Scholar makes 25th Shu Road expedition

For Hope Justman, an 82-year-old scholar who has explored several historic paths across the globe, the ancient road system shudao (road to today's Sichuan province) dating back over two millennia remains her favorite.

A resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Justman recently concluded her 25th trip on Friday along the shudao, or Shu Road, a path she first stepped onto in 2001.

Shu is short for Sichuan, and was its ancient name as well. The ancient Shu Road is a system spanning more than 1,000 kilometers, connecting today's Xi'an in Shaanxi province and Chengdu in Sichuan, over the Qinling and Daba mountains. It was built as early as 2,300 years ago.