A polio patient's wheelchair Odyssey

Yin Xaoxing has toured 31 Chinese provinces by wheelchair over the past 24 years, in an Odyssey covering 76,000 kilometers.

A 44-year-old polio patient has toured 31 Chinese provinces by wheelchair over the past 24 years, in an Odyssey covering 76,000 kilometers, Yangtse.com reported on April 22.

Yin Xaoxing, born in 1970 in a small village in Xuzhou of eastern China's Jiangsu Province, was struck with poliomyelitis when he was only eight months old; his legs eventually became completely paralyzed. The huge medical expenses plunged the family deep into debt.

Yin's parents once abandoned him in the wild because they couldn't bear the poverty, and, even if he did survive, he seemed destined to lead a life of physical pain and obstacles. Yin's grandmother, however, did her best to persuade the couple to take the child back.

The scale of difficulties the boy met whilst in primary school would surely stretch beyond the imagination of ordinary, healthy people. However, he studied very hard and always came out top of the class in his schoolwork and examinations.

Yin held a particular interest in literature. He read many books and magazines he would borrow from his teachers. With his excellent academic results, he was permitted to skip fifth grade and directly enter middle school. However, he unfortunately could no longer continue his studies after graduation from middle school due to his illness.

At the age of 16, Yin tried to make a living away from home, but his parents did not agree. He was frail, weighing less than 40 kilograms. In the following years, he studied medicine with local doctors and took up poultry farming, all the while using his leisure time to read and write.

At the age of 21, Yin could no longer bear his expected "parasitic life." He secretly borrowed 3,000 yuan (about US$480) from a friend and told his mother that he would venture into the outside world to make a living.

Yin applied for 86 jobs before finally being hired by a literary magazine in Hainan Province. He cherished his hard-earned opportunity and worked hard to prove himself.

It had always been a dream of his to travel far and wide. In the following years, he used his spare time to visit many places across the country by wheelchair.