{"id":69619,"date":"2026-07-18T06:17:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T22:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=69619"},"modified":"2026-07-18T06:17:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T22:17:27","slug":"hitchhiking-china-a-singaporeans-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=69619","title":{"rendered":"Hitchhiking China: A Singaporean’s perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Having initially expected people in China to be \u201cunfriendly and rude\u201d, a Singaporean man said hitchhiking across the country had changed his perspective.<\/p>\n

Ng Yi Hui, 27, documented his hitchhiking adventures across Thailand<\/a>, Japan<\/a>, and China on social media<\/a>, with videos of his unconventional travels leaving many netizens intrigued.<\/p>\n

On June 10, Ng flew to China and embarked on a week-long hitchhiking journey across the country.<\/p>\n

Documenting the adventure in a six-part video series, he shared several hitchhiking experiences with locals. The series went viral, with two of the videos garnering over a million views<\/a> each.<\/p>\n

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Speaking to Stomp, Ng said the trip changed his perspective of people from the country, whom he had expected to be \u201cunfriendly and rude\u201d based on how they are often portrayed on social media.<\/p>\n

Instead, he said he encountered the exact opposite during his week on the road, thoroughly dismantling those perceptions.<\/p>\n

\u2018Hospitality beyond what I imagined\u2019<\/h2>\n

Ng told Stomp that he did not expect all Chinese people to be \u201cunfriendly and rude\u201d. However, he said his perception had been shaped by stories from individuals who had travelled to China, as well as viral social media posts that portrayed them in a negative light.<\/p>\n

Before embarking on the trip, he said he tried to \u201cwithhold judgment\u201d, but admitted he could not completely shake off the impressions that had inevitably formed from what he had seen and heard.<\/p>\n

Ng said he flew from Singapore to Hainan Province, before taking a boat to Xuwen Port in Guangdong Province, where he began hitchhiking. From there, he travelled through Zhanjiang, then to Dianbai, Hailing island, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Huizhou before ending his journey in Shantou \u2013 he estimated that the total distance travelled was about 1,000km.<\/p>\n

Once he began hitchhiking, Ng said even those who turned him down were \u201cextremely friendly\u201d, often apologising for being unable to give him a ride. Some even went the extra mile to ask other drivers if they could take him.<\/p>\n

Ng said the first driver who agreed to give him a lift was very willing and even cooked a meal for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was hospitality beyond what I imagined,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

One encounter that stood out to Ng was with a driver who said he found the hitchhiking challenge meaningful and shared that he, too, valued meeting people organically.<\/p>\n

The driver went on to invite Ng to spend the rest of his island holiday with him, booking him a hotel room for the night, inviting him to activities such as jet skiing and parasailing<\/a>, before driving him to Guangzhou.<\/p>\n

\u2018Some of the kindest strangers I met were Chinese\u2019<\/h2>\n

Ng said his conversations with truck drivers left a deep impression. Despite the physically demanding nature of their work, he said they still found ways to be content with life.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot just that, but the hospitality they extended to me as a stranger while they were facing difficulties of their own really taught me the importance of being kind,\u201d said Ng.<\/p>\n

While he acknowledged encountering a few rude people, he noted that such experiences can happen anywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything, they just made every successful ride more satisfying and earned,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the trip, Ng said the impression he had of Chinese nationals before arriving in China \u2013 shaped in part by negative viral posts on social media \u2013 was \u201cmisrepresentative of the population\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said that the trip reinforced his belief that there are more kind and genuine people than many might expect.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the kindest strangers I\u2019ve met in my life were Chinese,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ng concluded by saying that social media can be \u201csuperficial\u201d, adding that negative opinions and hateful content often attract the most attention online, which he believes can contribute to misrepresentations.<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old said he began hitchhiking last year after completing his Master\u2019s degree course. He hopes to hitchhike across India next, although he remains undecided due to safety concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found that it\u2019s an amazing way to connect with people, and have unique and immersive experiences,\u201d said Ng.<\/p>\n

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