From Shanghai to CT on two wheels

A JOURNEY spanning two years, concluded in victory as Jieming Sun reached his destination in Africa during February this year.

Sun started the journey from Shanghai on June 6, 2015, on a 250cc motorcycle with his best friend Nate Brown, but completed the trip on his own after Brown and Sun parted ways in London in December, 2015.

Sun, who used to be a commodities trader and owner of his own pancake truck, says he has always been fascinated by Africa.

“I’ve been fascinated by Africa for many years and have always wanted to work there.

“After graduating and working for two and a half years, I decided to leave my job, drive myself there and explore the continent, and everything in between, mile by mile.”

He says that before he started the trip, a friend who completed a China-Europe motorcycle trip told him he “could leave immediately”.

“I had just quit my job and was spending all my waking hours planning, finding sponsors and thought that he was just kidding. Turns out, (he was) right.

“As long as you’ve taken the first step and set out, everything else will work itself out.”

Sun says the motivation behind him wanting to complete the trip was because he wanted to live for himself.

“I spent the first 25 years of my life not really questioning why I did what I did, because I followed what everyone around me did.

“I went through school to get good grades, and got a good job to please my Chinese parents.

“But somewhere along the way I realised that I can and should live for myself.”

Sun says his father was against the decision to place his career on hold to complete the motorcycle trip to Africa.

“My dad strongly opposed my quitting. As a traditional Chinese parent, he wanted my life to follow a clear plan, where each step has a tangible and immediate benefit.

“By leaving a good job to take this trip, I’m putting my career on hold and although I think I have made the right choice, the freedom and uncertainty both scare and excite me.”

Picture: HENK KRUGER RIDE ON: Twenty-seven-year-old Jieming Sun on his 250cc Yamaha motorcycle in Cape Town. Jieming started his journey from Shanghai in June 2015. His final destination is Durban. From there he will fly back to China.

Pictures: JIEMING SUN CULTURAL EXPLORATION: Manigange Lake, Sichuan, China, with some local monks. Jieming was inspired to live his life for himself and explore instead of living by society’s expectations.

ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME: The camping in caves in Cappadocia Turkey was one of the highlights of Jieming’s motorcycle trip from Shanghai through parts of Europe to Africa.

GETTING LOST: The medina of Fez is a labyrinth almost impossible for an outsider to navigate, even with a GPS, because the streets are so narrow and buildings tall enough that even GPS signals have a hard time. Locals may even get lost.

FRIENDS FOR LIFE: Beach benches on Girona beach, Barcelona. Part of his trip included visiting some European countries and he made plenty of friends along the way.