A team of 78 people, together with 63 mules, set off on a long, difficult journey to remove garbage and other waste on the Meili Snow Mountains in Deqin County, Yunnan Province, in late October.

A team of local villagers is on their journey to clean up garbage and waste in the Meili Mountains in Deqin County, Yunnan Province, in late October. [Photo by Bai Jikai/China.com.cn]

It's a journey of over 200 kilometers, during which they have to cross seven high altitude mountain passes.

Aqingbu, who heads the team, comes from the local village of Chalitong. He is well known locally for his dual roles as both a "Zhuan Shan" tour guide and a garbage man. "Zhuan Shan" is the traditional Tibetan religious practice of walking around holy mountains to pray for happiness and good fortune.

The beautiful scenery of the Meili Snow Mountains draws countless tourists, both domestic and foreign, every year, particularly in late October when snow season begins.

While marveling at the magnificent landscape, few can imagine that quite a number of people like Aqingbu have long been engaged in removing the garbage left behind by tourists.

"With the rising of living standards, people's daily necessities have diversified from zanba (a traditional food made of roasted barley flour) and buttered tea to all kinds of packaged foods and bottled water," Aqingbu says.

However, the empty bottles and plastic containers are left everywhere by the visitors during their journey; hence, piles of garbage has become a big threat to the local ecology and environment.

Aqingbu began garbage removal 14 years ago, when he realized that environmental protection was as positive a practice as "Zhuan Shan." Members of his team are residents from the five nearby villages of Chalitong, Chaliding, Yongjiu, Yongzhi and Hongbo. Every spring and autumn, these villagers, led by Aqingbu, carry out the cleaning tasks.

The tour route around the Meili Snow Mountains extends 260 kilometers, passing through Yunling, Foshan and Shengping counties in Yunnan Province and Chawalong and Bitu counties in the neighboring Tibetan Autonomous Region.

As the highway extends less than 100 kilometers, Aqingbu and his colleagues have to carry woven bags to pick up the garbage and use mules and horses to transport themselves and their supplies.

As the roads are steep and not suited for transporting garbage out of mountains, they are reduced to burning it on the spot. Burning can also produce pollution, but so far they have found no other way.

Aqingbu hopes more people can join them in cleaning the area’s garbage. "We hope that our actions can arouse people's environmental protection awareness, and we also hope more environmental experts can explore and find ways to deal with garbage and waste disposal so as to completely eradicate the harm to Meili Snow Mountains," he says.

Bai Makang, director of the Meili Snow Mountains Management Bureau in Diqing Prefecture, agrees with Aqingbu and has joined the activity.

"According to our statistics, the 'Zhuan Shan' practice last year involved 100 million persons/times from the Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu provinces. Garbage is the biggest problem affecting the local environment," he said

Bai explained that local governments are short on funds and are seeking for support from enterprises for the cleaning work. "The pressure for environmental protection is big, and donations from society are limited and are not enough to support sufficient garbage clean-up around the scenic spots."

Still, it is gratifying that local villagers are doing their best. "Don't just talk. Take actions. Change it little by little," they often say.

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