Beijing to Shenzhen: A Walk Across China

During the late summer and fall of this year (2025), I will be walking from the Beijing, the capital of China in the country's northeast, and making my way across 6 provinces and 1,600 miles to the southern coastal city of Shenzhen,

Along this route, I'll pass through the proverbial backyards of 270 million people, many of whom I'll have the privilege of meeting.

My experiences over 10 years of living in China, and 17 years of studying the Chinese languages, have shown me time and again that we all have a tremendous amount in common.

We all care about the same things, worry about the same things, and want the same things for the future, even if we call different parts of the world home.

Sometimes, however, we get distracted, scared, or we simply forget about this fundamental truth, and we begin to treat strangers as adversaries instead of neighbors.

In the times that we forget, it takes a bit of action to shake the dirt away so we can remember how much we share in this world of ours.

I am embarking on this trip as a way to blow away the dirt, to take a step towards refreshing the world's assumptions about what China has to offer in terms of friendship and connection on an interpersonal level.

I will be documenting this entire trip both in photo and video, not only sharing beautiful landscapes, but the people, stories, and smiles that make up the China that I have known for nearly two decades now.

Based on my assessment of the route and the potential variables of weather and adverse events, my projected overhead to guarantee safe completion for the trip is US$35K, which accounts for transportation, lodging, food, and contingency funds.

I am exceedingly grateful for every dollar that anyone can spare towards supporting this journey.