Ahead of the start of this academic year, international exchange student Yukun Tao undertook an epic cross-continental 11,000km journey driving between Nanjing, China, and Durham.
His 26-day journey showed his remarkable perseverance, resilience and endurance in overcoming all manner of challenges, before his departure and on the road. We take a look at how his adventure started, and how it has evolved since arriving in Durham.
Yukun is a mechanical engineering student at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK PolyU). He has elected to complete an exchange year at Durham, as part of a blossoming partnership with HK PolyU.
“I chose Durham as it was one of the few HK PolyU partners that offered a year-long exchange, as opposed to a semester. I had never been to the UK before now, and wanted to immerse myself fully in the culture and local environment - this may be my only chance to experience life in the UK and I want to grab it with both hands! I was also very much drawn to the collegiate system at Durham, which was more unique.”
While Yukun’s journey to Durham took place in September 2024, he started to put its foundations in place in 2023.
He has been interested in cars and mountain bikes since childhood, and purchased his first car in June 2023 after passing his driving test the month before. He would often take adventurous road trips in China with his mountain bike, discovering a passion for travelling: “I view my car as my mobile home. I’d travel to the coast or explore major cities for fun.”
After receiving his exchange student offer from Durham in March 2024, his father joked that he should take his car to Durham. Little did he know that the joke would take root.
Yukun spent the next six months making preparations: “There are limitations in China over taking a domestic car abroad – a company needs to apply for documents to take a Chinese car out of the country, and there is a lot of paperwork involved. I am very grateful that my mother was able to help with this process, but it was still far easier for me to get hold of a visa for myself than the necessary documents for the car!”
After perseverance and patience, on Sunday 1 September his car was packed, mountain bike on the back. He travelled approximately 4,400km within China itself, traversing the country from east to west in eight days: “While driving in China, I didn’t really have many worries. I booked accommodation through an app on my phone either the day before or the same morning, and food was easy.”
With his exit from China set for Sunday 8 September, everything seemed to be on track. But two days before he noticed issues when trying to accelerate. Due to restrictions on exiting China, if Yukun didn’t make the Sunday 8 deadline, he wouldn’t be able to leave the country.
“I called a friend who was able to get me an appointment with another friend in the area. I got to the workshop in the evening of Friday 6 September and they identified a large problem with the car’s engine. Usually, fixing it would take over a week! But the engineers worked around the clock to help me get it back up and running. I was extremely thankful to them!”
In front of the Gate of China at Khorgos Port, on the Kazakhstan-China border, Monday 9 September 2024
Having just made the crossing deadline, Yukun entered Kazakhstan: “I was immediately struck by the differences. Most of the roads weren’t in good condition, or were still being built. There weren’t many places to eat either. I was lucky if I got a hot meal.”
Five days in Kazakhstan was followed by seven days traversing Russia, then Latvia, where Yukun arrived on Friday 20 September after an eight hour wait at the Terehova border crossing.
Yukun’s progress after entering Latvia sped up considerably, and he travelled through Lithuania, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands, before boarding a ferry from Amsterdam. He arrived at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the UK on Thursday 26 September, with Durham just a short drive away.
“As well as allowing me to see more of the world, my adventure has helped me learn that certain things are out of my control. Rather than getting stressed, or angry, now I focus first on calming myself, then look for a solution. I no longer dwell on things as much as I used to.”
Outside Josephine Butler College at the end of his 11,000km journey, Thursday 26 September 2024.
Yukun arrived in Durham with deep-rooted interests and bags of determination. He has been able to take advantage of opportunities available here to progress immediate and longer-term goals, through our strong wider student experience and through links with our local community.
“I’ve taken time to go on longer distance road trips within the UK. I’ve explored locally, and have also already been to many cities, including London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Liverpool, to name a few. I’ve joined a local car enthusiasts club too, which includes over 100 people from Durham and Newcastle. I’ve really enjoyed travelling in the UK and have seen some amazing scenes, like driving through snow in the Highlands.”
Exploring the Scottish Highlands
Yukun is also hoping to explore Europe more, and is planning trips across the continent, including fulfilling a dream of travelling to the famous Nürburgring racetrack in April.
“For mountain biking, I’ve discovered a few areas in the region – Chopwell pump track and mountain biking trails, Belmont pump track in Durham, and Descend Bike Park in Bishop Auckland. I’ve got my roommate in College into mountain biking too – he hadn’t done it before, so I’ve kind of become his teacher!”
He has linked up with our Chinese Society, and has also contacted our Venture Lab, which helps students develop their entrepreneurial potential.
“Before coming to Durham, I founded a mountain bike brand – ‘Phatty’ – to develop fat bikes. These bikes feature very wide (‘phat’) tyres to allow them to cope with different weather conditions and terrain better than normal mountain bikes. After importing a fat bike from Finland in 2022, I noticed that I was still modifying it a lot. So I decided to design one myself, to my exact specifications. I contacted a local factory for the build. I’m still in contact with this factory, and would like to build up ‘Phatty’ more after I graduate.”
On the mountain biking trails in the North East of England
At the end of his exchange programme at Durham, Yukun will be making his return road journey: “I would love to meet alumni on my return journey, as I have enjoyed feeling part of Durham’s community. If you’d like to join me on any part of my journey, for a meal, or longer on the road, please get in touch!”
Durham alumni are welcome to get in touch with Yukun by email.
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