At 96, China's Tan conquered Tibet alone — with AI as his companion

Many people think that once they cross fifty, all adventure in life is over. But Tan, a 96-year-old from Jiangsu province in China, has proved that age is no barrier to chasing a dream.

Tan had long dreamed of setting foot in every administrative province of his country at least once. He had already visited every other city on his travel list, but only one place remained — Tibet.

But his age stood in the way. When he contacted travel agencies, they turned him down flat as soon as they heard his age. His friends and relatives also objected.

Tibet, known as the roof of the world, sits more than 4,000 metres above sea level. At this age, travelling there carried the risk of altitude sickness, and the decision was a dangerous one.

But Tan was not someone to give up. So what if the agencies had turned him away — his companion became artificial intelligence, or 'AI'.

Tan became interested in AI after using it on his daughter's phone last year. While preparing for the trip, he asked an AI app whether travelling to Tibet at the age of 96 was safe. Although the AI could not give a definite answer, Tan decided to become his own travel companion.

Last October, Tan boarded a Tibet-bound train all by himself. It was a journey of 43 long hours, covering 3,000 kilometres.

A young woman passenger on the train happily gave up her lower berth to Tan when she heard his age. Tan offered to pay the difference in fare, but the young woman politely refused.

Finally, on 12 October, Tan set foot in Lhasa. After he arrived, railway staff took him in a wheelchair to the ride-hailing area, and hotel staff kept checking on him regularly.

He did it all — wearing traditional Tibetan clothing, enjoying an evening cruise on the Lhasa River, touring the city by bus, and walking around its historic sites. Miraculously, no altitude sickness touched him at all!

At a restaurant in Lhasa, another tourist heard Tan's story and shared his video on social media, and Tan went viral in no time.

On 21 October, he returned safely to his home city of Wuxi.

Many people on social media praised his indomitable courage, writing, 'Mr Tan has proved that age is no barrier to chasing a dream.' Some, however, also expressed concern about the risk of travelling alone at this age at an altitude of 4,000 metres.

But Tan has proved that if the will is strong, and the light of technology is beside you, then conquering Tibet at the age of 96 is not impossible!