'Ploggers' keeping China's great outdoors clean, pristine

On a recent Saturday morning, 12-year-old Lele from Tianjin arrived at Beijing's Western Hills carrying a tool he had prepared himself — a litter picker.

Ahead of him was an 8-kilometer mountain hike expected to last four or five hours. Yet unlike many children his age, Lele was not focused on reaching the summit.

Instead, he was looking for trash.

As he walked along the trail with his mother, Qi Ji, he scanned the roadside constantly. A bottle cap tucked beneath a bush, a discarded tissue, a plastic wrapper hidden among rocks — none escaped his attention. Whenever he spotted litter, he quickly clutched it with his picker and passed it to his mother who carried a large garbage bag on her back.

This was Lele's second time joining a volunteer mountain cleanup activity. "Once I told him about the activity, he started preparing his own equipment," Qi recalled. "After participating in organized mountain cleanups, he simply can't ignore litter anymore when he's outdoors."

For Qi, the experience has become a form of environmental education far more vivid than classroom lessons.

"It's much more effective than simply telling children not to litter," she said.

What began as a volunteer activity has gradually become a shared lifestyle. And they are far from alone.

Across China, growing numbers of young professionals, outdoor enthusiasts and families are participating in "plogging" — picking up trash and litter while jogging. The idea of combining exercise with environmental responsibility started in Sweden a decade ago and now extends to hiking, running or walking while collecting litter.

What was once a niche practice embraced by a small group of outdoor enthusiasts is rapidly evolving into a broader social movement.