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Zhang Xikui arrived in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, on Tuesday, but not by one of the usual routes. He left his hometown eight years ago, traveling 110,000 kilometers on foot and wearing out 92 pairs of shoes.

Zhang, with his travel bag on his back and a red flag in his hands, ended his expedition to the high country on the square in front of Potala Palace in Lhasa.

The characters on the flag read: "Keep in mind the Olympic Games, call for the reunification (of my motherland), love my China, and walk all over the country."

"I have felt the affection for Tibetans all my way," he said, "I am very proud to leave my footprints in Tibet."

Zhang, 47, is a native of Chengxian County, Shanxi Province. Injured during the border war between China and Vietnam in 1979, he retired from the Army and returned to his hometown in 1982. Later, he made his fortune in transporting goods.

On October 1, 1996, he set off from the Jinghai Temple in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, in east China, to begin his cross-country hike.

On July 1, 1997, the day Hong Kong was returned to China, Zhang arrived in the special administrative region to celebrate with Hong Kong residents. That December, he visited Macao to witness the homecoming of the former Portuguese colony.

During the past eight years Zhang has walked an average of 30 kilometers a day, and to date he has traveled through 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across the country. According to his timetable, he will visit Taiwan by 2006 and walk into the stadium of the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

Walking is not his only job during the journey. Zhang also collects various kinds of information about the places he travels. After the tour, he will donate all his collections to the National Museum in Beijing.

Zhang also plans to apply for a listing in the Guinness Book of Records.