Riding horses from Europe back to his homeland in China.

Each day, Xu Zhixian only travels about 30 km. After six months of traveling from Spain, both he and his horse arrived in the Netherlands. Xu Zhixian, 32, from Shandong Province, China, is gaining popularity on social media for sharing his cross-continental horseback riding journey.

Xu set off from Lalin (Spain) on February 20th and has now reached the Netherlands, having traveled over 2,500 km.South China Morning Post.

"I told my family I wanted to ride a horse back to China, but they didn't believe me until I bought a horse and started the journey," he said.

Having spent 13 years studying and working in Italy and Norway, Xu has visited almost every country in Europe. He said the idea of ​​riding a horse back to China came to him by chance while traveling.

"When someone asks me why, I say there's no reason. I just do it because I want to."

Before the trip, Xu had only ridden a horse once and spent three months learning and preparing for the journey. With the advice of the seller, he chose an 8-year-old purebred white Arabian stallion and named it Huihui. On average, Xu and his horse traveled about 30 km per day. To save on food and lodging, he bought sleeping bags, an inflatable mattress, and a tent for sleeping at night. Each month, he spent less than $600, including horse care costs.

"If I walk alone, it takes me about 6 hours each day to complete the 30 km distance. But if I walk with a horse, it takes me 10-12 hours because it often stops to graze along the way."

Another problem for Xu when riding horses in Europe was that Huihui might be attracted to another horse and want to "run away".

"Almost every day it tries to run away with a different horse. Normally Huihui is reluctant to move, but whenever it encounters another horse, I can't stop it from running towards them no matter how hard I pull the reins."

Huihui also dropped Xu's luggage while chasing another horse and once damaged a laptop.

"Accidents and new situations arise every day," Xu said, describing his journey over the past six months.

The next leg of the journey is to Germany and then Austria. Xu said he initially planned to complete the trip in a year. However, many unforeseen events occurred during the trip, so he no longer dares to make an estimate. Nevertheless, Xu said he is not in a hurry and plans to travel at a leisurely pace of 30 km per day, as he is currently doing.

Previously, traveling around on horseback was a favorite activity in the southern states of the United States. (Reply to above)AtlasObscura,Filipe Leite, a veteran horse rider, said he once thought he might lose his life in the middle of a trip.

"The scorching heat on the roads drained my energy. Then, the freezing weather, with ice and snow covering the roads, made it difficult for both man and horse to move forward," Filipe said.

Fillipe Leite's journey began in 2012 when he set off from the United States to Brazil with just two horses. He then traveled for 803 days, through 10 countries and three different continents. Fillipe had been familiar with horses since childhood, having been taught to ride by his cowboy father. However, undertaking such a long journey in harsh weather conditions was no easy feat. Fillipe Leite had to train and plan for many years.

Anh Thi