On October 22, the story of a girl carrying her paralyzed boyfriend to conquer the top of Mount Tai, China, attracted the attention of many netizens. On October 25, the two main characters in the story, Yu Lisa and Li Chuangye, shared about the mountain climbing trip, which is also their common dream.
Before climbing the mountain, the couple took advantage of an old sheet to make a 3-meter-long sling. During the climb, Yu Lisa carried her boyfriend on her back. Every half hour, she would put him down to rest for a while. The two started their journey at 8:00 a.m. on October 22 and conquered the mountain peak at 8:00 p.m. the same day.
Yu Lisa said she grew up in the mountains, so from the age of 9 she was used to carrying firewood, cutting bamboo and carrying traditional medicine.
“When I was young, my family was very poor. Since I was a child, I helped my parents work in the fields, so climbing mountains was not too difficult for me,” she said.
Yu Lisa is 37 years old this year, from Hanzhong, Shaanxi province. Two years ago, she met 36-year-old Li Chuangye through social networks and officially became a couple half a year ago. 3 years before meeting Li Chuangye, Yu Lisa ended her marriage.
Li Chuangye suffered from polio as a child. When he was only 7 months old, after a high fever that was not treated promptly, he was unable to walk normally. In 2019, after graduating from university, Li Chuangye worked as a medical editor for a while, then moved to Yunnan to open a clinic.
During college, Li Chuangye began climbing mountains and conquered Mount Tai twice. The first time was in 2016, it took him 5 days and 4 nights to reach the top alone. The second time was in the summer of 2017, he conquered the challenge in a shortened time of one day. When climbing a mountain by himself, he can only move one step at a time. Sometimes he has no strength in his legs and has to use his butt and hands to climb up.
“When I climb mountains alone, I often go at night and rest under the shade of trees on the side of the road during the day,” Li Chuangye said.
Yu Lisa said she first learned about Li Chuangye through a short video he posted about climbing. At that time, she felt that this man was “very lonely and helpless” while climbing the mountain and felt very sorry for him.
Learning more closely, she realized that this man was very kind and helpful to others. Right from college, he used his own money from business activities to help other people with disabilities.
“I feel he is a strong and very responsible person,” Yu Lisa said.
Before meeting Li Chuangye, Yu Lisa used to run cosmetics stores in Beijing, Dezhou and some other places. In May this year, after the two officially started dating, she transferred the store and went to Yunnan to take care of her boyfriend every day.
“He can do some simple housework by himself, I will help a little more,” Yu Lisa said.
This is the third time Li Chuangye has conquered Mount Tai. This success is very important to both of them.
“For me, this was also a challenge and I did it,” she said.