On the stone steps leading up Mount Tai, one of China’s best-known peaks, hikers can book and pay for “climbing buddies” to walk with them, carry bags and take photos for a few hundred yuan.
The increasingly popular service is part of a broader “companionship economy” emerging in China, which includes paid partners for running, sightseeing and even eating out at hotpot restaurants — a meal traditionally shared with friends.
Providers, often students or young gig workers, advertise on social media with promises of “emotional value,” conversation and practical help, turning what was once an experience or favor among friends into a bookable — and payable — service.