At the Foot of Mount Hua

After a short night's sleep, I set off this morning shortly after 7:30. By then, it was already a hot and humid 28°C, and I was riding into a headwind. But instead of cooling me down, it felt more like a giant hairdryer blowing hot air into my face.

At first, I rode along the G310 with virtually no shade at all, and even in the morning the sun was already quite intense. After about 20 kilometers, I reached a small town where there were trees providing welcome shade, and I finally had breakfast: baozi—steamed stuffed buns.

Not long afterward, I left the main road and continued through typical small Chinese villages, where the houses stood wall to wall and there was at least some shade from time to time.

Today felt noticeably hotter than yesterday, even though the actual temperature difference wasn't very large. Before long, I was completely soaked in sweat, dripping like an air conditioner. Every slight uphill section or every stop at a traffic light made the heat feel even more intense. So I was very happy to arrive at my hotel at 12:43 p.m., with the temperature at 36°C.

Because of the short night, I chose to ride a shorter stage today. After covering a little more distance than originally planned over the past few days, I'm now back on schedule. That works out well. Tomorrow is also supposed to be a bit cooler, perhaps even with some light rain—but I doubt I'll get much wetter than I already did today.

After resting in the afternoon, I went out for dinner in the evening. The moment I stepped out of the hotel, it felt as if I had entered a sauna. Fortunately, the restaurant wasn't far away. The food was excellent, and it reminded me once again how important food is to Chinese people when they travel. Whenever they talk about a city they've visited, one of the first questions is whether they enjoyed that city's famous noodles or other local specialty. It almost seems as though the very first thing people learn about a city is its local cuisine.

I have now arrived at the foot of Mount Hua, one of China's most famous mountains for sightseeing. Jiabin and I were here back in 2014, when we had known each other for less than half a year. This was the trip with the 13-hour hike followed by an overnight train. We had planned to take the cable car down the mountain, but we had accidentally left the money for the tickets in our luggage at the baggage storage. After hiking uphill for eight hours, we therefore had to spend another five hours walking all the way back down. But the "best" part came afterward: for the overnight train to Chengdu, we had only managed to get one sleeper berth, and by pure chance I ended up with it while Jiabin had to make do with a standing ticket. After a 13-hour hike, having to stand all night in an overcrowded train is incredibly exhausting. It wasn't until 7 a.m., when the doors between the train cars were opened, that Jiabin was finally able to come over and rest for a little while on the sleeper berth before we arrived in Chengdu shortly before noon. From there, we began the bicycle journey I mentioned yesterday, during which we met Dongcui. The way Jiabin endured all of that without complaining even once impressed me enormously. Of course, I felt incredibly guilty that I couldn't spare her that hardship, even though it wasn't my fault. In the end, however, it became one of those defining experiences in our relationship that we will never forget.

I have now reached the heart of China, and in just a few days I will arrive at my parents-in-law's home. That means I am inevitably drawing closer to the end of this journey. So I'm making the most of every moment while I still can—for example, by enjoying the delicious food.