Photo of Shan Mite, a kayaking explorer from Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, sailing on the Yellow River. Shan has quit his job and spent 234 days drifting through the Yellow River alone, becoming the first person in the world to do so, winning admiration from the public for his courage to pursue his passion despite unimaginable dangers. Photo: Pear Video

Shan Mite, a kayaking explorer from Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, has quit his job and spent 234 days drifting through the Yellow River alone, becoming the first person in the world to do so, winning admiration from the public for his courage to pursue his passion despite unimaginable dangers. 

 "I remembered my first kayak trip through the islands at sea. It was all calm and quiet on the leeward side, and choppy and stormy on the windward. I then realized what an amazing world had opened up to me," Shan told media in a video circulating online.  

Shan embarked on his voyages after quitting his job at a Fortune Global 500 company. Over the years, he has conquered the Qiongzhou and Bohai Straits in China, drifted through Thailand-Cambodia waters, and travelled the coastline around Hainan Island and then around China. "There were countless unimaginable dangers out at sea. My kayak capsized many times when huge waves hit me, and I was once nearly eaten by a crocodile," Shan recalled. "It was lonely too, so I always take my harmonica with me and play it when I'm scared."  

Shan has traveled 29,000 kilometers on his kayak. He was honored as one of the top ten explorers of the year by National Geographic magazine in 2016.