70-year-old man completes 83-day European road trip

Li Wanfu enjoys a meal in Norway. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]

Seventy-year-old Nantong native Li Wanfu, who speaks no English, recently completed an 83-day European road trip with another travel enthusiast, local media outlets reported recently.

Li started traveling by himself in 2010 and, after setting foot in almost all of China's main attractions, the experienced traveler developed an interest in overseas trips six years ago.

Inspired by other travelers taking motorhome road trips overseas, he cooked up his own recently-concluded self-driving tour of Europe on the spur of the moment.

Li Wanfu and the Dutch couple. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]

Departing on June 21 of last year, Li and his travel buddy arrived at their first stop, Kazakhstan, by way of Khorgos port in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

What impressed Li the most was the visit to Kjeragbolten, considered one of the world's 10 most thrilling attractions, in Norway, which took them eight hours to journey there and back.

Needing to climb the mountain with bare hands, Li recalled that if not careful enough, it would have been quite easy to fall off the face of the mountain.

Many of the numerous other trekkers—mostly young people–tackling the mountain gave up halfway. Li on the other hand stuck to the end, reaching the Kjeragbolten's summit with a great sense of accomplishment.

Li also shared a happy encounter with a Dutch couple who hold a deep attachment to China. Knowing Li comes from China, the couple invited them to their home and presented them a painting by the hostess' mother-in-law, who has held three painting exhibitions in Beijing, as a gift.

The travel enthusiast said that he will plan more trips in the future to continue making his retired life more colorful.