Tales of the unexpected

"It is actually about how you see yourself and the world. You might think individuals are islands, countries are different from each other and we draw lines in between to stop people from crossing over," she says.

That is why issues about the former Yugoslavia are so fascinating for Bai.

It was a country where people of different ethnicities, races and religious beliefs mixed peacefully as neighbors, lovers and friends, she says. However, at a certain moment, everything changed. Neighbors killed neighbors, and friends turned against each other.

"In essence, what I want to explore is how the boundaries between countries in the Balkans enlarged into gaps," she says.

Unlike the impression she got from the media, she felt safe in the Balkans, even when she walked alone at midnight in the mountainous areas in Serbia, because people are "good". She tried to talk to the locals and listen to their stories and views, abandoning stereotypical prejudices and established theories.

"Apart from the courage to travel alone in strange places, you also need courage to break established prejudices, trust what you see and feel, and speak your ideas out, which is really difficult because you face a lot of pressure from dominant discourse," Bai says.

Feng said that the most difficult thing for her while traveling is choosing to trust people after she encountered dangerous situations.

When it comes to the future, Bai and Liu, are very optimistic because they believe that COVID-19 pandemic is temporary and people from different countries are communicating with each other all the time regardless of political conflicts. More or less, they've gained this confidence from their travels and their writing.

"Where to go, and what to write and read are decided by ourselves," A Yi says. "Politics is unpredictable and will, in the end, challenge and test each individual, but first of all we can decide our own destinations and change ourselves."

Contact the writer at yangyangs@chinadaily.com.cn