Time Journey
Time journey is my independent venture born from a hackathon concept — a mini-program that curates destinations with peak scenic conditions during user-specified timeframes.
Role
Personal contribution
Duration
2016 - 2025
Type
Personal startup
What are the factors that affect the travel experience?
This idea originated from a brainstorming session with friends, discussing the main issues we encountered after traveling during the National Day holiday.
Mass of Tourists
毫无疑问，我们只是在假期旅行时看人山人海，而不是欣赏美景。
Disappointing Sight
当我们只能在年假或节假日期间旅行时，我们最想去的地方可能不是在它们最好看的时刻。
Does the competing product address this demand?
Negative Answer
As of Q1 2025, nearly nine years have passed since this pain point was identified — yet no domestic product has introduced such a feature.
Competitive Function
Most travel apps provide attractions through direct recommendation.
Users can't predict the scenery during the trip before traveling, and they can't achieve the expected effect.
Competitive Content
The content of recommended scenic spots is universal, which can't show different features in detail and can't meet the individual needs of users.
How Do Typical Users Travel?
How Does "Time Journey" Solve Users' Pain Points?
Choose destination
I choose three typical areas in China, all of which have their own unique scenery in four seasons.
Filter attractions by time
When the users select a certain area, they can set the travel time at the bottom to filter the attractions suitable for travel.
Browse information with time
Users can browse the detailed information with specific time, like attractions images with time stamp.
Iteration Process
Key Learnings
Clearly, 'Eureka' moments are serendipitous. Creativity is vital and admirable, but what truly matters is transforming ideas into action—not letting them remain mere thoughts.
When building a market-ready product like "Time Journey", developers require meticulous planning, especially in the early stages.
Time Journey originated from a competition idea, and to this day, I believe it solves my own travel pain points. But first, it needs validation—does it address the needs of most users? Thus, its MVP is intentionally lean, not even covering the full travel planning journey.
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