China's scenic peaks welcome a new robotic workforce

JINAN — On the misty stone trails of Mount Tai in East China's Shandong province, an unusual new worker is turning heads. A robotic dog now carries supplies uphill and hauls waste back down, blending cutting-edge technology with one of China's oldest pilgrimage routes.

About a meter long and finished in silver-gray, the four-legged robot climbs the mountain's steep stone steps with remarkable stability. Strapped to its back is a bulging nylon canvas bag filled with bottled water. Moving at a constant pace alongside tourists, this four-legged machine is not a sci-fi prop, but the latest member of the mountain's workforce.

Famed for its challenging terrain, Mount Tai has relied on human porters for centuries to transport goods. Now, robotic dogs are taking on part of that physically demanding work.

Despite its compact size, the machine can carry a static load of up to 120 kilograms and operates for four to six hours on a single charge. Equipped with high-resolution cameras, LiDAR, and multiple sensors, it can detect obstacles and negotiate slopes of up to 45 degrees, according to officials at the scenic area.

The technology is also helping tackle a long-standing environmental challenge. Mount Tai generates about 24,000 metric tons of waste every year, and removing it across the rugged landscape has traditionally depended on manual labor.

"The robotic dog is expected to significantly reduce physical strain while improving efficiency," says Wang Yunpeng, a manager at the scenic area.

Each trip carries 30 to 45 kilograms — similar to what a human porter would transport. With quick battery replacements, the robot can keep working throughout the day. Since entering service, it has also become a tourist attraction, with hikers regularly stopping to photograph its sure-footed climb.

Posing for a picture alongside the robotic dog, Wang Liang, a visitor from Qingdao, Shandong province, says he hopes the machine will see continuous upgrades to better serve Mount Tai's tourism.

The robotic dog is part of the broader Smart Mount Tai initiative. Last year, the scenic area introduced AI-powered climbing exoskeletons, among the first large-scale deployments of the technology in tourism.

Weighing just 1.8 kilograms, the wearable device uses artificial intelligence algorithms to reduce a climber's physical effort by over 30 percent.

These technological integrations are part of a comprehensive digital transformation at Mount Tai, which has incorporated AI, IoT, cloud computing and VR/AR to build an intelligent management system covering fire dispatch, crowd control and smart tourism services.

This localized evolution aligns with China's broader push to integrate AI into daily life and key industries, a strategy outlined in national guidelines last year. The AI Plus Initiative targets extensive AI adoption across six key areas by 2027: technology, industry, consumption, social services, governance and global cooperation.

Other scenic destinations are moving in the same direction. At Mount Huangshan in Anhui province, AI travel assistants, cargo drones and climbing exoskeletons have already been introduced.

In Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, tourism departments have introduced biomimetic robotic fish to West Lake, one of China's most iconic and historic scenic destinations. This autonomous device patrols the water to monitor temperature and pH levels, detect invasive species, and transmit real-time ecological data to command centers.

Together, these projects illustrate how AI is rapidly moving beyond research labs and into practical, everyday use across China's tourism sector.

XINHUA