Zhan Shanjun, team leader of an outdoor sports club in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, says his group has engaged Wang's services many times.

"Wang knows the mountains very well, and he always tries very hard to help the hikers," Zhan says. Wang once carried one of his members, who had injured a leg, all the way down the mountain.

According to Gao Baohong, deputy director of the county's ecological protection office, Wang had saved 13 lost travelers in the past five years, without payment.

His latest achievement was in locating and bringing a single traveler to safety on Nov 5. The hiker from Henan province could not find his way out for three days.

"I got the report that the traveler had been missing for days in the mountains from the county police and joined the rescue work," Wang says.

In another incident in September 2009, Wang came across two Tianjin travelers when he led a team from Baoji, a city in western Shaanxi, to explore the forest.

One of the Tianjin travelers suffered from altitude sickness, while the other had a leg injury.

Wang led the two Tianjin travelers down the mountains, and brought them to the nearest local hospital some 90 km away.

"The travelers called me after they went home saying that they wanted to repay me with money, but I refused because I didn't do it for the money," Wang says.

Liu Cheng, team leader of A98 rescue team in Xi'an, says every time he receives a report, the first person he thinks of is Wang.

"He is a warm-hearted man and treats rescue work as his vocation," Liu says.

His helpfulness has recently earned him a permanent job to "accompany hikers to go up and down the mountains, tell them where it's dangerous and what they should pay attention to".

With a monthly salary of 800 yuan, Wang says he is happy to have a stable income while doing what he likes.

malie@chinadaily.com.cn