<p>Dangling 400 metres (1,300 feet) over a void, suspended only by a cord, Yang Feiyue is not your average litter-picker.</p>.<p>The 48-year-old's job is to abseil down cliffs on central China's Tianmen mountain -- an area famed for its natural beauty but plagued by plastic and other waste.</p>.<p>"Am I afraid?" says Yang as he steps over a guardrail. "No, I'm used to it."</p>.<p>Local media call Yang and his team "the Spidermen", after the skyscraper-scaling superhero, and it's easy to see why.</p>.<p>Yang descends and hangs off the steep cliff face, patiently picking up rubbish thrown off the side by tourists.</p>.<p>His colleagues at the top hold firmly onto his rope, attached to hooks in the rock. When he is finished, he is hauled up via a system of pullies.</p>.<p>Yang's rubbish bag is full of water bottles, packaging, and tissues.</p>.<p>"When it rains, we get single-use ponchos -- and since the pandemic, we get face masks as well," he explains.</p>.<p>Yang's team was created in 2010 by the Tianmen mountain management to deal with waste accumulating on its sides, an unfortunately common occurrence at Chinese beauty spots.</p>.<p>Numerous stands selling food and drinks at tourist attractions are a major source of packaging that sometimes ends up being thrown on the ground -- or off a cliff.</p>.<p>Campaigns in schools and the media have boosted people's environmental consciousness, along with an increase in recycling bins in public spaces.</p>.<p>"In the last 10 years, we've seen less and less littering," says Ding Yunjuan, vice-director of marketing for the mountain.</p>.<p>"Before, our 'Spidermen' collected five tonnes of litter a year. Tourists nowadays are more civilised."</p>.<p>Even so, Yang and his colleagues collected two tonnes in 2020 -- despite the fact that the coronavirus pandemic significantly reduced visitor numbers.</p>.<p>Unsurprisingly, the job is physically demanding.</p>.<p>"At first, my hands were incredibly painful after a day's work -- I could barely use my chopsticks to eat. But it's a lot better now!" laughs Yang.</p>.<p>He says he will keep abseiling down the mountainside as long as it is necessary.</p>.<p>While Yang admits that he enjoys the nickname 'Spiderman', his real motive is the preservation of the mountain.</p>.<p>"We're acting for the beauty of the site," he said. "So I don't mind working away at it!"a</p>
<p>Dangling 400 metres (1,300 feet) over a void, suspended only by a cord, Yang Feiyue is not your average litter-picker.</p>.<p>The 48-year-old's job is to abseil down cliffs on central China's Tianmen mountain -- an area famed for its natural beauty but plagued by plastic and other waste.</p>.<p>"Am I afraid?" says Yang as he steps over a guardrail. "No, I'm used to it."</p>.<p>Local media call Yang and his team "the Spidermen", after the skyscraper-scaling superhero, and it's easy to see why.</p>.<p>Yang descends and hangs off the steep cliff face, patiently picking up rubbish thrown off the side by tourists.</p>.<p>His colleagues at the top hold firmly onto his rope, attached to hooks in the rock. When he is finished, he is hauled up via a system of pullies.</p>.<p>Yang's rubbish bag is full of water bottles, packaging, and tissues.</p>.<p>"When it rains, we get single-use ponchos -- and since the pandemic, we get face masks as well," he explains.</p>.<p>Yang's team was created in 2010 by the Tianmen mountain management to deal with waste accumulating on its sides, an unfortunately common occurrence at Chinese beauty spots.</p>.<p>Numerous stands selling food and drinks at tourist attractions are a major source of packaging that sometimes ends up being thrown on the ground -- or off a cliff.</p>.<p>Campaigns in schools and the media have boosted people's environmental consciousness, along with an increase in recycling bins in public spaces.</p>.<p>"In the last 10 years, we've seen less and less littering," says Ding Yunjuan, vice-director of marketing for the mountain.</p>.<p>"Before, our 'Spidermen' collected five tonnes of litter a year. Tourists nowadays are more civilised."</p>.<p>Even so, Yang and his colleagues collected two tonnes in 2020 -- despite the fact that the coronavirus pandemic significantly reduced visitor numbers.</p>.<p>Unsurprisingly, the job is physically demanding.</p>.<p>"At first, my hands were incredibly painful after a day's work -- I could barely use my chopsticks to eat. But it's a lot better now!" laughs Yang.</p>.<p>He says he will keep abseiling down the mountainside as long as it is necessary.</p>.<p>While Yang admits that he enjoys the nickname 'Spiderman', his real motive is the preservation of the mountain.</p>.<p>"We're acting for the beauty of the site," he said. "So I don't mind working away at it!"a</p>