Gutsy 7 day, 360 km hike to find a job

Updated: 2011-07-21 15:15

By Gao Qihui (chinadaily.com.cn)

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A 21-year-old man spent seven days and six nights trudging for 360 kilometers from Chengdu, the capital city of Southwest Sichuan province, to Chongqing municipality, just to look for a job, Xinhuanet.com reported Thursday.

Gutsy 7 day, 360 km hike to find a job

Jing Weiquan enjoys a free breakfast after seeking help from police officers in Southwest Chongqing municipality early on the morning of July 14, 2011.[Photo/Xinhua] 

Jing Weiquan's journey began when he took several hundred yuan and left Ziyang city, Sichuan province, for Hangzhou city, the capital of East China's Zhejiang province, in June 2011, to look for a job.

However, having failed to find a job and almost out of cash, Jing remembered that a friend in Chengdu owed him 4,000 yuan ($620), so he called the friend to ask him to repay the loan. The friend told him to come to Chengdu to collect the money.

Jing got a free train ticket to Chengdu from a help center in Hangzhou on July 4, but when he arrived in the city he found he could no longer connect with his friend.

Gutsy 7 day, 360 km hike to find a job

Jing Weiquan is all smiles after receiving a job with an IT company in Southwest Chongqing municipality, July 19, 2011.[Photo/Xinhua] 

With only 1.4 yuan (2.1 US cents) left in his pocket, Jing tried to find a job in Chengdu, but failed again.

During this tough time, it suddenly struck him that he once worked in a garment factory in Chongqing, which gave him that he might get work in that factory again. Finally, Jing decided to hike to Chongqing and started his long journey at about 10 am on July 7. 

Without money, Jing relied on water in ditches and fruit on the ground to sustain himself, and he slept on the road side. Eventually, Jing arrived at Chongqing early in the morning on July 14.

Jing found local police officers for help and then left to continue his job hunt.

However Jing's experience attracted a lot of public concern after a micro blog titled "He is really crazy, trudging on the old Chengdu-Chongqing road for seven days and six nights just to look for a job" was posted on July 16 and was quickly circulated on the Internet.

Thousands of netizens commented on the blog and referred to Jing as "Brother Trudge".

Just two days after the micro blog was posted, Jing, the son of migrant workers, had received more than 30 job offers.

Finally Jing chose to work for an IT company. Gu Yi, the company's boss, was impressed with Jing's spirit and said society should not fear a lack of skill as skill can be learned while spirit is harder to foster."

Confronted with so many offers of support and care, Jing said there is great loved displayed on the Internet. "This is the warmest time in my life." 

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