Leg Rub Transcendence
Cool footnote, massaging Mt. Emei edition.
Reader survey: If you needed assistance climbing Mount Emei, would you choose:
A. A sedan chair as pictured above?
B. A husky young man who might include leg massages as part of the service, as pictured below:
Alice Yan at The South China Morning Post has the story:
“The newly emerged climbing companion service at a renowned mountain tour site in China is facing scrutiny due to the significant physical contact between male service providers and their female clients.
Videos that have circulated on mainland social media since August depict young, muscular men, hired as climbing companions on Emei Mountain in southwestern Sichuan province, carrying women patrons in various positions – such as in their arms, over their shoulders, or on their backs.
Additionally, viral clips show these companions performing massages on customers’ legs while the patrons are seen in short skirts…”
I am not exactly sure what to do with this information. However, in the context of a currently ongoing newsletter series titled “Climbing Emei Mountain,” it would seem malpractice for me not to ponder the deeper significance of a mountain holy to both Buddhists and Daoists for millennia launching a viral and vaguely seedy Internet kerfuffle in the year 2025.
On the one hand, I must salute the entrepreneurial vigor of these young men. It’s just this kind of relentless hustle that fueled the grass-roots economic reforms of the 1980s that spread from Sichuan to the rest of China and consequently remade the world economic order.
On the other hand, I can’t imagine that the dependably puritanical Chinese authorities will look the other way very much longer if it is true that unsanctioned massage services are a popular pilgrimage accessory available to today’s young women mountain climbers, something that is strongly hinted in the SCMP story.
An employee from the Emei Mountain Management Committee mentioned that the climbing companion service is not officially provided by their organisation, and they will seek guidance from higher authorities on how to manage this emerging industry.
Get your leg rubs while you can, people!