Hotpot is a must-have food for those traveling to Shancheng, Chongqing. Tiejun Xie and his fellow cyclers also enjoyed vegetarian hotpot as their first meal upon arriving in Chongqing.
In fact, starting from August 7th in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, in the past month, they cycled for nearly 3,000 kilometers, solely fueled by vegetarian food. Early in the morning on September 10th, cyclers in the “Cycle Vegetarian Journey,” which promotes low-carbon life, just departed from Chongqing to resume their journey and will soon begin their return journey.
1. Why be a vegetarian cycler?
Yucheng Jiang, the organizer of this vegetarian cycling movement, defines vegetarian cycling as an outdoor public welfare activity. It has been held for the third consecutive year. Every year, cyclers ride thousands of miles to promote a low-carbon, healthy lifestyle.
The original intention of Jiang Yucheng and his fellow cyclers was quite simple. He found today’s environmental crises and public health issues worthy of attention. Everyone hopes to do something about it. Vegetarianism and cycling are crucial components of a low-carbon, healthy lifestyle.
Cycling the healthy and low-carbon way: Jiang Yucheng said that in the food production process, vegetarian foods generate much lower carbon emissions than meat. If vegetarian foods can sufficiently fuel cyclers’ immense energy expenditures, normal people can definitely be healthy and strong on a vegetarian diet.
2. Can only vegetarian participate?
This time, after cycling back to his hometown, because he has his own business in Jiangsu, he found it unrealistic to devote all his time to cycling. “Each segment of the journey lasts 7 days. I participate in 4 of them. After all, I have to take time to go back and take care of my work. When exiting from Wuxi, we had 22 people — friends of all ages in various industries, including college students, entrepreneurs, doctors, etc. Some have left, while new people have joined.
Upon arriving in Chongqing, the group consisted of 19 people, and 7 planned on completing the entire ride. Among those taking part in the journey, some have been vegetarian for over ten years. Those who are not vegetarians are also welcome, as long as they are willing to participate and eat vegetarian during the journey.
3. Vegetarians don’t have enough nutrition?
Jiang Yucheng said that during the ride, both their vegetarian diet and exercise are carried out scientifically. The team plans the route for the next day in advance everyday and adjusts according to road conditions. Their diet plan has been designed by dietitians to ensure sufficient nutritional supply.
All information comes from Xinhua News: http://www.cq.xinhuanet.com/2018-09/10/c_1123404607.htm
All photos come from crl.cn: http://cq.cri.cn/20180910/f1f9af08-c725-41c8-6661-8ab67a495c31-3.html
Translated by Sherry Yao and edited by Riley Peng @ Animal Dialogue