You might have heard of Bear Grylls. He is a famous traveller from the UK. He likes to travel to beautiful and dangerous places around the world. But more than 400 years ago in China, there was a traveller even cooler than Bear Grylls. He spent 30 years travelling across China. His name was Xu Xiake.
Where did Xu go?
Xu travelled to 21 provinces and over 100 cities in China. He climbed thousands of mountains and found more than 350 caves. ①He was the first person to find the highest peak of Huangshan Mountain. He was also the first to find lots of karst caves (喀斯特溶洞). What's more, he first found out the Yangtze River's headwater.
Xu travelled mostly on foot. He often slept and ate in the wild. On his way, he was robbed (被抢劫) three times. Sometimes he fell into rivers or ran into dangerous animals. But he never gave up and enjoyed his journey. ②
How did Xu start his journey?
Xu Xiake was born in Jiangsu Province. When he was a child, Xu enjoyed reading books about Chinese mountains and rivers. ③
At that time, many kids were studying hard to become officials (官员). But Xu's father never made him take any exams. Instead, he encouraged his son to go outside and find out the new world. Xu began his journey when he was about 20 years old. ④
Xu's travel notes
Xu always kept a diary while travelling. The Travel Diary of Xu Xiake is still popular among people today.
