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It’s Never too Old to

Start a Trip

Su Min travels around China to find freedom and happiness in her life.

By Sophia Wu in China

u Min, a retired woman, has been travelling alone Later, Su worked as a dressmaker and became finan-
since September 2020. From Zhengzhou to Sanya, the cially independent. But her husband’s pickiness made her
S57-year-old has so far covered over 10,000 km. feel depressed at home.
“I was born an outgoing person. But my husband loved
picking on every word I said. I became depressed and
stopped talking to him and other people,” she says.
From 2016, Su helped take care of her twin grandchil-
dren. She had to stay at home most of the day.
“When I took care of my grandchildren, I had to face
my husband every day at home. That made me feel worse,”
Su says.
Her desire to leave her family grew stronger.

Embark on a Journey
Su watched some videos about self-driving travel on
the internet in 2019. Then she had the idea of doing a tour
herself.
“I bought a car after retirement because I really wanted
Su before marriage, about 1986. to get rid of the life of frequent quarrels at home. I wanted
(Photo courtesy of Su Min) to give it a try,” Su says.
“This is a carefully planned escape,” she says.
Escape From the Family Su started practicing, driving her Volkswagen Polo
Su wants to escape from a repressive marriage by travel- for short trips in neighbouring attractions such as the
ling. Zhongyuan Tower in the summer of 2020.
Born and educated in Tibet, Su returned to her home- Su’s grandchildren went to kindergarten in September
town Henan with her parents after finishing high school. 2020. The grandmother was ready to start her journey.
After that, she lived in Henan for decades and had Su quickly bought a roof tent and other travel equip-
many jobs such as a factory worker, a cook and a super- ment such as a portable energy storage device and a stove
market worker. online.
She met her husband through a matchmaker in 1986, “At first, my daughter was worried. I showed her those
and she married within a year. After marriage, Su gradu- self-driving tour videos on the internet, and I told her my
ally found her husband stingy. travelling would be helpful for family harmony. She finally
“At first I was jobless, and he gave me money to cover agreed,” Su says.
my living expenses and checked my spending every month. On September 24, 2020, Su departed from Zhengzhou
But I could not remember everything, so he began to ques- and headed south.
tion whether I gave money to my brothers,” Su recalls. Su did not have a clear plan for her journey.