Childhood sweethearts go on a journey of self-discovery around the world together

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04:40

CGTN

Proposing in the North Pole and getting married in the South Pole might be romantic enough for most couples.

What about flying a modified plane around the globe, or driving through 16 Middle East countries during armed conflicts?

Chinese couple Zhang Xinyu and Liang Hong have done all of them. They also created the unique unscripted reality show called: "On the Road."

Zhang Xinyu proposed to Liang Hong at the camp of Oymyakon, northeast Siberia in 2012. /Photo courtesy of Zhang Xinyu and Liang Hong

The couple from Beijing seems very amiable and straightforward. The two outdoor enthusiasts are suntanned and in plain outfits. Zhang got the nickname "270" from his weight, while his wife got her special charm from her deep dimples.

The childhood sweethearts met each other at the age of four. At adulthood they started a successful business together. On good days, they could earn more than 10,000 yuan (approximately 1,588 US dollars) a day.

The couple arrives at the Dutch Harbor and takes a photo with king crab in Alaska. /Photo courtesy of Zhang and Liang

Zhang gradually got fed over the "successful" lifestyle of luxury hotels and frequent flights. "It was like showing off," he said. In 2008, Zhang witnessed a lot of deaths when he went as a volunteer to Wenchuan County in SW China's Sichuan Province, site of a deadly magnitude-8.0 earthquake.

He and Liang reconsidered how they should live in the future. "One has only about 20,000 days in a lifetime. We just can't let our lives go that way," he said. Therefore, they made a promise to go on a global trip for 10 years.

Photo courtesy of Zhang and Liang

"On the Road" is just one of their many steps together. At first, they just tried to "play in a different way." They set off for the North Pole with a cameraman and then decided to propose there. To their surprise, the footage of their journey became so popular on the Internet that a video site offered to fund their journey.

In 2014, they sailed around the world in eight months on a boat they modified by themselves. In the South Pole, they held a simple, but dreamlike wedding ceremony with a lot of penguin around as the backdrop.

Zhang Xinyu (right) and Liang Hong (left) at South Pole, Feb 2014 /Photo courtesy of Zhang and Liang

The couple arrives at South Pole /Photo courtesy of Zhang and Liang

"To see the world together" is the original slogan of "On the Road" series and is the shared dream of the couple. From Marum Crater to Chernobyl, they not only go for the astonishing wonders, but also to experience life in different parts of the world.

The couple arrives at Marum Volcano, Vanuatu, Nov. 2012 /Photo courtesy of Zhang and Liang

How is the life like for average persons in pirate-rampant Somalia?

How do eloping Indian lovers cope with the caste system in the country?

The couple arrives at Amazon Rain Forest. /Photo courtesy of Zhang and Liang

Photo courtesy of Zhang and Liang

Before the trips, the Chinese couple couldn't ever imagine those things, neither could most of their TV series' audiences. They could only in most cases observe and record during their journey.

Sometimes, however, they couldn't resist becoming part of what they saw.

They accepted at a cemetery candies offered by an old lady who had lost her children.

Photo courtesy of Zhang and Liang

They "restored" the Buddhas of Bamiyan – an Afghan national treasure destroyed by Taliban with the help of American scholar Nancy Dupree and 3D hologram technology. Liang has learned from these trips that "even in the most extreme environment, we can always meet people with positive spirit. And we got so much energy from them.”

The couple arrives at South Africa. /Photo courtesy of Zhang and Liang

The couple has been to over 200 countries, and they have crossed boarders from land, sea and sky. They've seen districts and towns ruined by military conflicts. Many of those places had never seen a Chinese face before.

The couple arrives at the Diamonds mines, Sierra Leone, Apr. 2017. /Photo courtesy of Zhang and Liang

"We've been on the road for nine years," said Zhang, "We've made friends all over the world and done a lot of things worth trying. We've found our way of living in the long journey.”

The 10-year promise is about to be fulfilled. Written on their company's website is, however: "We are still on the road.”

The story is one in The 1.3 Billion series exploring the diverse lives that make up China.