A 31-year-old newly married man in China is going viral after revealing that he endures a daily 320-kilometre round-trip commute to work just for the love of his wife. According to the South China Morning Post, the man, identified as Lin Shu, posted several videos of his daily journey on Chinese social media platform Douyin. In the videos, he revealed his daily schedule and described his journey as the “longest commute distance”.
According to SCMP, in one of the videos, Mr Lin shared that he wakes up at 5 am and leaves his home in Weifang, Shandong province in eastern China at 5:20 am. He then rides an electric bike for 30 minutes to the station to catch a train at 6:15 am. After arriving in Qingdao in the eastern part of Shandong at 7:46 am, Mr Lin said that he finally takes a 15-minute underground subway trip to his office.
He has enough time for breakfast in his company's canteen before starting work at 9 am, Mr Lin said. After work, the 31-year-old again takes another three to four hours to travel home, which is 160 km away from his office, he added.
Even though social media users expressed shock over the time Mr Lin spent on the commute, the newly married man said it was all worth it "because of love". He revealed that he had been in a relationship for seven years before they married earlier this year in May. his wife is from Weifang and the couple bought a flat there so she could have a "sense of security".
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As per SCMP, Mr Lin shared that he used to live in a rented flat an hour away from his work but he added that he wanted to spend more time with his wife and that it costs more for a flat in Qingdao. He also said that he does not find the commute too much of a chore, thanks to “the convenience of intercity transport”. And that his manager does not expect him to work overtime, given his situation.
However, he went on to say that his commute is temporary because his wife is looking for a job in Qingdao. The couple also plans to settle there if she is successful.
Mr Lin's story has accumulated more than 7 million views on Chinese social media platform. "Six hours a day. He must love his wife very much," one person said. Another person who works in Beijing said Mr Lin's commute time is not unusual: "There are so many people who travel so far every day who work in Beijing and live in Tianjin or Hebei."
"How much does he earn a month to keep up a lifestyle like this?" asked another.