A Chinese father has fulfilled his promise and driven his daughter all the way from China to the United States where she is to attend college, Yangtze Evening News reports.
It's not uncommon for parents of freshmen college students to drive their children to their new school as a way to say their last goodbyes as their children set off on their adult lives. But one father in China is taking that 'goodbye' to a whole new level. Huang Haitao has managed to convince his daughter, Huang Xinyi, to allow him to drive her to her new school, in Seattle, the USA.
Huang Haitao and his daughter Huang Xinyi set out from their home in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province on June 1. The journey lasted 108 days, taking them over 30,000 kilometers across 26 countries before finally culminating in Seattle.
Huang wanted his daughter to become familiar with the world via first-hand experiences, rather than just through words on a page.
He said he decided to make his "crazy" decision after Xinyi was accepted at Seattle University. He made the decision four years ago, promising his daughter the journey would happen once she was accepted by a university in the United States.
While most young people might balk at the idea of spending so much time together with one of their parents in a vehicle, the experience was not a new one for Huang Xinyi and her father.
The two had travelled over 120,000 kilometers together already in vehicles to promote the Youth Olympic Games, which took place in Nanjing in 2014.They had previously driven across China, Eurasia, and to the North Pole. However, the journey to Seattle was of great significance as it was Huang’s way to say goodbye to his daughter as she set off on her new life.
Huang said he started preparing documents for the trip at the beginning of 2017. He also made contact with Chinese nationals and consulates in countries they would visit in advance in case of emergency.
During the trip, they received help and suggestions from fellow Chinese nationals and became popular among them. Their journey included countries such as Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, and Switzerland.
Father and daughter declined Seattle University’s invitation to a ceremony arranged for them. Huang explained that he just wanted his daughter to settle down and begin her school life.
