The elderly man crafts walking sticks from small bamboo poles and gives them away for free to hikers.
Xie Gongnong, 65, is from Zhoujia Village in Hengxi Town. Since the latter half of the previous year, he has been making walking sticks from small bamboo and placing them at his doorstep for visitors to take freely. Over the past two years, he has given out more than 600 sticks.
At around 8 a.m. the day before yesterday, when reporters met Xie Gongnong, he was carrying a bundle of newly made walking sticks up Tingxi Ridge to give them away.
Xie Gongnong said that since the year before last, the number of visitors to Tingxi Ridge has been increasing. While many tourists bring plenty of food and drinks, they often forget to bring walking sticks. Because the ancient Tingxi Trail is quite steep, especially when descending, many people have fallen. That’s when he got the idea to make walking sticks and give them away for free to hikers.
“Now some people even book walking sticks with me in advance,” the old man said cheerfully. In the past two days alone, he has given out fifty to sixty sticks.