Thumbing a ride to adventure across the nation

As he kept trying, Li said he gradually got used to the bitter feeling of being rejected. Robberies and even murders involving hitchhikers have been reported, he said, and there is a good reason for not letting a strange man into your car.

"Drivers are not supposed to stop for you," he said. "If anyone does, you are having a very lucky day."

When he was finally picked up by a red truck in Tianjin, the first time ever, the driver simply said: "You look like a good fella."

Others gave him a ride because he is a student, or because they had the same experience hitchhiking. A middle-aged motorcycle rider picked Li up saying he doesn't have the heart to watch a kid walk alone on the endless highway carrying a huge bag.

Sitting on the back of the motorcycle, Li said it reminded him of sitting on the back of his father's motorcycle when he was a child. Another driver, who picked him up in the desert in Qinghai province, met him again after several months in Tibet, and again offered Li a ride.

"This is the beauty of hitchhiking — you don't know what will happen the next second, just let fate lead you. And that was why I chose to do it," he said. "People always say it is too dangerous. Yes, there were some close calls, but most people were nice and generous."

When there was not a ride, Li slowly walked toward his destination. In 10 months, Li wore out three pairs of sneakers. He once walked more than six hours before a truck stopped for him.

While walking in the grassland in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Li was caught in a gale. Wind howled and cut his face with the pebbles it blew around, leaving red marks like whip marks. It took him more than an hour to walk two kilometers.

"But actually it was much easier to get a ride in a fierce environment," he said. "Few people will fold their hands and see others die. They feel responsible because I would be in danger if they didn't help me."

On his way to Mohe, a storm overwhelmed him and the only road was covered with ice. For every 10 vehicles that passed, there was at least one stopping and offering help, he said. "That was the best hitchhiking experience I ever had in my trip," said Li.