The photo shows people hiking up the mountain greeting Elder Zhao Zhuguo.
The photo shows Elder Zhao Zhuguo piling stones on the roadside.
By China News Service, Zhangjiakou, October 28 (Tan Di, Liu Yang) Before 5 a.m., Zhao Zhuguo would pick up a broom and shovel to head up the mountain for cleaning. He’s been doing this for 16 years. On the 28th, China News Service reporters accompanied Zhangjiakou’s elderly resident Zhao Zhuguo up into the mountains to learn about his “cleaning life.”
At 78 years old, Elder Zhao Zhuguo lives in Xingzhong Street Community, Wuyi Road, Qiaodong District, Zhangjiakou City. It takes him nearly 20 minutes on foot to reach Yuer Mountain. He gets up at 3 a.m. to clean his home; by a little after 4 a.m., he grabs his broom and shovel and heads out to clean Yuer Mountain. He has maintained this routine for 16 years.
On the 28th, before dawn, the reporter accompanied Elder Zhao Zhuguo to the foot of Yuer Mountain. Zhao Zhuguo told the reporter, “In the past I had to hike up the mountain with a flashlight, but now I know the path so well I can walk it even with just a little light.”
Walking along the winding mountain path and crossing several peaks, Zhao Zhuguo swept fallen leaves aside as he went and picked up trash into a large black garbage bag; when he encountered dog feces, he would shovel sand over it and then scoop the whole thing up to toss it to the side of the path; he also frequently picked up stones from the mountain path’s drainage ditches and piled them up by the road. Over the past ten-plus years, he has gathered these waste stones to form a more than 1,000-meter-long “curb,” which hikers have dubbed the “Little Great Wall.”
Zhao Zhuguo told reporters that in 1996, he retired from the Qiaodong District Committee’s Retired Cadres Bureau in Zhangjiakou City. He started climbing this mountain every day. At first it was just for exercise, but in 1998 he noticed how dirty the mountain path was—no one was cleaning it, and there were many loose rocks that could easily trip the elderly and children. From then on, Zhao Zhuguo picked up tools and began cleaning the mountain path.
Many people did not understand Zhao Zhuguo’s actions, and some even thought he was putting on a show. Because of this, he changed his hiking time to before 4:30 a.m., a habit he has kept to this day. Now, although Zhao Zhuguo is advanced in age, he still sticks to this routine every day.
“I walk at least over 10 li a day, and I’ve gone through more than 100 brooms.” In Zhao Zhuguo’s home, the reporter saw several large brooms on the balcony, worn down to half their original size, and the shovels are barely more than half left too.
During the hike up the mountain, the reporter noticed that many people greeted Zhao Zhuguo warmly. Auntie Li Yuping, who was there for her morning exercise, said, “It’s really not easy to keep this up. Uncle Zhao cleans up for everyone every day, no matter the weather. Just by looking at the clean paths, you know Uncle Zhao has already been through.”
Li Yuping said that many people bring pet dogs up the mountain, and Uncle Zhao always shovels away any dog poop in the middle of the path, while also picking up all the litter by the roadside. Everyone feels better seeing it, and the environment seems to be getting nicer.
Luo Huaqi, director of Xingzhong Street Community, Wuyi Road Office, Qiaodong District, Zhangjiakou City, said that Elder Zhao Zhuguo’s actions have moved many people around him. Now, when they go up the mountain, they can clearly feel that the environment is much cleaner, and the instances of people casually littering have decreased. Nowadays, whether they are there for morning exercise or hiking, everyone consciously keeps the mountain environment clean.
Zhao Zhuguo said that his greatest wish is for more people to join him in cleaning up the trash. He said that Zhangjiakou is building itself into an ecological city with green development, and a good environment is good for both others and oneself.