A publication of the Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne

What happens when you give your ailing Chinese parents the trip of a lifetime?

A Chinese photographer’s heart-rending account of his “bucket list” trip to Australia with his dying father and ill mother has gone viral in China, striking a chord with wannabe travellers and offering a dream promotion for Australian tourism.

Words by Amber Ziye Wang
 
PICTURE THIS: Gu Quanping and Lv Aiping take a ‘selfie’, in Brisbane, on Christmas Eve. PIC: David Gu

PICTURE THIS: Gu Quanping and Lv Aiping take a ‘selfie’, in Brisbane, on Christmas Eve. PIC: David Gu

David Gu documented the once-in-a-lifetime, three-month trip — during which his parents went skydiving in Cairns, hiked the Blue Mountains and toured the Great Ocean Road — through more than 30,000 photographs, many of which he posted on his website.

He claims the trip was just the tonic for his parents, farmers from rural Jiangsu province in China’s north-east, who were enjoying a new lease on life following their first-ever overseas trip. Mr Gu’s father, Gu Quanping, who has terminal bowel cancer, and his mother, Lv Aiping, who has struggled to walk unassisted in recent years, had barely stopped smiling since returning home.

“I chose Australia mainly because it’s so beautiful over there,” he told The Citizen. “It’s environment is great and it doesn’t have some of the living issues facing China today, like food safety. I thought maybe the view, the nature, would be able to help my dad recover or at least make him feel better.”

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David Gu’s plan to take his parents to Australia was ultimately hatched when a telephone call from his father interrupted a business meeting in Chongqing, in the country’s south-west. Gu senior was calling from a hospital in Jiangsu, 1400 kilometres away. “I need to see my grandson,” he said in a tired voice, minutes after his latest bout of surgery.

He was referring to 20-year-old Harley Gu, who was preparing to move to Melbourne to study. “If I don’t see him now, I don’t know if I’ll still be alive when he comes back,” Gu senior told his son.

The request had struck David Gu like a bolt of lightning. In the presence of his business associates, the 43-year-old collapsed onto a couch, his eyes welling with tears.

So, in November, David Gu and his parents boarded a flight from Shanghai to Melbourne for the trip of a lifetime. On the plane, Gu Quanping wrote the first of many entries in his trip diary. Gazing curiously at the clouds and ocean below, the 70-year-old asked his son many questions.

It was a trip filled with many “firsts” for Gu Quanping and 71-year-old Lv Aiping — their first time travelling abroad, their first visit to a beach (near Geelong, Victoria), their first time experiencing such cobalt blue skies as those of the outback (in Dalby, Queensland), their first helicopter flight (in Cessnock, NSW), their first time skydiving (in Cairns). The moments were so special that David Gu decided to capture them with his camera.

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“I can clearly see my parents lighting up,” Mr Gu said, referring to how his father had started picking up new skills. “When he saw beautiful flowers, he would start drawing them on a serviette and would say, ‘I want to learn to draw’.

“He was regaining faith and curiosity about life day by day, and so was my mum.”

Before their departure for Australia, the ordeal of chemotherapy and various surgeries had Gu Quanping emotionally and physically exhausted, according to his son. His weight had fallen drastically from 65kg to 40kg, with doctors declaring that little more could be done to help him.

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But along Australia’s south-eastern coastline, Mr Gu observed changes magically appearing in his father. They were simple things, but blessings too.

“It was a morning when I was still sleeping, and my dad came to me [and] he told me he had caught a jellyfish and asked me to take a photo. For the first time, he was acting like a happy child.”

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Later, at Cairns airport on their skydiving adventure, Gu senior, described by his son as “never romantic”, did something completely out of character. He went down on one knee to present his wife with fresh flowers that he had collected earlier that day. It was the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary. 

“This is to make up for the romantic moments we missed when we were young,” he had told her, reflecting on the struggles of the 1960s, a time when China’s Great Leap Forward movement saw economic regression and the loss of many lives.

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David Gu reflected: “Maybe the trip had really helped him to see life in its positives.”

The changes in his parents were not only psychological but physical, too, according to Mr Gu. “[My father] gained five kilograms and his appetite was getting a lot better. It was as if some of his grey hair was turning to black.”

Among his portfolio of photos that document the three-month adventure are many shots taken of Gu Quanping and Lv Aiping from behind. This particular perspective, according to Mr Gu, was inspired by an event in his teens that left an indelible impression.

“When I was in high school, I used to study until very late in the classroom each day. One night, while I was toiling away, dad came to see me,” he said. The young David greeted his father to find him unpacking a food container.

“It turned out that he had brought me a pair of chicken wings and thighs,” Mr Gu said.

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Gu Quanping told his son that he had prepared chicken for dinner and he had wanted him to try some. “Eat it, chop chop,” he had told his son, before the softly-spoken farmer turned and strode off quickly, his tall frame disappearing into the darkness.

Mr Gu was stunned. “My father — a man who was never vocal about his love — had travelled more than 10 kilometres to bring me food. His silhouette [as he departed] has remained imprinted in my memory.”

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Their travels concluded, the Gu family boarded their return flight from Melbourne to China in late January, drawing an end to their journey. The experience, however, had been an unforgettable one, according to Mr Gu, who decided to post his photographs on his website. Instantly, they went viral, shared widely on social media.

The touching images received more than 20,000 retweets and 15,000 comments on Sina Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, with the Gu family’s story shared by at least 100 mainstream news outlets including the state newsagency Xinhua, the China Daily and China Central Television Network.

Thousands of Chinese responded warmly to the photos, many reflecting on their own lives pursuing opportunities in megacities many kilometres away from their families.

“I wish I could take my parents on a trip too, but they are no more,” one Weibo user wrote.

“Looking at these photos, my heart is filled with regrets,” commented another.

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Many praised the gesture of Mr Gu, who they called a “considerate” and “loving” son. “God bless him,” wrote another Weibo user.

While some pointed to the fact that a trip to Australia was almost certainly a luxury, others quickly argued that it was the “company” that really mattered.

“It’s not about where you go, what you do together,” said one user. “It’s about acknowledging the part parents play in your life, the sacrifices they made for your growth, and spend time with them.”

In fact, that sentiment was also the key lesson for David Gu. The photographer said his epiphany had come “very late”, albeit at the right time. “I wanted to spend more time with my parents but I was also always busy,” he said. “And then when dad got cancer, I asked myself ‘What have I really been busy for all along?’

“At that point, I finally realised that nothing matters more than my family.”

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Mr Gu said he was not unique as, increasingly, young Chinese put aside family to build their careers amid fast-paced lifestyles.

“I thought I still had a lot of time for my parents but, no, I was wrong – it could have been too late,” he reflected.

A few days after returning from his family’s great Aussie adventure, Mr Gu found himself in downtown Chongqing in the midst of Chinese New Year festivities. It’s the celebration that stops a nation, and the megacity of 10 million people was preparing to usher in the Year of the Fire Monkey, a year symbolising happiness and prosperity.

But Mr Gu also found himself giving thanks for the past, while making a new pledge to himself. He jotted his thoughts on a piece of paper: “Their company nurtured me, their love raised me. Now their hair is greying, I shall be there to walk them through their last journey.” 

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About The Citizen

THE CITIZEN is a publication of the Centre for Advancing Journalism. It has several aims. Foremost, it is a teaching tool that showcases the work of the students in the University of Melbourne’s Master of Journalism and Master of International Journalism programs, giving them real-world experience in working for publication and to deadline. Find out more →

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