College Student Group Accompanies Taesan Mountain Climbing Service
Providing Emotional Support by Carrying Bags and Preparing Snacks
A group of university students in eastern China has introduced a new hiking companion service that provides attentive support, including carrying luggage and offering emotional encouragement, while accompanying climbers on Mount Taishan (泰山), one of China's Five Great Mountains (Wuyue), drawing widespread attention.
On the 19th (local time), the South China Morning Post (SCMP) featured the story of influencer Shukexi, who used this service. Shukexi hired two tall and strong male university students to accompany him on his climb of Mount Taishan in Tai'an, Shandong Province. Taishan, commonly known as Taishan, is one of China's famous mountains, standing over 1,500 meters above sea level with about 7,000 steps, making the climb quite challenging.
A climbing assistant is carrying influencer Shukesi while ascending Mount Tai. [Image source: Douyin capture]
Shukexi recorded his entire ascent of Taishan on video and uploaded it to the Chinese social networking service Bilibili, where the video gained over 500,000 views and became very popular. In the video, Shukexi travels by train to Tai'an. Upon his arrival at the station, one of the climbing assistants welcomed him holding a red flag. The flag read, "Shukexi, welcome to Mount Taishan."
Another assistant was waiting at the foot of the mountain with a bag containing bottled water, snacks, masks, sunglasses, and a hat. They carried Shukexi's bag as they climbed the mountain, allowing him to hike lightly without any luggage. Whenever he felt thirsty, the assistants quickly opened the bottle caps and handed him the water.
During some parts of the hike, the climbing assistants even tried to carry Shukexi on their backs. When he was sweating, they timely handed him tissues, and since his hands were occupied holding hiking sticks, they even fed him gum. They also offered him a slice of watermelon, saying, "Your Majesty, please have a bite," treating him like royalty.
Influencer Shukersi (left) and climbing assistant ascending Mount Taishan in China[Image source: Douyin capture]
Shukexi also mentioned that during the climb, the assistants provided rich emotional support to motivate him. They encouraged him with phrases like, "You are really strong!" and "Your Majesty, if you are tired, you can take a rest. It's okay." When they finally reached the summit, the assistants handed him a durian that they had prepared and made easy to eat.
In his video, Shukexi said, "Their service is really meticulous," and strongly recommended hiring them to anyone planning to climb Mount Taishan. He did not disclose the cost of hiring the two companions, but online advertisements indicate that the fee for student climbing companions is 350 yuan (about 67,000 KRW) during the day and 450 yuan (about 86,000 KRW) at night. The advertisement promotes them with the phrase, "We are seniors at Shandong Agricultural University and have climbed Mount Taishan an average of 40 times. We not only take photos and carry your bags but also provide emotional support. We are well-versed in climbing routines."
Chinese netizens who watched Shukexi's video responded with comments such as "The price is reasonable," "Worth the cost," "I'm interested in this service," "I want to try it too," and "It must feel great to be treated like royalty by two handsome university students. Haha."
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