Rock climbing has become a common fitness activity among urbanites, but do you think climbing is only for fitness? As more people get involved in this sport, it has now evolved into a new form of socializing. Many white-collar workers meet friends and expand their social circles through rock climbing. In Chongqing, six ordinary families bonded over rock climbing and formed a "Climbing Family." The six children and adults all refer to each other as siblings, and it’s been eight years since they started.
June 8th, University Town: A female international student participates in a rock climbing enthusiasts' competition.
Six Families “Team Up” and Call Each Other Siblings
At 1 PM on June 8th, while light rain was still falling outside, a hundred-person rock climbing competition was underway at the Climbing Gym in Area 2 of Xijie, University Town. Over 60 university students and more than 40 skilled social climbers gathered to compete. Among them, the most unique team was called the “Climbing Family,” whose members came from three families but addressed each other as “siblings.”
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Group photo of the six families [Save to album]
The reporter spoke with the team leader, Ms. Tan, who explained that their group actually consists of 18 people from six families, though only three families attended this time. As for their sibling-like nicknames, Ms. Tan laughed and said it’s just how the six “climbing families” interact. Because of their shared love for climbing, everyone gets along so well they feel like family. So, they simply ranked themselves based on the ages of the six parents and began calling each other siblings.
Ms. Zhong, who was there with her daughter Gong Kexin, told a business reporter that her daughter is a first-year high school student at Luneng Bashu and is 16 years old. She ranks fifth among the six kids by age, but the adults call her “Liu Yao Yao” (the sixth one).
“There’s no helping it. My dad joined last, so he’s the sixth among the six dads, which means I have to be the youngest,” Gong Kexin said with an “aggrieved” look on her face.
Bonded by Climbing — All Six Families Are “Climbing Enthusiasts”
The story of how these six families met all stems from their children’s love for rock climbing. In 2006, five children who loved climbing went to Beijing together to participate in the National Youth Rock Climbing Championships and won several awards. When they returned to Chongqing, the children and their parents celebrated together and discovered that the five sets of parents were also “climbing fanatics” just like their kids. Moreover, all six families lived close to each other, near Huangnitan and Xinpaifang.
“Why don’t we just call each other brothers and form one big family?” suggested Li Yong, one of the five families. Everyone agreed, and they ranked themselves from “eldest” to “fifth” according to the fathers’ ages. Li Yong ended up fifth, and his wife and children were ranked accordingly.
“Eldest Fifth” Li Yong is the head of a rock climbing club where the children often climb. Yesterday, he told a business reporter that “Eldest Sixth” Gong Yi and his daughter Gong Kexin are regulars at the club. In 2008, Gong Yi heard about how the five families referred to each other as siblings and asked to join. And that’s how the six-family “Climbing Family” was finally formed.
“The first thing Eldest Sixth did after joining was cook,” Li Yong said with a laugh. According to the “family rules,” all families take turns visiting each other’s homes for meals, and the meals must be cooked at home to strengthen bonds. Besides cooking, they also created QQ and WeChat groups where all 18 members of the six families chat together and plan climbing and outdoor activities. They gather during holidays just like a real family.
“Climbing” Out Friendship — Rock Climbing Becomes a Social Bond
“Rock climbing is the common bond between our six families,” “Sis-in-law Fourth” Li Hong told a business reporter. The six families also frequently hold internal competitions, with separate categories for moms, dads, and kids. “The results are secondary—the joy during the climbing is what matters most.”
Li Qingke, the eldest of the six children, is now a junior in the Performance Department at Chongqing University. He has participated in professional training with the national rock climbing team. Four years ago, he fractured his foot during training but didn’t give up—he finished the competition in a cast.
“The spirit of rock climbing is to fight hard and never give up easily. Big brother set an example for us,” Gong Kexin told a business reporter. Influenced by her mother, she started learning to climb in second grade and is considered one of the more experienced and skilled among the six kids. But compared to Li Qingke, she still feels she has a long way to go.
Like the “Climbing Family,” there are many others in Chongqing’s climbing community who use climbing as a social bond. On June 8th, Luo Xin, the head of the Chongqing University Climbing Gym, told a business reporter that there are around 200 “climbers” in Chongqing, most of whom know each other. Though few are as close as the “Climbing Family,” who are practically “sworn siblings,” many have become friends through climbing.
Zhang Fei, president of the Flying Bird Mountaineering Association at Chongqing University and one of the organizers of this competition, told a business reporter that over 60 students and 40 social climbing experts participated in the event, most of whom know each other well.
Yu Leya, a first-year graduate student studying Chinese at Chongqing University and a Russian beauty, started learning to climb eight months ago. Speaking fluent Chinese, she told a business reporter that she fell in love with climbing through a friend’s influence. She usually practices on campus and has made many new friends. “I often chat with them on WeChat and make plans to climb together.”