Meet the man pulling his girlfriend across China in a rickshaw in the hope she will marry him

GANSU — A man is pulling his girlfriend across China in a rickshaw to convince her to marry him, according to a local paper.

The couple are from landlocked and mountainous Gansu province, in northwest China, which is home to part of the Gobi desert, but the girlfriend had set her heart on seeing the sea.

Over a month ago the couple set off with their rickshaw to walk over 2,000km to the sea in Weihai, eastern Shandong province.

The man, surnamed Wang, and his girlfriend have already been walking for 41 days.

On Friday (May 11), they had reached Zhengzhou city in the central province of Henan — still a thousand kilometres from their destination having travelled through Shaanxi province which borders Gansu, local Zhengzhou paper the Dahe Daily reported.

"My girlfriend has always wanted to see the sea. Several years ago I promised I would pull her in a cart to see the sea, so right now I am honouring my promise," Mr Wang told the newspaper.

The unnamed girlfriend has said she will marry him if he manages to pull her all the way there, he added.

Along the way she will often walk alongside him, she told the paper, and only sits in the rickshaw when tired. When he needs a rest, she takes her turn in pulling the cart.

While it is hard work, the couple said they have enjoyed seeing the scenery throughout the journey.

Along the way the couple find hotel accommodation when it rains and, although they brought some dried foods with them, they cook or pick up local snacks.

Mr Wang has made videos to record the experience and told the paper he is determined to make it to the sea so his girlfriend will marry him. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST