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Su’s self-driving tour equipment. Su took a ferry ride to Hainan in January 2021.
(Photo courtesy of Su Min) (Photo courtesy of Su Min)

“When I set off, I drove on a road passing through Xi’an, 2021. “The weather in the south is very warm, and I see
so I went to there. Then an old friend in Chengdu invited blue skies,” Su says with a smile.
me. I went directly to Chengdu and spent more than 20
days there,” Su says. Difficulties in Travel
Apart from gatherings with her old friend, Su met new Su also had difficult times during the journey.
friends in Chengdu. Su travels on a tight budget. She rarely visits attractions
“I went to see a recreational vehicle show and met that charge entrance fees. She just walks around.
campers who organized a trip to Yunnan. So, I joined There were times when she did not have enough mon-
them,” Su says. ey. Su chose to live at a campsite instead of going out. She
Su travelled to more than 20 cities in Yunnan. The beau- waited for her pension to be credited into her bank ac-
tiful sceneries left a deep impression on her. count, then she continued her journey.
She took a ferry trip to Hainan with her car in January Su also had difficulties when
looking for campsites in Yunnan.
“One day I found an ecological
parking lot on the internet. The
time was after 7 p.m., and the site
was in the mountains, 51 km away
from where I was,” Su says.
Su arrived at the parking lot
around 9 p.m., and she found that
there were only two houses. The
houses were lit and with tables
and chairs inside. But there was
no one except Su.
“Feeling scared, I immediately
drove away. There were no signals
in the mountains. I drove for 40
minutes before spotting a village.
Then after 20 minutes, my mobile
phone was able to navigate. Final-
ly, I got on the highway and found
a site to rest,” Su says.
Su always avoided taking high-
ways because the car used to be
linked to her husband’s payment
Su at Erhai Beach in Yunnan, November 2020. card. One day, Su took a high-
(Photo Courtesy of Su Min)
way trip and spent RMB ¥81 (US