My name is Xu Chengjin, I grew up in Jinan, Shandong Province, a city with four distinct seasons, with Mount Tai in the south and the Yellow River in the north. As a child, I spent a lot of time in the yard observing all kinds of insects, flowers, plants and trees. My naïve mind could not help but wonder at the same time as I marveled at how fascinating it all was: what was the mechanism behind it all? What is my relationship with nature? Later, I fell in love with cycling and became crazy about it, and have been cycling for 5 years now. This hobby has given me more opportunities to get in touch with nature, and I like to ride in the southern mountainous area of Jinan in my spare time, which has helped me to strengthen my body and mind, and at the same time fall in love with the subject of earth science. I like to observe everything I see on the road: trees, insects, farmland, rocks, cars, and people, and to think about the relationship between them. A hot bowl of beef noodles can make me feel energized after every workout.
My parents came from a small village in northwestern Shandong , Beizhan Village. During my childhood, I was taken back to my hometown every holiday season, which held many childhood memories for me, and I witnessed the disappearance of the village with my own eyes. In order to preserve the memories that my fathers and mothers and I shared, I took part in the preparation of the village's village history.
As I grew older, I developed a deeper interest in the interaction between nature and humanity. This stems not only from my fascination with nature, but is also closely related to the changes I witnessed in my childhood in the village of Beizhan. The fields, rivers and mountains in the village made me realize that human beings and the natural environment influence each other. As I have observed on my rides, the power of nature to shape our lives and human activity to change nature has prompted me to think: how can nature and humans find a balance in their interactions in this ever-changing age? Especially today, when global issues such as climate change and population migration are becoming more and more serious, I am more concerned about how to explore a more harmonious way for humans and nature to get along with each other through my research in geological and environmental sciences. I hope that in the future, through my efforts, I can help more people understand the complex relationship between nature and human activities and promote sustainable future development.
