According to the South China Morning Posthe is now among an elite group of around 70 people in China to have achieved this feat.
His story began in 1993 with a trip to Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, Yangtze Evening News reported.
Back then the internet was not yet popular, he simply wanted to see the world with his own eyes instead of reading about it.
That first trip inspired him to visit every country, territory, and even both poles before turning 50 to become China’s youngest global traveler.
This took him beyond the 193 UN nations to reach every dependent territory and region on the planet.
To achieve this, he decided to “go to the hardest places first,” focusing on countries with difficult visa rules and harsh weather.
Reaching Antarctica took him two attempts.
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The expedition ship Le Boréal docked at Ushuaia, Argentina, the gateway to Antarctica in 2019. Photo by Wolfgang Fricke (CC BY 3.0) |
In November 2015, his maiden voyage aboard the French expedition ship Le Boréal ended in crisis when an electrical failure triggered a fire. He drifted at sea for nearly 10 hours before being rescued.
Not giving up, he packed his bags again just a month later and successfully reached Antarctica in January 2016.
However, his hardest challenge was Tokelau, a remote island belonging to New Zealand. This was in 2019 when, despite careful preparation, a sudden health emergency in New Zealand canceled his trip at the last minute.
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A landscape view of Tokelau, a remote territory of New Zealand, in 2011. Photo by NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade |
It took him another seven years before he finally reached Tokelau.
Chen survived malaria in Africa and an earthquake in Greece.
“When facing a crisis, the first rule is to stay calm, accept reality, and find a solution,” he said in an interview with Yangtze Evening News.
For him, traveling is far more than simply “checking in” at famous spots.
He made a point to stay in each location as long as possible to immerse himself in local cultures.
In May 2023, Baidu reported that he received the title of China’s 10th “Contemporary Xu Xiake”, named after Xu Xiake (1587–1641), a famous Ming Dynasty explorer and one of China’s first travel writers.
To honor the explorer, Chen collected banknotes from 198 countries and territories and donated them to the Xu Xiake Memorial Hall in Lijiang City.
Chen also explored his own country thoroughly.
Following the 2020 pandemic, he became the first person to visit all 318 of China’s top-level 5A tourist spots, a journey that took him two years.
Outside of travel, he has donated over US$745,000 to schools, road projects, and disaster relief, earning recognition as one of Zhejiang’s top leisure and sports figures.
Having spent over three decades exploring the globe, Chen now wants to devote more time for his children and parents.
He also plans to interview 100 influential figures in the travel and outdoor adventure industries to document their life stories.
Chen’s travels have gone viral on Chinese social media platforms.
While many netizens admire his incredible journey, others point out that accomplishing such a feat requires both significant time and financial resources, luxuries that remain out of reach for most ordinary people.
Reflecting on his global journey, Chen said: “Time and tide wait for no man.”