A conversation with Xiao, how Xiao pushed past his limits by cycling from China to Belgium

Meet Xiao, an adventurer currently cycling from China to Belgium. In this interview, we talk about where his love for biking and exploration began, what the China-to-Belgium journey is really like day to day, and how travel has shaped the way he sees the world.

For people who might not know you yet, how would you introduce yourself in one sentence?

Hey! I am just a small guy trying to do as much as he can and who’s sharing his passion for Adventure.

Where did your love for the adventures and being on a bike first come from? What’s your origin story?

My mom always tells me that I went cycling straight after getting out of the stroller. My first bike trip was also with her. I remember cycling to the north part of the Netherlands from Belgium. A bad idea because there is a lot of wind haha. I don’t really know why we did it by bike, it was a first experience for both of us and it was a long time before bikepacking became popular. I was 14 years old, back in 2013.

About Adventure, I would say that it all started in 2018 with my first bike trip with three of my friends just after graduating from school. We grabbed our bikes, bought Decathlon’s cheapest pannier and even one of my friends borrowed a bike. We had one destination in mind in France, the bus tickets for the return and a tiny budget of 5€ pp per day to respect. It was my first time sleeping in a tent, under the stars and discovering the joy of bike touring.

After that, we repeated the experience every time we had the occasion and explored all Europe! Bike touring was the best way to travel for us because when you are young, you have time but no money.

You spent about five months cycling in China as part of the longer China-to-Belgium journey. What were some of the major highlights?

China itself is a highlight, especially if you speak the language and have a long term visa hihi but what I will never forget from this trip are the new Chinese friends I made. I had the opportunity to see another aspect of the world through them.

But in terms of Adventure, I will never forget Liming and its red limestone where I trad climb for the first time in my life. After that there was West Sichuan with its border to Tibet at 4800m in the snow where I was hosted by a Tibetan family. Also seeing the Gobi desert for the first time with its infinite dunes and the Taklamakan desert crossing were a premiere for me!

Another highlight were cities. On one hand, you can have huge super developed cities like Chengdu, Chongqing,... where there is always something to do, always a restaurant or street food open at any hours of the day, and rich in cultures. And on the other hand, you also have smaller cities that are chill to spend time like Dali in Yunnan surrounded by a lake and mountains and Kashgar the “capital” of the Uyghurs in South Xinjiang and entry point of the Silk Road in China,... There is too much to talk about haha.

There are a few clips where the wind is insane and the traffic looks chaotic. Was there a specific moment when you thought, “Maybe this isn’t going to work”? Or a place that was the most physically demanding?

I think that you are mentioning a video where I was caught in a small sandstorm in North Xinjiang. At that precise moment, I was super excited to finally meet my first “sandstorm”! I think it wasn’t dangerous haha.

Back in West Sichuan at the border with Tibet at 4800m of elevation, it was a bit physically demanding, yes. With 40% less oxygen, off roads covered by snow, headache due to high altitude sickness and on top of that, my wheel that punctured, I think I would have been in a difficult situation if I did not find the Tibetan family in the middle of a valley to spend the night with. But you know, there is always a solution ;).

On the other hand, I ran out of water in my first small desert crossing. I knew that it would be hard until I got back to civilization but I wasn’t fearing for my life. It was the first time I began to feel really thirsty but everything went fine.

It may sound a bit unprepared and unconscious but I want to reassure you that every risk is calculated and my life wasn’t in danger at all. You will never be prepared enough for everything, otherwise you will never do it. In the future, I would like to do much much more difficult stuff and the fastest way to learn is by doing.

I’m not dumb. I’m afraid to die, but I’m more afraid to not live.

You’ve built a really engaged audience on Instagram and YouTube. And from what I saw in your vlogs, you were filming almost every day. What made you decide to document the journey in that way? Was the idea of creating a full documentary something you planned from the beginning, or did it develop naturally as you travelled?

Since my first trips, I always documented everything. One of the best gifts I ever received was an action camera with no brand but it really sparked my love for vlogging when I was around 16. When my auntie upgraded my equipment offering me a Gopro hero 8, I was in heaven!

I remember spending days and sometimes weeks editing a vlog and then watching the premiere together with all my friends. It is so rewarding! Creating and forging memories analogically and digitally is for me as important as the trip itself. It is nice to live the moment but it is even better to relive it forever whenever you want. Sometimes, with my friends, we meet again and rewatch these vlogs and we realize that we forgot so much stuff! Doing a vlog of my trip from China to Belgium was thus obvious from the beginning. Not to show it to everyone but for myself.

Daily vlogs were totally new for me. I wasn’t using social media at that time, my friends showed me these daily influencers and I decided to give it a try. In the beginning I did it mostly for my family and friends, I knew that it could have potential but I wasn’t ready for what’s coming next!

I’m curious about the sense of community you experienced during your journey. Did you feel supported by the people you met along the way, or did most of that encouragement come from your online circle? Were there any moments when someone’s kindness or support really made a difference?

For the first few months, my daily videos were edited and uploaded a few hours before being published. I also posted it on Rednote, a Chinese social app, it was very intense! But it had some cool aspects: I met plenty of people because of that and had the opportunity to climb, bike and chill with them. So yes, it made a difference because Chinese people were interested and impressed about me travelling and discovering the world by bike. The ability to speak Mandarin helped me a lot hehe.

I imagine a trip like this can really change you—or at least shift how you see the world. Did anything about your worldview evolve in ways you didn’t expect? And did it affect you on a more personal level as well?

I grew up as an European with an Asian education but what I thought of China is the same as the West thinks about. It was a shock to discover modern China. I realized that we were trapped in a prison and that travelling is even more educational than some classes.

So yes, it emphasizes my envy to go see the world, the real one.

For someone who watches your content and thinks, “I want to try something like that,” what realistic advice would you give to someone preparing for their first long bikepacking journey?

During this trip, I found an answer to one of my incomprehension about life. “Why the f**k does everybody not travel more like me?”. Well it was hard for me to accept that the majority of people are just ok with having a normal life and that it is hard for them to find so much time and money.

Actually, if you really really want something, you will do it. You have to give the right amount of time, effort, money and sacrifices for it. You don’t have to think about it, it should be natural to spend so much time on what you really really want to do, what you really really like. So if you are preparing for a first long bikepacking journey, even if you start thinking about it, it is because you want it. And if you really really want it, you will do it and you don’t even need advice.

My point is: if you really really want it, go for it. If you really or just want it, think twice: is it really really something that you want to do?

I emphasize on the really really thing and answered with a philosophical answer but if you need a realistic advice for bikepacking: the best bike is the one that you already own, you already have it, don’t think to much about gears, just strap a backpack if you are short on money and go, just go. There is always a solution for every problem. That’s the secret :) .

What’s next for you? Do you have any goals for the end of the year or next year?

Cycling from China to Belgium is only a small dream that I had when I was a teenager.

I deeply believe that having a dream, an ideal, a goal in your life is the most important thing to have. It must drive your daily life. Everything that I am doing now is for a big dream and an ideal. I prefer to keep it a secret but it is a dream around the world full of Adventures.

The last section are just quick-fire, fun questions. Which is your favourite snack/meal you discovered on the road?

A pressure cooker. It does wonders! It is a bit heavy and consumes a lot of fuel but very worth it if you are not on a hard expedition.

One piece of gear you couldn’t live without and one you regret bringing.

My laptop. For both questions because I don’t see myself editing on my phone again and I always complain about the weight and space it takes.

Mistakes you made early on you laugh about now.

Rear panniers lol. Except for a very very long autonomous extreme expedition, I don’t see myself again with that kind of package x). It is too much volume and as the universe, you will always try to fill the void and thus more weight and instability.

If you could pick one place in China (or elsewhere) to go back to tomorrow, which would it be and why?

First I travel the world, only then I can answer that question.

How do you recover / relax after a long day of riding or climbing?

I try to stretch every day. If I am inspired by what I just experienced, I take a rest and edit a video about it. I can ride as many days as I want but I can’t climb more than 4-5 days in a row to prevent injuries.

And finally, what’s the most unforgettable moment you’ve ever captured on camera?

It’s a hard question. When I try to think about it, I only see flashes of all of my vlogs. Every moment is forgettable and that is the exact reason why I travel with four cameras, keep a diary, capture everything AND sort them by printing albums, editing vlogs :).

A big thank you to Xiao for taking the time to share his journey with us. It was great to dive into his experiences, challenges, and the mindset behind such a long adventure. You can follow Xiao’s cycling and adventure content on Instagram and YouTube.