China through unrushed eyes

Before Benjamin Rene and Loic Michel left their hometown of Annecy in southeastern France in September 2024, China was, to them, a distant yet fascinating place, a name more often encountered in headlines than in everyday conversation.

"In France, China feels extremely far away," says Rene, 27. "It almost represents the end of the world — as far as you can go by walking."

The idea that would eventually turn this abstract distance into lived experience was born two years earlier, during a casual dinner of pizza and beer in Paris in November 2023. The two friends found themselves talking about repetitive work routines and the sense of being stuck in daily life. Surprising even themselves, they made a bold decision: to walk all the way to China, choosing a low-carbon and environmentally friendly way to travel.

They spent more than half a year preparing. Maps were studied, visas researched, physical training intensified. Eventually, they quit their jobs in Paris, packed only the essentials into lightweight backpacks, and accepted that the road ahead would last well over a year. Their planned route would stretch roughly 13,000 kilometers, pass through 16 countries, and end in Shanghai.

China, which they entered on Sept 13 after nearly a yearlong journey across Central Asia, marked a milestone, not just in geographical terms, but emotionally. By the time they arrived in Lanzhou, the capital city of Northwest China's Gansu province, they had been on the road for about 450 days.