Today (October 7) marks the final day of this year's National Day holiday. The Ministry of Transport predicted before the holiday that during the seven-day National Day break, cross-regional passenger flows across the country would reach 2.13 billion trips, averaging about 300 million per day — 1.7 times the normal level. Amid this nationwide travel boom, mountain scenic areas have seen a fresh attraction go viral this National Day holiday: beyond the ubiquitous trekking pole in every hand, renting a pair of "mechanical legs" to climb mountains has become a novel highlight.
"You can lift your legs without any effort, and two batteries can last five to six hours." On the mist-shrouded mountain trails of Mount Emei, a visitor over fifty years old wearing an exoskeleton climbing-assist robot shared this observation with a reporter.
During the holiday, reporters visited Mount Emei, the Mutianyu Great Wall, and other scenic areas across multiple locations and observed that this rental trend is far from isolated. From Mount Tai to Mount Hua, from the Mutianyu Great Wall to Daocheng Yading, according to an incomplete tally by reporters, exoskeleton robots — hereafter referred to simply as exoskeletons — are landing at major mountain scenic areas in the guise of "climbing cheat codes," with dozens of 4A and 5A-level scenic spots launching rental services. At the Mutianyu Great Wall, even foreign tourists have rented them for a trial experience. As robots step out of factories and into scenic areas, the threshold for mountain hiking is being rewritten by this "mecha" technology. This year, the consumer-grade exoskeleton sector has seen a sharp rise in popularity, with companies such as Haier, Chengti Technology, and Jiku Technology launching new products and gaining capital favor. Reporters personally wore the devices for hands-on testing, spoke with scenic area operators and company executives, and also observed that the industry still faces practical challenges including equipment maintenance, cost sharing, and profit models.
Humanoid robots are still "learning" in data collection centers, but exoskeletons have already stepped into tourists' real itineraries ahead of them. Is this "climbing mecha" a genuine opportunity, or an "IQ tax" artificially inflated by scenic area foot traffic? Between cost and experience, how can the industry find a balance point, and how much potential does the market hold?
"During last year's National Day holiday, visitors who chose to hike on foot accounted for nearly 20% of the total. Based on Mount Emei's visitor volume, at least several hundred thousand tourists choose to hike every year. So this year, we hope that through exoskeleton robots, more visitors can experience the possibility of 'painless hiking.'" Liu Haibo, securities affairs representative of Emeishan Tourism Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Emeishan Tourism) — a company with over twenty years of deep involvement in the cultural tourism industry — and chairman of Sichuan Lingchuang Digital Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Lingchuang Digital Intelligence), shared this with a reporter.
This National Day holiday, Mount Emei scenic area remained extremely popular, with visitors carrying trekking poles streaming in endlessly. However, on the mist-shrouded stepped trails, alongside visitors holding trekking poles, a group of users wearing exoskeleton climbing-assist robots has become a new trend at the scenic area. Reporters observed on-site at Mount Emei that the entire device weighs about 4 jin (2 kg), worn around the waist, with two mechanical arms fitting along the outer thighs and secured above the knees. The wearing process takes less than a minute, and most rental stations have staff available to assist with fitting. According to staff, the device can provide approximately 10 kg of assistance, adjustable across five levels, with two batteries providing a combined five to six hours of support.
"There are five power levels, adapting force based on different body weights. The fifth level is more suitable for providing assistance to heavier individuals (for example, those over 160 jin), while lighter individuals are advised to use lower levels for better fit. Additionally, during heavy rain and snow, the devices are not made available to visitors, as improper operation could easily create risks." Liang Zhihao, project manager at Lingchuang Digital Intelligence under Emeishan Tourism, explained this to a reporter.
After personally wearing the device for several hours while climbing steps uphill, descending, and walking on flat ground, reporters had a very intuitive impression: when lifting the legs after putting it on, the thighs can feel a clear upward push, and climbing speed is relatively faster; the assistance is less noticeable when descending or on flat ground, but after removing the device, the legs feel a "heavier" physical contrast.
"From actual operational data, the exoskeleton robot can help visitors save 30% of their physical energy — this has been verified through repeated data." Liu Haibo told reporters that the device mainly functions during uphill climbing, with descent assistance not yet significant, and multiple rental stations are set up along the route where batteries can be swapped.
Regarding pricing and operational models, reporters learned that Mount Emei scenic area currently has about 200 devices deployed across 8 rental stations. Visitors can scan a QR code to pay a deposit and rent, similar to a power bank rental model. The current pricing is 49.9 yuan per hour, capped at 300 yuan. During this National Day holiday, visitors using exoskeletons to climb the Mutianyu Great Wall also streamed in endlessly, with foreign tourists among them. Reporters learned that the scenic area charges 100 yuan for 3 hours, with an additional 20 yuan per hour beyond that.
As the threshold for mountain climbing is lowered by a pair of "smart legs," exoskeleton robots are becoming a new consumption trend at scenic areas in the guise of "climbing cheat codes." According to an incomplete tally by reporters, dozens of 4A and 5A scenic areas nationwide have launched exoskeleton rental services for mountain climbing.
"Previously at Daocheng Yading, two Hong Kong tourists in their sixties were very curious when they saw exoskeleton robot rentals at the scenic area and gave it a try. They spent 500 yuan to rent one for a day and felt it was a good experience. Since they were subsequently traveling to Tibet and Xinjiang and were worried their physical condition might not adapt well to high-altitude tourism, they very much wanted to buy the device." Recalling visitor feedback, Chi Haidong, co-founder of Chengti Technology, told reporters, "Our service providers were somewhat stunned at the time."
As one of the few unicorn companies in China simultaneously in the top tier across all three major exoskeleton tracks — medical rehabilitation, consumer walking assistance, and industrial applications — Chengti Technology's scenic area operations have covered over a dozen well-known scenic spots including the Mutianyu Great Wall in Beijing, Tiantai Mountain Waterfall in Zhejiang, Yulong Snow Mountain in Yunnan, and Daocheng Yading in Sichuan, with consumer-grade exoskeleton sales approaching ten thousand units in 2025. According to Chi Haidong, demand on the scenic area side is relatively large, especially among elderly people whose physical fitness and health conditions do not allow prolonged exercise. With exoskeletons, they can noticeably improve their physical experience and overall experience during travel.
"After exoskeleton robots unexpectedly went viral in hiking scenarios during the May Day holiday in 2025, many scenic areas proactively proposed launching such products." Elderly tourists using exoskeletons to climb the Great Wall. Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
Liang Zhihao also told reporters, "From backend data, middle-aged and elderly users of this device account for 30%, and what they seek is stability without breathlessness; families with children also account for nearly 30%, whose main demand is that the family doesn't fall behind during the trip; the remaining majority are young and middle-aged people aged 15 to 40, who are interested in technology and willing to pay to try new things."
However, the deployment of exoskeleton robots in cultural tourism scenarios goes far beyond just mountain climbing. According to Chi Haidong, exoskeleton robots also bring new possibilities for scenic area rescue and outdoor rescue operations. "Previously at the West Lake scenic area in Hangzhou, several hikers got lost on wild paths at night and were trapped due to hypothermia. Search and rescue personnel wore exoskeleton robots to search in the mountains. After finding the trapped person, since the female victim could no longer walk, the rescue personnel took off the exoskeleton device and put it on her, and she ultimately walked down the mountain on her own wearing the device." Chi Haidong cited as an example, noting that the company has now begun developing a dedicated version for outdoor rescue scenarios.
In Chi Haidong's view, the deployment of exoskeletons in scenic area scenarios was not initially deliberately planned. Chengti Technology has focused on exoskeleton technology for over ten years, with the earliest successful deployment in medical scenarios. Later, many hiking enthusiasts brought its products on hikes, which spawned scenic area applications, and subsequently scenarios such as fire emergency response, public security, power grid and rail inspection, forest surveys, and reconnaissance also gradually connected, allowing exoskeletons to expand from a single medical rehabilitation device to multiple fields including outdoor, emergency, and industrial applications.
During this National Day holiday, reporters spoke with multiple scenic area practitioners and cultural tourism industry figures and learned that exoskeleton rental has become an important channel for rapid volume growth in the consumer market. Data released by International Data Corporation (IDC) shows that in 2025, China's consumer assistive exoskeleton robot market size is approaching 110 million yuan, with shipment volume of approximately 19,000 units; rental models represented by scenic areas, elderly care institutions, and professional service providers are becoming a key driver for consumer-grade exoskeletons moving from "experiential consumption" to "daily use."
However, deploying exoskeleton robots at mountain-type scenic areas is not something that can be accomplished overnight. "We spent one to two years laying the groundwork." Liu Haibo stated directly that due to the involvement of multiple links including electricity, staffing, and equipment transport, the entire deployment process was quite difficult, and it was not basically completed across the entire line until this year's May Day holiday. For example, using manpower to transport equipment presents some difficulties, while using drones for transport also faces some issues, and overall efficiency must also be considered.
Having been in the industry for many years, Liu Haibo keenly feels that scenic areas "trying out" exoskeleton robots is also a process of crossing the river by feeling the stones. For scenic areas, introducing an exoskeleton project is an account that requires careful calculation. Reporters learned from interviews that, taking Mount Emei as an example, it is still in the exploration stage, primarily adopting a "light-asset operation" cooperation model: the scenic area provides the venue and a small number of management personnel, while the partner provides equipment and an operations team, with both parties sharing revenue.
"When there is no clear profitability demonstrated, we do not easily make heavy-asset investments." Liu Haibo stated that currently, the overall operations team on the mountain consists of 10 to 12 people, using a rotating shift system, with additional staffing during holidays. In contrast, Chengti Technology has chosen to focus on R&D and production, leaving scenic area operations to partners. "There are so many scenic areas scattered across the country, and transportation is not very convenient everywhere. Building localized deployment and service teams on the ground is not a capability that a company like ours possesses." Chi Haidong candidly told reporters.
Foreign tourists renting exoskeletons at a scenic area. Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
However, in Chi Haidong's view, compared to humanoid robots which are still at the "data collection center" stage, exoskeletons more directly reach real application scenarios. He further explained to reporters that based on a large amount of professional gait data accumulated from previous medical scenarios, through multi-sensor data fusion technology, even when motion-related sensor data is insufficient, it can still agilely and accurately identify motion patterns and adapt and predict individual gait for different people. In this process, there must also be specially designed sensor systems, joint modules, biomechanical wearable structures, and human-device fusion and control, while the hardware must also balance multiple dimensions including portability, power, battery life, explosive force, and safety. Therefore, on the overall cost side, R&D investment far exceeds the hardware itself.
In recent years, changes in consumers' awareness of exoskeletons have greatly boosted practitioners' confidence. Chi Haidong told reporters that he has observed that from last year to now, scenic areas and offline activities have already made some people gradually familiar with exoskeleton robots. However, given the degree of domestic aging and the reach of the applicable population, only a small portion of people are aware of them. As user awareness moves from unfamiliarity to understanding, supply chain maturity will also drive market volume growth, and future growth potential is enormous.
Behind this is a track that is rapidly expanding. Public data shows that by the end of 2025, China's population aged 60 and above exceeds 300 million, and domestic resident trips in 2025 reached 6.522 billion person-trips. The travel needs of the elderly population and the development of mass outdoor activities will provide potential space for exoskeletons to move from scenic area experiences to more daily scenarios. Data from the Zhongyan Puhua Industry Research Institute shows that from 2023 to 2028, the average annual compound growth rate of China's exoskeleton robot market size is expected to be approximately 50%. Meanwhile, since the beginning of this year, the consumer-grade exoskeleton robot sector has seen a sharp rise in popularity, with multiple companies in related fields gaining capital favor.
Visitors experiencing "exoskeletons" at Mount Emei. Photo by reporter Wen Menghua.
In Liu Haibo's expectations, if scenic area exoskeletons are gradually accepted by the broader visiting public, revenue is expected to reach a scale of 10 million yuan in about three years. More importantly, exoskeletons are evolving from "black tech novelty" to "basic service." "We hope to explore a new approach that fits modern tourism — digital technology plus cultural tourism — to meet visitors' more diverse and personalized needs, and also become a new growth curve for the company." Liu Haibo stated that in the future, exoskeleton robots should be a basic service provided by mountain-type scenic areas for hiking visitors, similar to diversified travel options like high-speed rail, airplanes, and automobiles, and will become a basic choice for visitors climbing mountains.