Elderly brothers carry mother on handcart to tour around country

They had been to Hong Kong and this time they are waiting for the certificate permitting them to enter Taiwan.

The two brothers said that in March 2007, they carried their mother with the "Thanksgiving Road" handcart and left home for the first time. Then they returned home on June 2008 after passing through 12 provinces and two municipalities, and walking more than 7000 kilometers, eventually arriving in Hong Kong.

During the trip, the family "lived" in the handcart and washed in gas stations and the homes of kind-hearted citizens. The two brothers were not afraid of the arduous journey but only worried that an irregular diet would damage their mother's health. Therefore, they decided that one of them should do a part-time job wherever they are while the other accompanies their mother to go sightseeing. In the end, they were able to make it a pleasant trip for their mother.

The story of the brothers was spread on the Internet and a civilian organization in Taiwan invited them to visit Taiwan. Last September, they set off for the second time. Now, the Wang family's brothers are waiting for the certificate permitting them to enter Taiwan so their mother can visit there. "If permitted, our mother's dream of travelling will be fulfilled."

Reason: they want to fulfill their father's last wish. The brothers said that their father Wang Shutang had been a soldier for half of his lifetime and was always busy with his work after he retired from military service. Their four brothers and sisters all were brought up by their mother Wang Yuxia. Wang Shutang promised his wife he would take her traveling but he was not able to fulfill his promise.

On September 2006 as their father was dying, he urged his two sons again and again to take their mother on a trip to make up for his inability to take her. The two brothers cried and promised that they would.

The whole family was worried about how they would travel, because the brothers only have a monthly retirement pension of about a thousand yuan and their mother gets both carsick and seasick.

"We discussed it for a while and decided to modify the handcart from our home and use it to carry our mother to travel." Wang Kai said that their father could walk around China so they could also bring their mother traveling with them.

After burying their father, the brothers began their physical training while making the "Thanksgiving Road" handcart.

Experiences: twice, police cars cleared the way for them to walk on Chang'an Street. The Wang family's brothers carried their mother and walked through 16 provinces and cities. Their filial conduct moved the people around them and they were also moved by people's reactions to their deed.

Wang Kai said that the handcart was not permitted to pass by Tiananmen Square in Beijing, but after learning of their special situation, the police on duty reported it to the leaders and at last the police car cleared the way for them to walk by on Chang'an Street. The soldiers from the national flag team took them to the Tiananmen Rostrum by elevator.

Along the way, they are invited into the homes of many people to stay or just to bathe. There were even some people who left the group their telephone numbers so the brothers could call if they ran into difficulties. All of these special acts are branded into the minds of the brothers and their mother.