In the popular Hollywood film series based on the Spider-Man character, a costumed Peter Parker swings and leaps through a forest of skyscrapers. Possessing superhuman strength and the spider-like ability to cling to any surface, the fictional feats performed by the superhero have entertained millions. In real life, if you pay attention, in China’s larger cities you will see at-altitude daredevils of a different sort. Hanging by ropes from the roofs of skyscrapers, creeping along the vast walls of glass, they can be seen – wearing safety helmets and armed with squeegees, they care for the exterior of high buildings. Some call them spider-men, and theirs is a high-altitude way of work.

 

 

Thrills and Chills

“Don’t get too close. I will come to you as soon as I finish the job,” shouts Sheng Wei from a distance. When I find Sheng on the 30th floor of Ramada Plaza Wuhan, he is cleaning the glass wall of the hotel.

Wearing a safety helmet, Sheng sits on a plank hanging by a rope. Holding a squeegee in one hand, a bucket of detergent alongside, he tightly clutches the plank. Upon finishing one section, he lowers the rope to continue his work. About 40 minutes later, his work is done.

Sheng, 28, has worked as a spider-man with the Wuhan Chaoyang Property Management Company for seven years. “When I was 20, I moved from the suburban Xinzhou District to downtown Wuhan. Back then, my neighbors told me that downtown Wuhan offered great opportunity, so I decided to try my luck here. I didn’t think too much, and just brought along simple luggage,” recalls Sheng. After arriving in the city, Sheng worked with an enterprise for a while until one day he learned that there was a job in the cleaning of high-rise windows. “I have been fond of mountain climbing and thrilling sports since my childhood. Boldness is a must for this job, so I joined this company. After apprenticing under a senior worker for one month, I began with lower-floor cleaning, the simplest.”

 

“I was very scared.” Still now, Sheng’s first experience as a steeplejack remains fresh in his memory. He was working on a building more than 40 meters in height. “My heart hammered in my throat. Suddenly, I felt I had no one to depend on and my new job was a real strain,” recalls Sheng. He briskly cleaned the wall in front of him and lowered his rope to clean other places. Each time he lowered his rope, he was gripped by ever-increasing trepidation. “I was very relieved when my feet touched the ground.”

But practice makes perfect. Working at high altitudes six hours a day, Sheng gradually shed his fear, and now he performs his job with practiced skills. “I don’t have much to worry about, as long as I am careful and make sure protection measures are in place. Actually, it is kind of interesting when I am high in the air. When you overlook the ground, your perspective is much broader and even your breath becomes smoother,” he says.

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