On the second day, Huang didn't have to fake it anymore; he really was excited.

"It was great to see our plan come to life," he said. "As we kept walking, I felt like we were leaving reality and entering a dream."

Not all of those who set off from Beijing planned to finish in Tibet, and the group picked up hikers along the way. As the group passed through cities, hikers would join along the route, others would leave early, bound by commitments in the real world. The group kept changing, consisting of as many as 17 members at a time. Some never finished the amount they planned; several had to quit due to illness and two, who had begun the trip in Beijing as strangers, fell in love along the way, got engaged and left to be married.

Four other hikers quit out of boredom. Huang was strict about maintaining a good pace and a tight schedule. The group averaged just over 25 km per day. There was little time afforded for sightseeing and the planned route avoided tourist areas. Tired of just walking, they went home.

The team relaxing at the end of the day. The women of the group would often go ahead into towns to see if anyone would be able to provide free accommodation. Elevating the feet prevents swelling after a day of hiking.

Huang is a small man with a firm handshake and an easy demeanor. He sits with his legs crossed and arms folded. He's more demonstrative with his hands than most Chinese people, but his movements are slow and contained. He looks like he's only happy outdoors.

He says the best part of the trip was being away from modern society. "I got to see a lot about simple life. I saw the people in the villages and I saw how different life is for them. That was sightseeing for me. Maybe it wouldn't be pretty to other people, but it was beautiful to me.

"In the city, people looked at us because they thought we were crazy. ‘Why would someone walk to Tibet?' they'd ask. In the villages, they stared because they thought we were rich. These people worked every day to have food to eat, and here we were, with our nice hiking equipment, walking to Tibet for fun. It was strange to them."

Along the route, Huang met people who he still keeps up with today. He cocks his head and looks up as he remembers the railway policeman he met in Lanzhou. His fingertips graze the whiskers on his chin.

The policeman admired what the group was doing and bought them a meal. They wound up meeting three times along the trip, each time when the officer was off duty from the train. Huang became and remains good friends with the policeman, who often comes to Beijing to visit.