China’s most popular mountain tourist spot has deployed an unusual new workforce: a pack of robotic dogs, which are being used to haul trash down the mountain’s steep, winding paths.

The four-legged robots could be seen trotting up and down the steps of Mount Tai, or Taishan, in eastern China’s Shandong province last weekend, often laden with huge bags of garbage, sparking amusement among the hordes of tourists at the site.

“Please don’t litter!” one robot can be heard blurting in a video that has gone viral on Chinese social media. “I work very hard every day and I don’t want to be too tired.”

The robots are being deployed on a trial basis as the company responsible for waste disposal on the mountain — a subsidiary of Taishan Cultural Tourism Group — tries to find a solution to a growing labor crisis.

Keeping Taishan clean is a daunting challenge. Revered in China as one of the country’s “five sacred mountains,” the site attracts vast crowds of tourists daily — and they generate a huge amount of trash.

In 2023, Taishan recorded a record number of visitors, with over 8.6 million people scaling the mountain’s ancient stone steps. These visitors generated nearly 24,000 tons of garbage, Ma Yufei, head of the scenic area’s sanitation department, told domestic media.

Removing the trash is made even harder by Taishan’s steep, rugged paths. For decades, the tourist area has relied on an army of porters — known as tiaoshangong in Chinese — to haul bags of waste down the mountain on foot.

It is back-breaking work. A traditional tiaoshangong typically spends hours each day traipsing up and down Taishan’s steps, often with loads of up to 50 kilograms balanced on a carrying pole across their shoulders.

But as China’s economy develops, fewer locals are willing to become tiaoshangong. Taishan and several other famous tourist sites are struggling to recruit porters, and their numbers have visibly reduced in recent years.

At Huangshan, another of China’s sacred mountains, the number of porters has reportedly dropped from a peak of 400 to less than 130 as of the end of 2023. The average age of a tiaoshangong at the site is now as high as 57, as young people are refusing to enter the industry.

So, the tourist sites are having to explore alternative solutions. Since May 2023, Huangshan has been removing trash — and delivering fresh supplies — using drones developed by the tech company DJI.

Taishan’s management began exploring potential waste disposal technologies earlier this year, and it appears to have decided that robotic dogs are the way to go.

“From current tests, the robotic dogs’ transportation capacity, climbing ability, balance, and battery life all seem to be problem-free,” Ma told domestic media.

According to Ma, the squat robots can carry loads of up to 120 kilograms and can climb for four to six hours on a single charge. They are also able to sprint up the mountain if needed.

In a recent test run, a robotic dog managed to climb the classic, 9.5-kilometer route from the Red Gate to the top of Taishan in just two hours, around twice the speed of an average human climber.

The robots’ debut on Taishan attracted significant attention on the microblogging platform Weibo, with a related hashtag receiving nearly 8 million views. The story generated a mix of reactions: some praised the use of the new technology; others worried that porters would lose jobs; and a few jokingly asked whether the dogs could also carry tourists up the mountain.

The robotic dog, known as the Unitree B2, is manufactured by the domestic tech company Unitree Robotics. It has a built-in camera that continuously monitors its surroundings, allowing it to navigate crowded areas without bumping into passersby.

Ma said that even though the initial investment to use the robotic dogs is relatively high, it could be cost-effective in the long run. He added that the lack of tiaoshangong may make robots the only option in the future.

“Currently, the porters on Taishan are getting older, and it’s increasingly difficult to find laborers,” said Ma. “We believe that, from a long-term perspective, it’s essential to rely on mechanization to supplement human labor.”

But he added that human labor will remain irreplaceable — for now, at least. “Robotic dogs cannot fully replace human labor,” Ma said. “We will continue to allocate work reasonably for our current staff.”

(Header image: A robotic dog climbs the stone steps at Mount Tai scenic area in Tai’an, Shandong province, Oct. 21, 2024. The machines are being deployed on a trial basis to remove trash from the popular tourist spot. Sui Xiang/Xinhua)