Volunteers who refuse to look away

Meaningful work

Hundreds of kilometers away in the mountain city of Chongqing, another young man has found a similar sense of purpose. Huang Shengliang, 31, is an online retailer of home lighting who spends his free time picking up trash in the mountains.

His first cleanup happened almost by accident. After completing a marathon along a riverbank last year, he noticed litter along the riverside path and began picking it up with a friend.

This May, his attention turned to the mountains. "I saw so much trash on the hills. It just didn't feel right."

Since his online business gives him a flexible schedule, Huang can devote entire days to cleanup work. "I feel lucky that I'm not tied to an office. So I can do this to build up more good karma," he said.

Each bag Huang carries weighs around 15 kilograms. He doesn't find many bottles, but there are plenty of self-heating hotpot meal packs, which are quite heavy. The rain in Chongqing only makes things worse.

"The self-heating packs and diapers bloat up and become incredibly heavy. There are also water-soaked clothes and lots of muddy snack wrappers," he said.

"People might not have thrown them on purpose. They were probably left behind by mistake. Then strong winds and rain scattered them everywhere."

Huang has also noticed some hikers trying to hide their trash. "Instead of leaving it where it's visible, they throw it down the slope. Maybe they think that makes the trail look cleaner," he said.

But retrieving that trash is a difficult task. Huang had to slide down the slope and dig out the trash. "The leftover food was rotting and the smell was terrible," he said. Once, his face was completely swollen due to mosquito bites. Snakes are another major risk. "Whenever I have to go down a slope, I make a noise and use my litter picker to sweep through the grass to scare away any snakes," he said.

But the physical challenges don't stop Huang. "When I'm up there, I focus on one thing," he said. "I don't look at my phone. There's no restlessness, and I've become a lot calmer. Also, when you help others, you receive a lot of energy in return."

The online response from people has been overwhelmingly positive. "They said 'nice work' or 'thank you', making me realize this really matters," Huang said. "Lots of people think it's meaningful but they just don't have the time. But I can do this, so why shouldn't I?"

lihongyang@chinadaily.com.cn