According to CGTN Africa,Yuan Jiangle  a 27 year old volunteer teacher at the Confucius Institute in Benin made the decision to cycle 16,000 kilometers to enable him visit 16 countries on his return trip.

“I never set a goal, I never set a destination for me. What I want is the story, so I just try my own pace, and I see something strange, and I see something interesting, so I just stop there and talk to local people, and buy the local food, and eat something I’ve never eaten before.   For me that’s the meaning of traveling by bicycle.” Jiangle said.

Jiangle said he  slept by rivers, under bridges and sometimes also relied on the kindness of people he met.

“There was one time when I was cycling… I was going to one of the World Heritage Reserve in Burkina Faso, Tiebele, and when I was approaching there, I felt bad. I was vomiting, I felt cold, and then I realize that it might be malaria. So I called local people in the near village and he came to me and brought me to the hospital with his motorcycle.“

Watch Jiangle's journey in the video below.

Chinese teacher cycles from Benin to China