My name is Christoph Rehage, I will soon be 27 years old, and I have been walking through China for almost a year now.

But who am I?

My dear father sighs whenever I define myself through negation: “son, nobody cares who you are not. It’s who you are that really matters.”

Right. I’ll have to take a closer look at some things and evaluate them. Maybe I can get a clearer picture?

…

Am I an adventurer? A tough guy? A fan of the outdoors?

I think adventurers like to prove themselves in their struggle with the elements. They deeply enjoy what some people might call the “simplicity” of nature, and they are always striving to get into raw contact with the beautiful creation that God has surrounded us with.

A photographer or a film-maker?

Good Photographers don’t come rushing by. Instead, they stay in a place for a long time, studying their surroundings, working hard to earn the trust and the respect of the people they want to photograph. A friend once told me about a photographer who had lived with a Tibetan family for weeks, not taking a single picture, always patiently waiting for the people to open up and get used to him and his photography equipment. And it’s the same with landscapes – you have to spend time in a place in order to learn about its true inherent magnificence.

Am I a journalist? A travel writer?

Journalists don’t write about themselves, they write about topics. The same goes for most travel writers. Good journalists always try to do extensive research before going into any further explorations. Their aim is to extract a certain hidden truth from within the things that are before them. Then they transform that truth into a story to share with other people.

But who am I really? A fool in love?

I’ve been trying to write this article for several days now.

But I can never finish it.