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Jobless man walks 250km to see the sea
By Dong Zhen |
March 6, 2009, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A MIGRANT worker who lost his factory job in Zhejiang Province came agonizingly close to fulfilling a boyhood dream to see the sea after he walked 250 kilometers over 10 days to reach Shanghai.
The 22-year-old Sichuan Province native astonished two immigration police officers at Waigaoqiao Port when they saw him walking purposefully in the dark toward the mouth of the Yangtze River where it meets the East China Sea on Wednesday evening.
Looking ragged and dusty, the man, surnamed Zhang, was carrying his belongings in a makeshift bag over his shoulder when the officers spotted him only several hundred meters from muddy coastal marshes.
"We stopped him immediately because he was walking towards a dangerous area," said officer Zhang Xinxin. Police then asked him some questions and confirmed his identity.
The migrant worker, hailing from Leibo County in Sichuan Province, told police he simply wanted to look at the sea, one of his childhood dreams, before he returned home.
The young man left home last year to work on a production line at a factory in Xiaoshan City, near Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province. He lost his job last month after the company collapsed due to the economic downturn. He then spent his savings looking for another job in the area.
After no work turned up, he gave up his job search and decided to walk to Shanghai from Xiaoshan. He made ends meet by begging during the 250km journey, he told police.
His bag and clothes were still damp from the rain when he was stopped by officers about 10:30pm on Wednesday, police said.
When he arrived at the port, he could only catch a glimpse of the docked container vessels as access is restricted at Waigaoqiao Port.
"When we asked how much he needed to pay for a trip back home, he said 100 yuan (US$14.62) to 200 yuan was enough,'' the officer said.
Police gave him the money and escorted him to a bus station.
The 22-year-old Sichuan Province native astonished two immigration police officers at Waigaoqiao Port when they saw him walking purposefully in the dark toward the mouth of the Yangtze River where it meets the East China Sea on Wednesday evening.
Looking ragged and dusty, the man, surnamed Zhang, was carrying his belongings in a makeshift bag over his shoulder when the officers spotted him only several hundred meters from muddy coastal marshes.
"We stopped him immediately because he was walking towards a dangerous area," said officer Zhang Xinxin. Police then asked him some questions and confirmed his identity.
The migrant worker, hailing from Leibo County in Sichuan Province, told police he simply wanted to look at the sea, one of his childhood dreams, before he returned home.
The young man left home last year to work on a production line at a factory in Xiaoshan City, near Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province. He lost his job last month after the company collapsed due to the economic downturn. He then spent his savings looking for another job in the area.
After no work turned up, he gave up his job search and decided to walk to Shanghai from Xiaoshan. He made ends meet by begging during the 250km journey, he told police.
His bag and clothes were still damp from the rain when he was stopped by officers about 10:30pm on Wednesday, police said.
When he arrived at the port, he could only catch a glimpse of the docked container vessels as access is restricted at Waigaoqiao Port.
"When we asked how much he needed to pay for a trip back home, he said 100 yuan (US$14.62) to 200 yuan was enough,'' the officer said.
Police gave him the money and escorted him to a bus station.
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