On the wide-open roads of America, Yifei Xu has conducted an experiment in humanity.
Far from his home in Shanghai, he cycled across the United States for more than four months — enduring rain, rugged terrain and uncertainty in a foreign land all to prove what he believes to be a universal truth.
“I want to show that human nature is good!” Xu said.
The 33-year-old relied solely on the kindness of strangers for every meal, approaching everyday Americans with the same pitch: “Hello, I am a cyclist come from China, can you offer me some food to eat?”
Xu previously biked across Russia, England and France. And though not all of his U.S. encounters were positive, Xu said the vast majority of the responses he got — in places like Catawissa, Pennsylvania, and Bennington, Nebraska — proved him correct, buoying his spirit and keeping him going through endless hours on the road and uncomfortable nights sleeping in his tent.
“To be honest, before I came here I had a different — and you could even say, slightly negative — perception of America,” Xu said in Mandarin, speaking with NBC News. “But so many people here have offered to help me without expecting anything in return and it’s really touched me.”
Along his journey, Xu shared hourslong meals with dozens of families. And although many people offered him more than food — perhaps cash or a ride — he said he refused both. For Xu, the opportunity to spread goodwill seems to be his only reward.
David Hatker was at home having dinner with his family in Davis, California, when Xu came knocking.
“I feel like I got more out of it than he did,” he said. “I offered him a meal; he gave me a huge lesson in just the generosity that he’s experienced throughout this trip.”
With U.S.-China relations at its frostiest in decades, Xu sees his bike ride as a rolling diplomatic mission, breaking down barriers one meal at a time.
