At 30, he cycled across China and found true love. He rents a rural courtyard to grow vegetables and paint, living life with heart!

“The paths taken by every bicycle are deeply etched in my mind.” Baiguan recorded this European cycling trip with his “Commander-in-Chief” on Weibo. Even though it was exhausting, he absolutely loved this kind of life.

Compared to a few years ago when he was mechanically drawing at a computer all day, he really enjoys his life now. Bai Guan, from Inner Mongolia, went straight to Shanghai after graduation and worked as a concept artist at a game company for six years.

And the “chief commander” he mentioned is his wife, Huang Lu. She loves photography but spent over a decade working in finance.

Their meeting can also be credited to Bai Guan’s youthful “impulse.”

In 2010, after years of working without much achievement, he felt a mix of emotions: “I love freedom, I love life, but it seems I haven’t done anything for them?”

He felt it was time to leave. The stage of drawing energy from the big city was over; staying any longer would just drain his passion for life.

At 32, he quit his job and gave up the idea of buying a house in Shanghai. He gave away his belongings, packed only six boxes of books to send back to his hometown, dusted off an old bicycle, and set off alone with the 60,000 yuan he had saved from his housing provident fund over the years.

Starting at midnight, I set off from Shanghai, cycling over 60,000 kilometers around China, passing through more than 30 provinces and cities, writing 7 diaries, drawing thousands of sketches, and taking over 40,000 photos.

Although this journey was full of hardships—he had to mend a tire, got caught in a heavy rain, and even slept in a cemetery—he never regretted it.

On the small island of Dayu Shan in Fujian, he met Yellow Egret. That day, a typhoon was approaching; it was getting dark, and there were no other tourists left on the island.

At that time, Huang Lu was working in finance and took a vacation to travel. Bai Guan’s comic captured the moment they first met.

Because Huang Lu was scared, the two of them traveled together, and Bai Guan thoughtfully carried the tripod for Lu Lu. After that, Bai Guan continued his cycling journey, while Lu Lu returned to Beijing and went back to her boring job. Yet their connection began from then on…

Influenced by Bai Guan, Huang Lu changed careers to become an independent photographer in search of passion for life.It had been three years since Bai Guan and Lu Lu parted ways. Bai Guan had been on the road the whole time, and the two of them kept chatting about what they’d seen and heard, discussing, arguing—they were practically this close to falling in love.Three years after they first met, the two traveled together again. They agreed to go on a pilgrimage around a mountain in Tibet. On this journey, Huang Lu saw the tenderness beneath Baiguan’s tough exterior, while Baiguan witnessed Huang Lu’s resilience.After it was over, Lulu sent him an email asking, “Would you like to come with me to the countryside outside Beijing to rent a courtyard and paint after the cycling trip?” Bai Guan thought it over for three days and said yes.Baiguan ended his cycling journey in 2013 and married Huang Lu the following year.Rather than the stability that life offers, they crave a life of abundance. So they rented a courtyard in the outskirts of Beijing. This way, they can enjoy a pastoral, peaceful life while still having access to the resources of the big city.This house was built in the 1960s, with walls of bare earth all around. The courtyard has apricot, plum, and jujube trees, along with some farmland. Baiguan and Huanglu took one look from the top of the wall and fell in love with the place.

But because of this huge expense, the two ended up broke, with no belongings and no money to buy any, so they asked friends for spare furniture and appliances. They made the rest themselves.Not fancy, not exquisite, but this is what life truly looks like.

What exactly is Bai Guan’s courage? He always quotes Su Shi’s poem in response: “Life is like a journey, and I am but a passerby.”An ordinary table and chairs, paired with a bouquet of flowers and branches, also look deliberately styled.

A worn square table and a pot of tea are all they need to spend a leisurely day together.Picking some flowers for decoration adds a touch of romance.Lu Lu is naturally laid-back, so most of the organizing is done by Bai Guan, and the kitchen especially shows this man’s delicate side.

Since they were going to live in the countryside, learning to grow vegetables was the first step to survival—which was really tough for Huang Lu, who grew up in the city.Learning started with reading books. She bought many books on growing vegetables, but in the beginning, she always failed. Either the plants dried up, got waterlogged and rotted, or simply didn’t respond. That year, just like in Bai Guan’s comic, there was no harvest at all.Later on, I found that learning from someone with experience is more straightforward than just following a book.

Although Bai Guan still hasn’t learned, luckily Huang Lu has gotten the hang of it. Even though they still face pests and various difficulties, it can still be considered a good harvest.

Seeing the food I planted myself feels fresher and looks absolutely delicious.

The joy of a bountiful harvest made Huang Lu fall in love with growing vegetables, and she began to study various vegetable plantings—cucumbers, greens, loofahs, winged beans, corn, radishes… an abundant feast.

When the harvest was good and there was too much to eat, Huang Lu cut them into small pieces and dried them into radish strips. She also learned from the village women how to dry them on clothes hangers.They grow whatever they feel like eating, and the joy beaming on their faces speaks to their thriving little life.

Just setting up a simple table in the yard, sitting across from each other, enjoying fresh, crisp vegetables—it’s all about happiness and contentment.When the harvest was good or during festivals, the two would invite friends over to cook, chat, and enjoy their rare moments of leisure together.

But life in the countryside isn’t all that easy either—the fields need constant weeding. In the summer, to avoid mosquito bites, you have to work in the fields wearing long pants and long sleeves, sweating all over from the heat.Before I could even enjoy the lotus flowers blooming in the yard, I was covered in mosquito bites.

Still, despite the struggles, they were happy in the end—like when eating delicious food.Every year during the Spring Festival, the two of them write their own couplets and take photos together—simple and genuine days like these.They even tried using greenhouses to eat fresh greens in winter.

Because his life was so comfortable and colorful, Bai Guan gained more artistic material to tell stories through his paintings.

He slowly described what he saw and heard while cycling, turning his story with Lulu into a comic book where the main characters are Mr. Wolf and Ms. Deer.The drafts he made while traveling could cover an entire table. After shutting himself away for nearly three years, he finally completed his first book, A Year of Drifting Studies.During the three years he was shut away creating, it was Huang Lu who worked the land while continuing her photography to cover the household expenses and support her husband’s creative work.

Bai Guan keeps painting, while Huang Lu continues taking photos. Together they farm and grow. From time to time, the two still go cycling, enjoying the scenery together, rediscovering their shared hobby.This is what real life looks like. The couple doesn’t overthink the future—they just enjoy the present.

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