Movie audiences all over the world were impressed by the movie character Forrest Gump's crazy barefoot running. In real life, a peasant from Zhijiang, Huaihua, Hunan Province spent over 20 years running around most of China's provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, and while doing so won over his wife's heart. This "Chinese Forrest Gump" is Xiao Xiangao. He arrived in Changsha on the afternoon of November 17.
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| Chinese “Forrest Gump” runs out 400 pairs in 20 years |
41-year-old Xiao is an ordinary peasant. His parents made him practice running from the age of four because of his poor health. Since then, he has fallen in love with running. In 1986, he came up with an idea to run around the whole of China and then left his family despite their objection. Over the past 23 years, Xiao has been to most of China's provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. "After I tour Hong Kong and Macao, I will go to Taiwan," Xiao said.
Xiao told reporters that he runs an average of 70-plus kilometers a day and once he ran over 120 kilometers at the maximum. He has run about 500,000 kilometers and worn out a total of 400 sneakers.
In 1993, he became acquainted with a girl who later became his wife. Xiao’s wife agreed to marry him because she was moved by his perseverance. Xiao said, "This is my greatest success."
Xiao said that all his travelling expenses are sponsored by businesses, but sometimes he works part-time. "I have to raise my 15-year-old son." He said that he is often at risk while travelling. "The biggest danger I experienced was when I met a wind storm on a mountain in Tibet. I was almost blown off the mountain. Fortunately, I escaped by clinging tightly to a rock."
Xiao always carries a shabby black backpack, his only companion, when he travels. In the backpack are daily necessities like a towel, as well as his 600,000-word travel diaries and more than 4,000 photos, "they are the records of my difficult travels."
During the interview, Xiao wore only thin clothes. He shivered in the cold wind but said, "I do not feel cold at all."
CCTV News
