Mountain guardian cleans up the climb
Tibetan guide leads campaign against trash on one of the world's most sacred pilgrimage routes
A Qingbu, 54, and his team of 26 embarked on their annual spring cleanup campaign on June 20 in the Meili Snow Mountains in Southwest China's Yunnan province — a tradition he initiated 20 years ago.
Starting from Yongzhi village in Dechen county, they were accompanied by 22 horses and mules to help collect garbage along the mountain trail.
While cleaning a mountain pass over 4,000 meters above sea level on June 23, A Qingbu's phone unexpectedly picked up a signal. He received a message from the Yunling township government, summoning him, a member of the township Party committee, to an important meeting in Dechen on June 25.
A Qingbu decided to transport the garbage they had already collected to a lower campsite. On June 24, he and several team members used their animals to carry dozens of large bags of waste out of the mountains.
After attending the meeting, A Qingbu rejoined his team on June 27, committed to continuing the cleaning campaign.
"Before I left, we had already cleared about 40 to 50 kilometers of the trail," he told China Daily. "We still need more than 10 days to complete the entire 240-km outer circuit."
