In 1979, I read an article in a magazine about the benefits of running. That article changed my life and I became addicted to exercise. Today, I am 70 and I have been exercising every single day for 45 years.
When I was 44, the cement factory I worked at closed down. To continue to support my family, I worked as a porter in my home town, Chongqing, in south-west China. For 10 years, I carried refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners from warehouses to electrical appliance shops, sometimes delivering them to customers’ homes and installing them. I worked 10 hours a day, but that labour-intensive job didn’t stop me exercising.
I would wake up at 5am every day and go for a run, no matter the weather. I ran barefoot most days. If it snowed, I wore shoes and gloves. I would run for about 7km, carrying two buckets to a place where I could fetch water from a mountain spring. I would collect 10 litres of water and then run home. Spring water is better and more hygienic than tap water. It’s a win-win – I got better quality water while also keeping fit. On Sundays, when I had breaks from work, I would run 20 or 30km.
Life was harder when I was younger. In addition to being a porter, I also worked other labour-intensive jobs and moved around a few times. I retired 15 years ago and life has been easier. I’m back in Chongqing and enjoy the beautiful landscapes. I live with my wife, close to our child who I visit often.
Chongqing is a mountainous city; the centre is about 400 metres above sea level. My home is near the famous Gele Mountain. It has about 2,500 solid steps and the peak is about 678 metres. Just hiking up the stairs was too easy for me, so one day I decided to challenge myself by imitating an animal’s movements – I went up the mountain on all fours, like a frog jumping, and went down imitating a crocodile crawling. I call it the “jump up and crawl down” move, and it engages many muscles in my body. I have been doing it daily for 15 years.
My life is simple. I work out two or three times a day. I don’t eat special diets. Chongqing’s cuisine is known for its spiciness, but I’m not a fan of all that spicy fish and meat. I eat vegetables, fruits, all kinds of meat, whatever my wife cooks. My wife is very supportive. We have been married for 44 years and I started exercising almost as soon as I met her. She also exercises, but not in the same way as I do – she’ll go for a walk in the park or to the market. Both of us are quite healthy and cooking is her way to support me. I am very grateful to her.
I feel that my physical endurance and spirit are better than when I was younger. Many of the young people I meet on the mountain are not as strong as I am. The results of working out all year round are awesome.
I believe that good health is the most important thing in a person’s life. The earlier you start exercising, the better. The Covid-19 lockdown didn’t stop me. I still went running in the open space downstairs in our apartment compound and used the gym equipment that the compound provided for kids to exercise.
I uploaded my workout videos on Douyin [China’s domestic version of TikTok], but they didn’t get many views. Instead, some bloggers came and filmed me – those videos got a lot of views. In the past six months, I’ve been interviewed by reporters, bloggers and radio stations. A local media organisation did a story about me in January, then it went viral all over China. Some tourists came from other cities to the mountain just to see me jumping up and crawling down. But that’s their business. I’m just focusing on exercising my body and staying in a good mood.
When they see my physique, my abs and my mental state, no one can believe I am 70. My greatest wish is to be able to maintain my physical strength when I am 80. Maybe I’ll have to let go of some of my more difficult moves by then, but I hope I’ll continue to jump up and crawl down Gele Mountain.
• As told to Chi-hui Lin
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