Team’s noble adventure
大学生千里骑行记

They call themselves “The Soul Knights” and come from different universities in Guangdong province.
他们称自己是“心路骑士团”，成员来自广东省内的各个高校。

During their summer vacation, the team, consisting of five male and two female students, cycled more than 3,000 kilometers from Guangzhou to Beijing. It took them 30 days to complete the journey.
暑假期间，这支“五男两女”的队伍从广州出发，耗时一个月，骑行3000多公里，最终抵达北京。

The Soul Knights have a noble cause, which is to promote civilized travel by taking photos of graffiti left by tourists.
这支“心路骑士团”拥有一个崇高的目标：通过拍照曝光游客乱刻乱画的痕迹，来倡导文明出游。

“When we heard that a Chinese tourist had scribbled his name on an Egyptian temple, it made us think a lot. We wanted to use photos to remind everyone how important it is to protect historic relics,” says Zhang Zhihao, 22, the team’s captain, who is a junior majoring in business administration at Guangdong University of Finance & Economics (GUFE).
“心路骑士团”队长、22岁的张志豪是来自广东财经大学工商管理专业的大三学生。他说：“当听说一名中国游客在埃及神庙留名时，我们感触很深。我们想用照片提醒所有人保护历史遗迹的重要性。”

On their trip, the team had a clear division of duty. Students majoring in medicine provided medical care, students majoring in finance were in charge of accounting and logistics, and students majoring in journalism updated the team’s micro blog.
在途中，团队成员分工明确。医学专业的学生提供医疗保障，金融专业的学生掌管会计和后勤，新闻专业的学生负责更新团队微博。

Tough trip
艰难的旅途

Using mobile GPS navigation, the team followed the No 107 State Highway. On the way they passed through many cities experiencing heat waves with temperatures well above 40 degrees.
他们使用手机导航，沿着107国道行驶。途中他们经过许多气温超过40℃的“火炉”城市，在热浪中前行。

“We rode about 20 kilometers per hour. We got up at 6 am, departed at 7:30 am, and rested at noon to cool down. Sometimes we borrowed sheets of cardboard from restaurants and slept under some trees. Sometimes it was so hot that I poured cold water over my head,” says Zheng Haoguang, 21, the team’s leader and a classmate of Zhang.
21岁的郑浩光是团队的领队，同时也是张志豪的同学。他说：“我们每小时骑行20公里。早上6点起床，7点半出发，中午休息乘凉。有时我们向餐馆借些纸箱子，在树下睡一觉。有时太热了，我就在头上泼些凉水。”

The team’s goal was to cycle 100 kilometers a day, but sometimes they had to continue riding in the night before reaching a safe place to sleep.
这支团队的目标是每天骑行100公里，可有时为了寻找安歇之地，就不得不连夜赶路。

“When we cycled from Chenzhou to Hengshan, Hunan province, we covered 200 kilometers in one day. One stretch of the road was unlit, so we had to cycle in the dark. I sang the song Beyond to encourage my teammates,” says Zheng.
郑浩光说：“我们从湖南郴州向衡山行进时，一天骑了200公里。有段路没有路灯，我们就只能摸黑前进。为了激励队友，我还唱了一首Beyond的歌。”

The two women always cycled in the middle of the team, and the men took care of them.
两名女队员一直骑行在队伍中间，男生对她们都很照顾。

“We started training a long time before the trip. Cycling more than 100 kilometers every day is tough, but we persevered to the end,” says Chen Mingjian, 22, a junior majoring in journalism at GUFE.
今年22岁的陈铭坚是来自广东财经大学新闻专业的大三学生。她说：“我们在出发前都进行过长时间拉练。虽然每天骑行100多公里十分辛苦，但我们都能坚持到最后。”

Successful exhibition
成功的展览

After cycling for nearly one month, the team finally arrived in Beijing, their destination. But it wasn’t the end of their journey yet.
在骑行了近一个月之后，他们最终到达目的地北京，但这并不是他们旅途的终点。

The team set up a small exhibition on the Great Wall of China, one of the country’s most visited attractions, to show everyone the photos they had taken of graffiti in various places – on brick walls, on bamboo, on antiques, even on pillars in ancient temples.
他们在国内著名旅游胜地长城上组织了一个小型展览，向人们展出他们在各地拍下的游客涂鸦——有砖墙上的、竹子上的，文物上的，甚至还有在古刹梁柱上的。

To their delight, many visitors showed their support for the young team’s project by signing their names on the banner they had prepared.
令人高兴的是，游客纷纷在他们事先准备好的横幅上签名，来支持这群年轻人千里骑行宣传文明出游的义举。

Zhang really cherishes this experience.
张志豪十分珍视这次的经历。

“Cycling is what we love. Walking is too slow and driving too fast. Cycling is a great way of enjoying the landscape, but it’s also challenging. University students don’t encounter enough difficulties and obstacles anymore. This kind of trip strengthens your will and makes you more confident in facing life,” says Zhang.
张志豪说: “我们都爱骑车。步行太慢，开车又太快。尽管骑行是欣赏风景的好方法，但是也充满挑战。大学生面对的困难与挫折太少。这种旅行磨练了你的意志，让你在面对生活时更加自信。”

“Plus, sending a message to the public about taking care of the country’s cultural heritage is a very rewarding feeling.”
“此外，号召人们保护国家文化遗产，这很有成就感。”