It's the long hot summer again.

While many students stay at home, take an internship or learn to drive, two college students from Henan Province are on their way to the Tibet Autonomous Region in the far west, while busking.

"Some exceptionally beautiful pictures of Tibet sowed a seed of travel in my heart and this summer vacation is the perfect time to do this," Guo Yafeng, 23, a physical education senior at Nanyang Normal University in Henan Province, told the Global Times.

With his brother, Guo Jiefeng, a 21-year-old junior at Henan University of Science and Technology, they departed their home in Jiyuan on July 2, and are planning on reaching Lhasa, capital of the Tibetan region by August 2.

"Being adults, we want to fulfill our dream of travelling by ourselves," Guo Yafeng, the elder brother, told the Global Times.

"Since we can play the guitar and sing, we have performed many times at school and in our hometown. This gave us the confidence to complete this journey to Tibet by covering our expenses by singing along the way, in spite of whatever difficulties we may encounter."

The Guo brothers plan to travel through Xi'an, Chengdu, Chongqing and Guilin before hitchhiking the final step of the journey along the Yunnan-Tibet Highway.

They will not be travelling lightly, being laden down with 20 kilograms of stuff, including a guitar, a drum and a speaker besides warm clothes for the Tibet trip.

Their parents have supported them, and although many classmates originally wanted to join the trip, none of them made the commitment.

Connecting with strangers

They arrived at Xi'an, their first stop, by train on July 3.

To avoid the scorching heat, they sang in the busy streets for about three hours a night.

They start every performance by singing some popular folk songs to attract an audience, before taking requests.

"We will take a short break after singing for 40 minutes or an hour," Guo Yafeng said.

"Having sung for many years, we know how to protect our voices and drink six bottles of water a night. However, we still risk losing our voices due to singing so much. To earn money, we have to alternate which one of us sings," he said.

After an exhausting performance, they return to a youth hostel, where they stay up late speaking with travelers from China and around the world. 

Some incidents occur every day, Guo Yafeng said.

Guitar strings break, or urban management officers, the notorious chengguan, may tell them to move along up to three times a day as they do not have the formal authorization to busk.

"Being driven is the real headache for us," he said.

Earning 100 to 200 yuan ($15-30) every day, they can only scrape by, as their daily expenses cost around 120 yuan for accommodation and food, Train tickets for Chengdu, their next stop, are around 70 yuan per person.

"Weonly eat cheap food from roadside stalls," Guo Yafeng said. "As we head for poorer and remoter areas in Yunnan Province, it will become more difficult to get money. At that time, we will ask for free meals or free rides."

Though confronted with many challenges, they have received a lot of support. They have found plenty of friends to sing and dance with them along the way.

One beggar even told them he would give them some of the money he made while begging that day. After they turned him down, he insisted on giving them two packs of instant noodles.

"That gesture really touched us," Guo Yafeng said. "We never expected that so many people would give us support."

After staying in Xi'an for five days, the two brothers reached Chengdu on Tuesday.

Rewarding experience

Although there are still likely many unexpected difficulties and pleasant surprises ahead for the two brothers, they believe their journey will benefit both of them.

"My special experience will attract more customers and bring more profit to my music store. Once I earn enough money, I can travel around the world," the elder brother Guo Yafeng said.

Guo Jiefeng, the younger brother, will sit his graduate school entrance exam in six month but chose to travel instead of study.

"I have not regretted my bold choice, because I broadened my horizons and learned a lot from the bittersweet experience," said Guo Jiefeng. "Travel makes my life extraordinary."