On the afternoon of September 18, KAILAS climber Xie Weicheng redpointed the classic "Red Dot Rice" 9a/5.14D route on Leipi Mountain in Yangshuo.
The climbing route "Red Dot Rice" on Leipi Mountain is about 38 meters long and consists of two pitches. The first pitch is rated 12B, and the second pitch was established by Chris Sharma in 2009. At that time, after establishing the route, Chris Sharma climbed it a few times, but due to the weather, the rock face was somewhat damp, so he didn’t manage to complete it before leaving Yangshuo. According to several well-known climbers, the second pitch of "Red Dot Rice" is roughly at an angle of 110 degrees, with the crux located around the 30-meter mark. There is a series of small holds beforehand, with virtually no major resting spots, and the critical move involves grabbing a tiny hold—estimated to be only about 3 millimeters deep. Climbers also have to rely on heel hooks and shifting their body weight to reach a small pinch. For many top domestic climbers, this single move is already near the limit.
In 2010, A’Cheng had attempted to break the route into sections but failed to do so because he couldn’t find the right movement on one move—he had previously tried dynos to reach a slightly larger hole instead of using a heel hook. He didn’t climb it again after that. It wasn’t until April of this year, after seeing Wang Qinghua successfully redpoint the route, that A’Cheng was inspired to try using heel hooks to overcome the crux like Wang did. However, after several attempts, he still couldn’t get past the crux. Later on, due to competition route-setting and overseas climbing trips, he didn’t have time to revisit the route in Yangshuo. It wasn’t until early September that he returned to Yangshuo to try “Red Dot” again. His attempts in September felt noticeably better than those in April—even though he still fell at the crux, he felt he was close to overcoming it. Because the holds on this route are so small, he could basically only climb twice a day and then needed to rest for two days, and each time his fingertips would be worn down to the point of bleeding.
The day of change finally came. On September 18, A’Cheng tried again. Since he had been busy getting his driver’s license in the previous days and hadn’t climbed, his condition wasn’t great during the first attempt of the day, and he had to break the climb into sections before reaching the top. Because he hadn’t warmed up properly, he didn’t even think about redpointing on the second try—but unexpectedly, he broke through the crux on that attempt, and it was the first time he managed to get through the crux in one go. But getting past the crux didn’t mean smooth sailing—the moves afterward were still quite challenging. According to A’Cheng, another climber, A’Bang, who climbed with him that day, fell while trying to grab the final jug after the crux.
Previously, Wang Qinghua also fell multiple times after getting through the crux. This shows that completing the entire route smoothly is no easy feat. But at that moment, A’Cheng had a very relaxed mindset—since he hadn’t been aiming for a redpoint, there wasn’t much pressure. His climbing remained steady afterward, all the way to the top of the route. It wasn’t until he clipped the last quickdraw that he realized he had done it. “This surprise redpoint felt absolutely amazing, especially on such a hard route,” A’Cheng said frankly. He mentioned that he hadn’t spent time visualizing the moves of a route at night or when not climbing for a long time before this. Rediscovering that feeling and ultimately completing his project under that mindset was a truly rewarding experience. And perhaps this is what makes climbing so captivating—there’s fear, there’s hope, and there’s always a bit of surprise and discovery waiting for you.
In March 2012, Xie Weicheng and Wang Qinghua in Yangshuo (photo provided by China Outdoor Image)
Following KAILAS climber Wang Qinghua’s first redpoint of the "Red Dot Rice" 9a route, another KAILAS climber, Xie Weicheng, has also completed this classic route. Its significance lies not only in demonstrating to more outdoor and climbing enthusiasts the boundless appeal of climbing through real action, but also in elevating Chinese climbing to greater heights and aligning it with international climbing development.