A man travelled almost 5,500 miles every single week to a completely different country because it was ‘cheaper’ than living in his university city.
Some of us are guilty of complaining about a 30-minute journey to work via bus or car, but imagine having to go to the airport, head through security and board a plane for the morning commute.
I feel tired just saying it, but for Guangli Xu it’s very much been a reality.
The 28-year-old went viral after sharing his mammoth commute on Douyin – the Chinese version of TikTok.
Each return trip took three days in total, beginning with Xu leaving his home in the Shandong province of eastern China at around 7am to the capital city of Jinan for the airport.
Guangli Xu’s commute is mammoth (Douyin)
This is where he would take a layover flight to Melbourne in Australia, arriving the next day in time for class at RMIT University, where he studied art management.
Xu would go back to China on the third day, with a friend putting him up while studying in Australia.
Speaking about his weekly travels, Xu told SBS Mandarin: “A round trip takes about 72 hours. One way is about 10 to 13 hours on the plane.”
Xu previously lived in Melbourne after spending eight years studying in the Aussie city, including an undergraduate degree in game design.
But for his final semester in 2024, Xu decided to move back home and become an ‘international commuter’.
“I usually leave for Melbourne on Monday mornings and can be back home [in China] by Wednesday evenings,” he added.
“The overall cost is not much different. But I think the money is better spent [in China] because the overall cost here is lower.”
Xu commuted to Melbourne from China (Getty Stock Image)
In one video, Xu calculated one trip cost him around $930, which included the flight, taxi and food.
While it may sound like a big hassle, Xu’s research on the feasibility of the commute and the temptation to spend more time with his nearest and dearest made him commit to the plan.
“I found that the flight routes between China and Australia are frequent, with multiple airlines operating, so I gave it a try … It turned out to be quite feasible and I haven’t encountered any major issues,” he added.
“I prefer the environment and convenience in China. After living abroad for so many years, I also wanted to spend more time with my family.”
Xu completed his studies for the semester back in October and doesn’t expect to return to Australia for a while.
Have you ever been so angry by a bad review that you’ve travelled over 500 miles just to confront them?
I didn’t think so, but that’s what was revealed to have happened when CCTV caught an online clothes vendor beating up a woman on the street.
According to reports by local media, the young woman had complained about a delay to her purchase, which angered the man enough to travel to ‘teach her a lesson’.
That’s when CCTV caught Xiao Li being beaten by the man known as Zhang in the streets as he slapped and kicked her to the ground. Watch below:
You can see the moment angry Zhang rushed up to Li as she was waiting in the city of Zhengzhou, in eastern China (Henan Province).
The woman had waited for her package of clothing which was four days late and did what most people would in that situation- she complained on the online marketplace, Taobao.
But the vendor in question retaliated by threatening to kill her, livid that she had lowered his rating online.
The publication reports that she believed that once she received the clothing, the matter would resolve itself, but Zhang had other ideas.
In the footage, as Li looks at her phone, the angry vendor viciously kicks and slaps her, causing her to fall to the ground before stomping away and out of sight.
The woman can be seen getting beaten up by the angry merchant. (Asia Wire)
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Li’s injuries caused her to be taken to hospital where she was treated for a concussion and other health concerns.
However, even in the hospital she was unable to get away from the man who promptly sent her a message.
He revealed to her that he had travelled all night from Suzhou, which is more than 500 miles away so he could ‘teach her a lesson’ for her bad review.
He also told her that he could attack her again.
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According to the publication, police declined to comment but confirmed they were investigating the case. It’s also unclear whether she ever got her clothes.
The incident occurred in Zhengzhou. (Google Maps)
This isn’t the only instance of vendor attacks in revenge for bad online reviews.
Last September, a husband was nearly beaten to death in his home in Changsha after his wife lift a bag review for a restaurant.
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The restaurant owner went on to tell police that he was worried that the one bad review would hurt his business’s fine reputation.
Then, the following month, a delivery man beat a woman to a bloody pulp on the street in Hainan because he was worried that she would write a bad review about him after he failed to deliver her food on time.
I mean? What on Earth is going on?
Just deliver on time, Jesus Christ.
