Retired carpenter bikes 20,000 km around China

He began cycling in suburban areas around the city, and a few months later embarked upon a 300-kilometer journey to Mudanjiang, a city in the province.

"It was no small feat, this long journey, because I was not sure whether my physical condition was suitable for cycling long distance alone," he recalled.

But fear didn't stop Sun, and he spent four days cycling to Mudanjiang and back.

His success greatly encouraged him to go further, and in the following three years, he cycled to several cities in Heilongjiang.

In April 2017, he started his first long-distance cycling journey, but his wife expressed great concerns about his safety.

"In fact, I didn't tell her my true destination," he said. "I just told her I wanted to cycle out of the province and would return soon."

After cycling more than 5,000 kilometers in nearly 100 days, he finally reached his destination, Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet autonomous region.

"Before I set off, my friends also said that it was too far for me to cycle to Tibet, especially because I would go alone, but I was not scared at all," he said. "I had made full preparations and I believed it would be a rewarding trip."

In 2018, he finished his cycling journey from Harbin to Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong province.