Roller skaters make a 567-km trip to Beijing

While roller skates are often seen on China's public squares, few associate them with long-distance travel. But two men - both in their third year at Jining University in Jining, Shandong province - spent five and a half days of the National Day holiday on roller skates, traveling 567 kilometers to Beijing.

Xing Jiarui and Men Dengqiang started their journey on Oct 1, carrying basics such as clothes, food, water and spare parts. They stopped overnight at small hotels, according to a Beijing Youth Daily report, and arrived in the capital on Oct 6.

The pair declined to comment when contacted by China Daily on Tuesday. However, Xing told Chengdu Evening News earlier: "We skated all the way, except a few places, one of which was a bridge with gravel over the Yellow River. Gravel makes it hard to skate."