Surprise in the clouds

Two workers carry a bamboo sedan chair for visitors. [Photo by Hu Yongqi/China Daily]

Supply-carrying workers

The next morning, we start climbing the mountain after taking a 20-minute cable car ride.

Along a wet path, visitors balance themselves with sticks made of wood or bamboo.

We walk for hours, one step after another - my pedometer shows 15 kilometers in 6 hours.

My girlfriend keeps stopping every 500 meters to take a long breath, but it is easier for me as I play basketball twice a week and jog once a week.

Along the zigzag path, some flowers attract wild hornets. When my camera zooms in, the hornet and a flower look beautiful. I can also see the hornet's fluttering wings. However, aware of the harm the insect can do, I am extremely cautious.

Like many scenic areas, Huangshan Mountain has workers carrying supplies to the top and trash down to recycling stations.

Most workers, wearing green shirts that say "Welcome to Huangshan", look middle-aged based on their wrinkled faces.

They earn around 200 yuan ($29) per day to carry 50 kilograms of goods. The weight and the endless steps they have to climb mean they rest for two days after each day of work.

Some workers also offer to carry visitors up the mountain on a bamboo sedan chair. Old people and children are their main customers.

In Anhui, many of the younger generation have left their homes for major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai to pursue better careers, leaving middle-aged people make up the labor force.

"The supply-carrying workers also face a problem: Who will take over when the old generation retires?" asks a worker surnamed Zheng, 45.

"A very small group of young people will do our job as they are better educated for employment prospect," Zheng says.