Hu Wenkun: My dreams are in the wild world

"I was born in a military family. The roaring engines of jeeps, trucks and motorcycles were part of my childhood memory,” Hu Wenkun recalls.

Hu is a lifelong outdoor enthusiast and local adventurer from Yunnan province. Every time when he looks back himself, he is clearer than before that his dream of road trip and obsession with the wild world were actually predestined.

In addition to the environment in which he grew up, movies have long been a source of inspiration that keeps motivating him to get closer to nature and explore the unknown.

In the year of 2000, there was as film named Vertical Limit. Starred by Scott Glenn, Chris O’Donnell and Bill Paxton, it tells the story about a climber rescuing his sister on the top of Qogir (also known as K2). “This film soon brought me to mountain climbing,” he says.  

  

Today, some 20 years after this film was released, Hu Wenkun has conquered several snow mountains in China. He has also involved himself in a couple of other activities such as scuba diving, rafting and off-road rally championship. “However, if you ask me what my lifelong passions are, my answer must be road trip and motorcycle tour.”

Hu Wenkun was mesmerized by the splendid views and unique Tibetan culture when he drove to Xizang for the very first time in 1989. It’s not exaggerated to say that this trip made him fall in love with road trip. So far, he has traveled to Xizang for no less than 30 times, either by car or by motorcycle.

 

“I my view, motorcycle tour is undoubtedly one of the best means to let one enjoy the beauty of nature,” he stresses. In the 1990s, Hu Wenkun rode a sub-500cc bike from Kunming to southern Yunnan’s Xishuangbanna for the first time. It was a 3-day trip on winding and rugged mountain roads. Yet, he didn’t feel tired himself at all, because he was totally overwhelmed by the grandiose landscapes along the way.

Today, travels to Xishuangbanna have become much easier and convenient due to the improvement of transportation infrastructures across Yunnan. “My last motorcycle tour to Xishuangbanna was in 2018. It was such an enjoyable experience, because the entire journey took me no more than 8 hours.”

For the last 30 years, Hu Wenkun has devoted almost all his time and energy to outdoor sports and Yunnan’s outdoor recreation industry. “As a travel enthusiast, I genuinely enjoy the life of being on the road all year round. In the meantime, as the chairman of Kunming’s Hummingbird Sports, I’ve organized a wide range of activities, from road trip to motorcycle tour, from mountain climbing to team building exercise,” he explains.

 

Hu Wenkun hopes that more urban residents, particularly young men and ladies, can engage themselves in outdoor activities and sports tourism, because it’s such an enjoyment to immerse oneself in Yunnan’s magnificent sceneries while keeping a healthy and active lifestyle.

“In May 2021, I kicked off a 20,000-kilometer motorcycle tour named Rally China in Kunming with a number of other biking enthusiasts,” he smiles. In a span of nearly three months, they traveled across 8 border provinces and autonomous prefectures, comprising Yunnan and Xizang in the southwest, Xinjiang, Gansu and Inner Mongolia in the north and northwest, as well as Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning in the northeast.

“When the awe-inspiring Himalayas, crystal-clear Sayram lake and vast Hulunbuir grassland appeared on the horizon, I could literally hear the call of wilderness to me,” says he with much excitement. This ultimate biking experience gives him confidence to keep on challenging himself and enjoying his time on the road day by day.

 

 Over the past decade, the tourism market in China has become more diversified than any era before. People from different age groups are no longer satisfied with short-term group tours around certain scenic spots.

According to Hu Wenkun, Yunnan’s breathtaking natural landscapes, unique ethnic cultures as well as improved infrastructures are turning this province into an ideal leisure destination where customized services and in-depth travel experience can be accessible to all guests.

“I’m looking forward to seeing more tourists and travelers leaving their footprints on this amazing land, and enjoying a wild Yunnan.”

Interviewing, writing and translating by Wang Jingzhong (Yunnan Daily)