongjin was washing the pot, greeting the reporter from the Global People's Magazine to sit down before she also sat cross-legged. Her husband, Zhang Guangzhu, leaned against the sofa.
This is an ordinary household in an ordinary alleyway. Zhang Guangzhu is 64 years old, Wang Zhongjin is 61 years old, they have a daughter and an eight-year-old grandson; yet, they are extraordinary. For three years, they have been on a global journey, writing blogs under the name "Sixty-year-old Backpackers," gaining widespread recognition. Their next destination will be Western Asia and the Middle East.
Global Travel for Happiness
In 2007, while hiking in Tiger Leaping Gorge, Zhang Guangzhu and Wang Zhongjin stayed at a local Naxi inn. That evening, they happened upon the innkeeper's wedding banquet. Guests from different countries gathered around chatting and eating, creating a lively atmosphere. Among them was a foreign tourist who didn't speak Chinese but his enthusiasm wasn't any less than those around him. When communication barriers arose, he would ask others for help or use body language instead. His joy deeply infected Zhang Guangzhu.
After returning from Tiger Leaping Gorge to Beijing, Zhang Guangzhu announced to his family: he and his wife were going to go on a hiking trip in the Alps. "That foreigner couldn't even say half a sentence in Chinese but still managed to find a place to stay in such a remote area, so why can't we go out there?" Before this, the couple had hiked to many places, but all within China. They shared a common wish: to walk in the Alps. In the following year and three months, they began preparing for their global journey, exercising, intensively studying English, designing routes, learning about history and culture...
In March 2008, they started the first leg of their global journey - traveling through 16 European countries in 90 days. During this time, they experienced the unique Alps in Chamonix, France. At the foot of the mountain, the forest was dense, and the top was covered with snow. As the valley was already shrouded in deep twilight, the snow-capped peaks glowed in pale gold under the sunset. They also took a train from Stockholm, Sweden, to Narvik, Norway, experiencing changes in time, region, and season during the 20-hour journey. After that, they couldn't stop - a 105-day trip to the United States, Canada, Cuba, and Mexico; an 8-day trip to Russia...
A month ago, they returned to Beijing after their fourth trip. Tens of thousands of photos documented their 180-day, 14-country South American journey. "We camped in Antarctica, slept in hammocks in the Amazon, attended black Easter Mass in a church, searched for history in Machu Picchu, swam in the wetlands, observed the myriad aspects of life at weekend markets, experienced public sentiment amidst luxury, and spent nights by the campfire under the stars." The passionate words in their blog make it hard to believe they came from two sixty-year-olds.
"Each trip is a systematic project involving many factors, from applying for visas, designing routes, booking flights and hotels, considering uncontrollable risks, to budgeting funds. We are our own travel agency, planning everything from conception to execution," Zhang Guangzhu told reporters.
In their view, they are pursuing their own happy lives. "Happiness doesn't mean having a high level of material civilization. It means living the kind of life you want, which is the happiest. For example, Australian aborigines, despite the government providing them with housing and a weekly subsidy of 200 Australian dollars, still prefer to sleep in the wild at night."
The Distance Between Hearts Isn't Far
The South American journey was the hardest one for the couple, partly due to poor security. Sometimes, they even dared not take out their DSLR cameras when touring forests and beaches. However, an incident during their trip to the World Heritage town of Paraty in Brazil made them realize that "often the world isn't as terrifying as we imagine."
Since the ticketing point and boarding point weren't at the same station, and the official language in Brazil is Portuguese, the couple was a bit confused. At this moment, they met a kind staff member who patiently explained how to take the city rail to the station using broken English. He escorted them onto the city rail and entrusted passengers inside to remind them to get off at their stop. When the city rail doors opened, a security guard appeared at the station. It turned out that the staff member had called ahead to inform the destination station's security guard, entrusting him to escort the couple to the station. Thus, the security guard accompanied them to the station before leaving.
During their Amazon tour, there were several flamboyantly dressed hippies in their group. Initially, the couple often kept their distance because in their impression, hippies were like idle troublemakers. Until one day during breakfast, a young man from Colombia curiously asked if they would visit Colombia. They replied that they couldn't obtain a visa. The young man exclaimed, "Colombia is so poor and still requires a visa?" Starting from the topic of visas, the conversation extended to dancing. The young man vividly used body language to explain the origins of tango and samba, dancing while teaching them how to distinguish between the two dances. Zhang Guangzhu said, "I began to gradually understand them. They aren't as cynical as imagined; rather, they have more love for life and simply don't want to be bound by tradition."
The world is inherently diverse. When they viewed various things with an open mind and a multifaceted perspective, they found that communication between people could be so simple. On their journey to the heart of the Amazon, Manaus, the couple chose to take a slow boat. On the boat, Wang Zhongjin met an elderly local woman. Despite the language barrier, it didn't affect their communication. Hands clasped together – Are you married? Arching a semi-circle on the belly – How many children do you have? Making braids near the ear – How many girls? After spending several nights together, they chatted happily and became friends.
Language barriers, trivial matters, work busyness, economic restrictions... These are the confusions of people who dream of traveling around the world but can't take the first step. However, the two "sixty-year-old backpackers" firmly crossed one hurdle after another. To save money, they always carried a pot during their travels, which indeed saved them a considerable amount of food expenses. However, after visiting dozens of countries, Wang Zhongjin and Zhang Guangzhu did spend a significant amount of money. When asked by the reporter how much they had spent in total, Zhang Guangzhu tactfully replied, "About the price of a mid-to-high-end car, hundreds of thousands of yuan." For the two elders, this sum wasn't insignificant. Wang Zhongjin was quite calm, saying, "When you choose to realize your dreams one day, as long as you have the courage and confidence, nothing is an obstacle!"
Love Can Be This Way
Thirty-five years ago, Wang Zhongjin was a Beijing youth sent to Shanxi Province, where she met Zhang Guangzhu, who worked at a bank. With just a glance, their fate intertwined. Despite her father's opposition, Wang Zhongjin married Zhang Guangzhu, and a warehouse on the roof of their workplace became their honeymoon home. Later, both worked at the Shanxi Academy of Social Sciences, and at the age of 42, Zhang Guangzhu chose to go into business, retiring as a manager of a company.
While busy with work, everything seemed peaceful. But once retired, problems arose. They looked at each other and felt something was off, leading to inevitable arguments. Pointing at the floor in front of the TV cabinet, Wang Zhongjin said, "Look, this is where I threw things during our arguments, making a dent. Later, whenever I slammed the door, I left. His temper was big too, easily ignited."
But their backpacking trips slowly changed them. "Through our journey, the greatest gain is that our relationship has become stronger. Life's road is about supporting and helping each other, loving and overcoming difficulties together. There are no smooth roads, but there are roads that can be walked forever."
During their South American trip, when they reached Cusco, Peru, known as the "Pearl on the Crown of the Andes," Wang Zhongjin couldn't hold on any longer. Suffering from altitude sickness and a cold, her fever reached 40 degrees Celsius, and none of the medicines they brought were effective. They had to rush to the emergency center. After treatment, the fever finally subsided. However, at an altitude of 3,200 meters, without a pressure cooker, rice and noodles were only half-cooked. Wang Zhongjin's stomach couldn't handle it, vomiting everything she ate. This greatly troubled Zhang Guangzhu. Every time they moved, he carried two large bags and two small ones; at the hotel, he cared for Wang Zhongjin, buying groceries, cooking meals, and not daring to sleep soundly at night. "Without him, I don't know how I could have made it through. So many years have passed so peacefully, but when we travel, we start to understand each other again. It's like we're back to the dating stage."
During their travels, they also witnessed many beautiful loves. In the Pantanal wetlands of Brazil, far from modern civilization, only a few hundred people come here every year. Backpackers come and go, but a German girl stayed, waiting for the little boat in the evening glow at the bridgehead. Later, they learned that she fell in love with the scenery here and also with the intelligent and capable Brazilian guide who spoke fluent English, so she stayed. Wang Zhongjin sighed, "Love can be like this."
Faced with her wife's sighs, Zhang Guangzhu jokingly said, "What moves me most is when you cook for me when I'm hungry." In fact, he is just as sentimental as his wife—when Wang Zhongjin thanked him for his care, he secretly wiped his eyes; during conversations, he would suddenly pause and gently look at his wife, "You talk."
Observation and Experience of Society
Not long ago, on a subway in Beijing, a young person was passionately criticizing the current state of Chinese society. Wang Zhongjin couldn't bear it anymore and asked, "Have you ever been abroad? Do you know what it's like outside? Not all fingers are the same length!" In European supermarkets, they saw old ladies sneak away broken eggs; in New York City, USA, they saw street beggars defraud government subsidies; in Australia, when using credit cards, they were stolen 50 Australian dollars by a white shop owner.
"Re-observe the world, re-observe yourself, then re-examine whether your understanding of the world is right or wrong." In Zhang Guangzhu and Wang Zhongjin's view, traveling is not just about seeing the scenery, but also about observing and experiencing the social level. However, they discovered that although young netizens enthusiastically praised the spirit of these two elderly people who refuse to grow old and dare to explore the world, they could not understand their views on the world. Recently, when Wang Zhongjin posted online, she was criticized, feeling a bit wronged and helpless.
What makes her feel helpless is also the widely circulated rumor of "selling their house to travel around the world." "Recently, the number of clicks on our blog has decreased a bit, which is good. Traveling, after all, is just our own dream!" Wang Zhongjin said calmly.