Rappelling cleaners brave heights to scour Huangshan Mountain for trash and lost items

China has its own "spidermen" in Huangshan, Anhui province, whose mission is not to save the world, but to collect trash from mountaintops or pick up cellphones dropped by travelers.

Li Peisheng, 51, is one of the 18 spidermen who rappel down Huangshan Mountain, one of China's top tourism destinations, to keep the UNESCO World Heritage Site clean.

Famous for peculiarly-shaped peaks, pine trees and views of clouds, the mountain range includes three of the scenic area's tallest and best-known peaks — Lotus Peak (1,864 meters), Bright Peak (1,860 meters) and Capital of Heaven Peak (1,830 meters).

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Working for Huangshan Tourism Development Co, Li was among the 1,670 national model workers honored this year for his devotion and pursuit of fine workmanship.

Li first worked as a ticket collector at the scenic spot in 1997 before becoming one of its rappelling cleaners in 1999.

"I was afraid to rappel at first. I still remember the location was over 50 meters high — a building with dozens of floors — and I was trembling at the time. I bundled up my courage and went down attached to a rope after a long hesitation," he said. "But I hit the rocks, which hurt!"

He didn't give up, and figured out ways to keep himself balanced.

"The locations where trash has fallen on are cliffs or in brambles," he said. "A Chinese proverb says, 'It is easier to climb up a mountain than to go down a mountain', while for us, it's much harder to climb up. We need to hold the body using the strength of one single arm when climbing up, and use another hand to manage the rope in case it tangles with bushes or other things.

"My family members didn't know about my job at the beginning, and they heard about my work through some news reports. They persuaded me to transfer to other positions but I convinced them with my skills and good performance," he said, adding that the standard for becoming a rappelling cleaner is strict, requiring a strong awareness of safety, responsibility and good health without underlying conditions or heart disease.

Safety is their top priority, so they usually work in pairs, with one responsible for watching and maintaining safety, while the other collects trash. "My first partner was Xie Tianxing. He is the same age as me and we worked as a pair for seven to eight years from 1999. We were a perfect team as we knew each other's ideas just through eye contact."

Li's current partner, Wang Nianfeng, is also the same age and they have worked together since 2022.

His work also includes being an emergency rescuer and guide.

"We workers at Huangshan all have these responsibilities and are jack-of-all-trades," he said.

In 2022, Li established a workshop at the foot of Lotus Peak after he and his colleague Hu Xiaochun, a guardian of Huangshan's 10-meter tall, 1,300-year-old "Guest-Greeting Pine", received a letter on Aug 13 from President Xi Jinping.

In the letter, Xi praised their long and dedicated efforts keeping the mountain clean and tending to the "Guest-Greeting Pine", a key feature of Huangshan Mountain Scenic Area.

Li said that the workshop is a place for cleaners to rest and communicate, as well as a dispatch station to send out cleaners or help travelers to pick up personal belongings dropped on the cliffs.

"Huangshan scenic area received about 800,000 tourist visits annually about 20 years ago. At that time, we used to rappel seven to eight times a day or even 10 times to pick up trash. In recent years, tourist visits have reached about 4.5 million per year, but we rappel four or five times a day, and seven or eight times a day during peak tourist seasons, which means that the public has increased its awareness of protecting the environment," he said.

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"Some young adults use plastic bags to collect their own trash and take it away with them. I remember a mother telling her child not to litter after seeing us rappel to pick up trash. The job is meaningful, and I'm very happy to see more people become aware of protecting Huangshan.

"We safeguard the mountains and rivers to safeguard the future for the younger generations. I will continue to protect the beauty and cleanness of Huangshan and let more travelers experience its charming natural views," he said.

Contact the writer at chengsi@chinadaily.com.cn