By Bicycle | Sun Shaogang

Editor's note: Sun Shaogang, 24, is a student at South China Agricultural University. He cycled from Guangdong province to his hometown in Yunnan province, spending 12 days on the road.

The journey was one of self-discovery. It had nothing to do with avoiding the travel peak. I just wanted to enjoy my final adventure as a student.

I'm a senior, and I'll have to enter society soon. I have to be brave and independent. So I wanted to find myself, think about my career, life and love. I wanted to examine the past, present and future.

I had to climb many rugged mountain paths at night in Guizhou and Yunnan provinces. There was a passer-by who asked me once if I was scared, being alone in the dark on a mountain path. But I had no choice; I had to carry on. This journey gave me confidence.

This was my first long-distance cycling adventure, and I spent 1,000 yuan ($160) on a secondhand Hardtail MTB Merida. I used the GPS app on my cellphone as a guide at first, but it wasn't reliable. On Jan 15, the first day, I got lost and wasted three hours. By the end, I was asking people for directions. It was like a dream when I saw a traffic police officer.

During the trip, I camped for nine nights. I didn't slept well. I kept worrying about my bike being stolen. On one of the last nights I pitched my tent in Guizhou and it was very dark, too dark to see, but when I woke up I realized I was right on the Yunnan border. It was amazing to suddenly see how close I was.

The hardest part was the last three days. It was nearly 87 km, all uphill and against the wind. There was no place to eat or rest except the curb.

I had ridden 10 hours a day on average, dusk to dawn. It was cloudy mostly, but on the final day, Jan 26, as I hit Kunming, the sun finally came out. It's funny, but all the difficulties I encountered are treasured memories now.

I didn't tell my parents about the trip. I was afraid they'd overreact and stop me. But I kept a blog along the way, which my brother and parents read. My dad called, and I sent them updates via text messages.

When I finally reached my destination I was thrilled. I almost burst into tears. It had taken me 12 days, but it was worth it. I really did figure something out about my life.

Sun Shaogang spoke to China Daily reporter Luo Wangshu.

Zheng Jinran contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at luowangshu@chinadaily.com.cn