A lovelorn young Chinese man has shocked social media after he spent six days wandering in the wilderness, often without food or water or a mobile phone, all in an attempt to forget his ex-girlfriend.
Police in Yuhang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province in southeastern China received a call from a man in Changsha, Hunan province, reporting that his younger brother, identified as Xiaolin, had been out of contact for three days while working alone in Hangzhou.
He said he last heard from Xiaolin on June 19, prompting officers to visit his flat to investigate.
They found the flat empty, with his mobile phone left behind.
Surveillance footage showed that Xiaolin had left his rented flat on foot on the afternoon of June 20, and his last known location was in the Dalang Mountain area around 1am the next morning.
Yuhang police mobilised more than 100 officers and local residents to search the area.
Despite deploying police dogs, drones and sonar devices, the search yielded no results.
Finally, on the morning of June 26, Xiaolin was spotted on surveillance cameras in a park in Lin’an District.
The local authorities were alerted, and Xiaolin was found.
Zhu Liliang, the deputy director of the Yuhang Police Station, told HTV-1 that Lin was found in ragged clothing.
According to Zhu, Xiaolin had been struggling with a recent break-up and ventured into the mountains to clear his mind.
He walked mountain trails from Xianlin to Fuyang, then to Zhongtai, and eventually reached Lin’an, covering a distance of about 40 kilometres.
During the journey, he survived by picking wild fruit and drinking water from mountain streams. For the first three days, he reportedly neither ate nor drank.
“When we found him, his clothes were in tatters,” officer Zhu said.
“He did not eat or drink for the first three days. Later, when his body could not take it any more, he drank from mountain springs and ate food found near village homes.”
At present, Xiaolin is in stable condition.
After speaking to the police, Xiaolin realised the distress he had caused to himself and his family and promised not to act so impulsively again.
The incident went viral on mainland social media.
One online observer said: “I am honestly so impressed that he managed to leave his phone behind.”
“To be honest, that girl is lucky she broke up with him. Someone this extreme is not relationship material,” said another.
While a third quipped: “He might be Hangzhou’s most devoted lover, but now, instead of forgetting the previous relationship, millions of netizens will remember it for him.” - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
