Editor's note.
In recent years, outdoor sports such as frisbee, camping, cycling, hiking, and rock climbing have gradually become a popular and respected lifestyle. People in cities are eager to get out of their homes, work up a sweat, push their physical and mental limits, or even just bask in the sun, walk on the grass or hug the trees. So, why did we choose this way?What kind of people will we meet on the road, and what kind of stories will happen?What impact do we have on the natural world?To answer these questions, we interviewed outdoor enthusiasts, professional travelers, road explorers, industry experts, and research scholars to find out from their experiences.
Liao Jia, a professional traveler, road player and travel writer, has traveled the globe since 2001, when she became the first Chinese woman to cross Eurasia by car and without support. She loves to explore the world with wheels close to the earth, and is working on building a database of scenic highways in China, sharing her years of self-driving experience with road trip enthusiasts. Here's what we've compiled from the interview.
The original intention of becoming a professional traveler.
I love to travel. My trip in 1997 made me realize that cars are not only a means of commuting, but also can be used for adventure. So, I drove to Shanghai, Hulunbuir, Xiamen and other places one after another, and started my career of self-driving travel. Although the Chinese society at that time was not very receptive to road trips, I was addicted to them and always liked to run outside. It wasn't until 2002, with the popularity of China's car family and the development of China's road network, that I realized that I could support myself with this, so I began to transform.
for a responsible attitude.
Publishing books for me is not about making money, sometimes even "losing money". But as a travel guide, I have to be responsible, insisting on an output of more than 3,000 words per day. Even though writing made my hands ache and my neck sore and took up a lot of time and energy, I never gave up. Later, we cooperated with the company, the company provided financial support, and we cooperated with the promotion of related products to continue to complete the exploration of self-driving routes.
The unique charm of a road trip.
For me, self-driving is the closest way to travel in the real world, which I call "wingless flight". It doesn't need wings to soar against the ground and go where I want to go the way I want. Compared to other modes of transportation, road trips are more like going from point to point, going deep into areas that have never been before, and meeting people who have never met before. The destination is not the most important thing, what matters is the process of getting to the destination. Choosing the right time and route is crucial.
The dream of the China Scenic Highway Database.
I majored in geography in college, and I know that this land of the motherland has rich landforms and thousands of years of historical and cultural accumulation. In addition, the continuous improvement of China's road network has opened up the possibility of exploration for self-driving. Domestic car travel resources are abundant, but self-driving travel information is relatively blank. Therefore, I decided to establish a database of scenic highways in China to provide users with self-driving route recommendations based on geographical knowledge.
Be brave and try a different path.
Choosing a different path is the joy of driving. We may take you on some unexpected scenic routes. The China Scenic Highway Database is a real-time system based on geographic information, which is spliced together from different routes. It currently covers 70% of the routes in the country. The ideal form is to transform it into a map layer and appear in the navigation system, and customize a "scenic self-driving" route for the user. We hope to encourage mature self-driving riders to try different routes and encounter different scenery and surprises under the premise of safety.
Traveling by car