THE GREAT AWAKENING
"The most most magical about Zhang is that when he boasts about something, he goes out and makes it come true," Liang said
On their travels, the couple have learned to cherish the better aspects of humankind.
"There is light in desperation and warmth in the cold. We have seen so many people in sorrow or misery, but have found a warming light inside all of them," she said.
Liang remembers a hug from an Iraqi girl who had suffered some horrific experiences.
"When we were finding it extremely hard to find words to comfort her, when she just stepped forward to embrace me," Liang said.
Liang said she was suddenly warmed by the girl's bravery. And the girl's words about her ordeal will forever stay in her mind: "Not so bad; I escaped. The doctors saved my life."
Heart-wrenching moments like this drive the childhood sweethearts on.
"I suddenly 'woke up' when I served as a rescue volunteer after the Sichuan earthquake," Zhang said.
"People never know what will come tomorrow," Liang added.
They expect to set out for the frozen south before the end of the year. The 80,000 km journey will take them across more than twenty countries, the equator and the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
"It was our childhood dream. We love our lives and want to live for long time, but always on the road," Liang said.
"If we could do more, we would like to help more Chinese to see more of the world. And with that, show the world a new generation of Chinese."
