Recently, a Singaporean content creator gained attention on social media for his videos sharing his recent hitchhiking journey in southern China.
In the six-part series, posted on TikTok and Instagram, he is seen catching rides on trucks and cars. Along the way, he gets to know strangers and embraces the unexpected adventures.
His videos were well received by netizens, many of whom called his interactions “wholesome” and “heartwarming”.
“I’ve always loved to travel and meet people along the way, and I also enjoy immersing myself in a more local experience when I travel,” 26-year-old content creator Ng Yihui told MS News.
As hitchhiking combined these things, it made sense for the Engineering graduate to go on these trips during his gap year after finishing his Master’s.
He said he was inspired after seeing YouTube videos of other creators hitchhiking in different countries. Ng said:
That’s when I decided, why not give that a try?
His recent China trip in June is not his first foray into hitchhiking. However, it is his first solo one.
When asked why he chose the country, Ng explained that it was because of the shared language with the locals.
He recounted his previous hitchhiking experiences from Singapore to Thailand and in Japan where he faced language barriers.
“I found that when I couldn’t speak their native tongue, or if they couldn’t speak English, it’s actually very hard for the connection to go deeper than superficial kind of stuff,” said Ng.
Source: @bigchunkks on Instagram
Since he can speak Mandarin, he decided to take his solo adventure to China.
“[It] turned out to be true because I was able to have conversations at length, even on rides that lasted for more than five or six hours,” said Ng.
Ng said his hitchhiking trip from Zhanjiang to Guangdong lasted a week.
He boarded a flight from Singapore to Hainan, before taking a boat to the nearest port in Xuwen.
It then took him seven or eight hitchhike rides on various vehicles to reach his destination in Shantou.
Ng shared that besides his day-to-day essentials and filming equipment, he brought packs of cigarettes with him to give to the drivers.
“I had friends from China who told me that a universal thank-you language is cigarettes in China,” he explained.
“So I bought a couple of packets and made sure that I gave some to the drivers every time I left.”
Image courtesy of Ng.
The content creator shared that many of the drivers wanted to refuse the cigarettes. He said:
But it’s not because they don’t smoke; it’s because they think [their assistance] doesn’t warrant a gift.
Despite the limited baggage he could bring, he shared that he also brought a DJ set.
Ng explained that he spent 10 days in a rural Chinese village making music and filmed himself doing so after his hitchhiking trip.
Ng revealed that he met different kinds of people in his journey.
However, some were more memorable than others, such as the two drivers of big trucks he rode with. Ng said:
They gave me insight into a certain demographic of people that I don’t know about, or I’ve never met in my life.
In just a few hours, the content creator learned about these truckers’ experiences, struggles, money and family issues, and how they live day-to-day.
Image courtesy of Ng.
He shared that one of them cooked for him inside his truck, while another brought him to a nearby restaurant.
“It was something that was very eye-opening for me… despite still working… despite having their own struggles, they would still go out of their way to extend a ride to me,” said Ng.
Image courtesy of Ng.
Ng also met a former Chief Executive Officer who had just started working as a trucker after his company failed.
The man spent a year and a half doing nothing at home, even resorting to drinking.
“10 days ago, before I met him, he decided it’s time to change his life,” said Ng.
There was also a car driver who gave Ng an unexpected two-day vacation in Yangjiang, Guangdong, booking him a hotel room and water activities, before driving him to his destination.
Source: @__yihui on Instagram
“He said he shares the same love for meeting new people and connecting, and he feels like he actually wants to get to know me better, and he’s very happy to show me around.”
However, hitchhiking wasn’t straightforward. Ng revealed that he also faced some rejections during his recent trip.
He shared that, during his first time hitchhiking, rejections hit him quite hard.
“It would make me feel like this isn’t possible,” said Ng. “The self-doubt creeps in very, very, very quickly.”
It didn’t help that he had never seen anyone hitchhike from Singapore to Krabi, Thailand, before, so he had no point of reference.
Source: @__yihui on Instagram
While he felt confident during his latest trip given his experience, Ng said it was still daunting as it was his first time doing it alone.
However, he also saw people’s kindness and willingness to help, which gave him more confidence in humanity.
Ng further shared that drivers in China were often polite when they turned him down.
“Some of the people actually apologised to me for not being able to take me, which is crazy,” he expressed.
“They didn’t have to. I was asking for a favour anyway, but they would apologise to me.”
Some drivers who couldn’t drive him to his next destination would even help him find people who could, Ng said.
Ng’s hitchhiking journey in China taught him not to knock things before he tries them.
He told MS News that before this trip, he had a different impression of the country based on his experience from over a decade ago, from friends’ stories, and what he saw on social media.
“I feel like some of it is a bit misrepresented,” he said, addressing the negative opinions on Chinese people that occasionally go viral on social media.
However, his preconceived notions of the country and its people were proven wrong during the trip.
“It actually showed me [their] hospitality is unmatched,” said Ng.
“I’ve learned that people are still kind, and you just shouldn’t be too quick to judge.”
Image courtesy of Ng.
From hitchhiking on his own, Ng learned the importance and impact of human connection. He said:
It’s crazy to me how maybe a few hours with a stranger can leave me with such long-lasting impact or memories.
“I just think human connection is so beautiful, so everyone should just try to get out of their shell more.”
Ng said he felt that his videos about his hitchhiking journey in China would do well on social media.
However, he never expected the amount of attention they received.
The performance of the videos had given him “a bit of confidence” in his work as a content creator.
Athough Ng’s gap year is nearing its end, he plans to give it more time to see if he can make content creation a sustainable career for himself.
The content creator also shared that he intends to go on another hitchhiking trip within the next year.
“I will definitely do this again. ‘Cause, like I said, to me, hitchhiking is just a beautiful way to travel,” he said.
As to where he will be taking his hitchhiking adventure next, he is considering going to places he’s been in Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia or Vietnam.
“I’m considering going to India as well,” he shared with MS News. “But nothing’s confirmed yet, so we’ll see.”
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