On Monday 3rd June 2024, 6AM Beijing time, Asia’s first ocean rower, Chinese national 孙海滨 (Sun Haibin) and Denmark’s first ocean rower, Christian Havrehed ( 黄思远 ), embarked on a 1,300km row from Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China, to retrace the route of China’s first maritime explorer, Xu Fu (徐福), who in 210BC was sent by the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang (buried with the Terracotta Army), to search for the Elixir of Immortality in the Eastern Seas.
As they set off, Christian Havrehed said,
“Next stop Japan! We are making history by rowing out of China. There is no legal system for this in China as China is not open for yachting. Our expedition therefore needed a lot of help and government support and goodwill and I am so thankful for that!”
The first leg of the row is an onshore non-stop 800km crossing of the East China Sea to Nagasaki, something never attempted before in a rowboat. Here the pair will clear into Japan before continuing a 500km coastal row round the Southern tip of Mainland Japan, Cape Sata, and up the east side of Kyushu Island to Nobeoka, where they expect to complete their row Sunday 30 June 2024. The total distance of the row is 1,300km.
Along the way the oarsmen will visit locations in Japan dedicated to Xu Fu (known in Japan as “Jofuku”) and make cultural exchange activities with the local Xu Fu Associations to celebrate and promote the story of Xu Fu.
Mr Havrehed is the ‘Adventure Ambassador’ for educational charity, Engage with China and studied Chinese at the University of Durham with EwC’s Director, H-J Colston-Inge from 1989 – 1993.
“Christian and I studied Chinese together at Durham University in the 1990s,” H-J said. “The funny thing is that I was a rower back then and he was not! Fast forward 30+ years and I certainly would not have the mental or physical strength to do a massive challenge like this out on the open sea.
At university we learned about the First Emperor of China, Qin Shihuang, famous for building the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army over 2,000 years ago. Now Christian is stepping out into a boat to challenge the historical narrative about maritime exploration by following the journey of that same Emperor’s alchemist, Xu Fu. From the historical perspective, this is a fascinating thesis but as a collaborative China-Western project during a prolonged period of political tensions between China and the West, this is really positive. We will be watching their progress daily and praying for their safe passage.
The oarsmen will also be supporting the UNs’ Sustainable Development Goal 14, Life Below Water, by doing citizen science for Eyesea and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, as well as offering Xu Fu Environmental Scholarships, in cooperation with Atlantic Pacific, to students in the ports they call on.
The row has also been recognised as significant by the Explorers Club and has been granted expedition flag nr. 139 to bring on the voyage.
An international Xu Fu Conference is being planned in Nobeoka 30 June 2024 to celebrate the oarsmen’s arrival and the completion of the New Xu Fu Voyage East Expedition.
In 2001 the pair rowed 5,000km across the Atlantic Ocean together in 56 days. A feat which went pre-internet viral in China.
Live tracking and info: https://yantu.com/current-expedition/the-new-xu-fu-voyage- east/#LiveTracking
#yantu #yantuproject #XuFu #EwC #AdventureAmbassador #SDG14 #newxufuvoyageeast #sinowestern #anythingispossible #lifebelowwater #climatechange
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