Li Xinyong is a man of the world. He hit the road in 2017, and the pandemic didn't put the brakes on his global ambitions. But first he explored paths closer to home. The 24-year-old, from North China's Shanxi province, went to rural homestays across the country to document their pastoral charm in 2020 and then journeyed to the Tibet and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions in recreational vehicles early this year.

It wasn't all work and no play, however, as Li managed to pick up paragliding and diving skills en route.

"They all made me concentrate my mind, which felt incredible," he says, adding that he has a restless and adventurous soul.

After finishing junior middle school at 15, he turned down the opportunity of going to local senior middle school but chose a vocational school far from home in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province.

It didn't take long before Li adapted himself to the excitement of big-city life and took full advantage of it.