The Flying Chinese: The Forgotten Odyssey of Pan Deming

In 1930, Pan Deming embarked on an ambitious journey to travel around the world by foot and bicycle to challenge the "weak Asian" stereotype, eventually visiting dozens of countries over several years. During his travels, he met influential world leaders and cultural icons such as Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, documenting these encounters in massive diaries that were later rediscovered in 1979. Although he returned to China in 1937 with plans to explore Tibet, the outbreak of war forced him to donate his funds to the war effort, leading his legendary achievements to remain largely forgotten until decades later.