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The just-concluded "May Day" Golden Week was anything but peaceful: An outdoor explorer from Beijing got trapped in the desert of Inner Mongolia, resulting in one fatality; 31 "travel buddies" (self-guided travel enthusiasts) from Xinjiang went missing while crossing the ancient Cheshi Route, with six children among them—the youngest just six years old; prior to this, 13 university students from Tianjin also encountered danger in the desert...
These various accidents and dangerous incidents have sparked deep reflection on outdooradventuretourism: Is adventure travel an act of admirable courage or something that should be done within one’s limits? Is the goal of adventure to understand nature or to build bravery? When faced with danger, should one retreat or press on...?
News Events
"Fellow Travelers" Frequently in Danger
Kubuqi Desert is China’s seventh-largest desert and the nearest major desert to the capital Beijing, with sand capable of reaching the city in just two hours. The Kubuqi Desert boasts abundant tourism resources, including deserts, lake clusters (Seven Star Lake), grasslands, the Yellow River, hills, wetlands, and oases—offering a wealth of unique natural landscapes. However, during the just-passed "May Day" Golden Week, this otherwise picturesque destination saw frequent tourist emergencies.
On April 6, Danfei posted on an outdoor activities website, announcing plans to organize a team to cross the Kubuqi Desert during the "May Day" holiday. Fellow travelers signed up enthusiastically, and eventually a 12-person Danfei team was formed. Their planned route was "Wulateqianqi → Seven Star Lake → Reverse Crossing of Kubuqi → Yeming Sha → Baotou."
On the evening of April 30, they arrived by train in Wulateqianqi, Ordos City. On the evening of May 1, they camped at Dadutu within Seven Star Lake. On May 2, the group headed east and set up camp at the easternmost campsite near Seven Star Lake.
It is understood that around 4 p.m. on May 3, while the self-guided travel group was traveling approximately 19 kilometers away from Yeming Sha, female team member Ning Qian suffered from heatstroke and became extremely weak. To ensure her safety, they abandoned their original route and decided to head north out of the desert. But in the process, Ning Qian’s breathing grew extremely faint. To prevent her from dying of dehydration en route, Danfei, with the consent of other members, chose not to proceed further, stayed put, and called for help from local police and government authorities. Around 4 a.m., the rescue team located the Danfei group, but by then Ning Qian had already passed away. The remaining 11 people were later transported by rescuers to the nearby Duguitala Town.
After Ning Qian’s passing, the following tribute was posted on her company’s website:
"Ning Qian, whom everyone called Xiao Qian, was a joyful, strong, and sunny girl who has now left us. Xiao Qian, we all remember how you quietly dedicated yourself in the office; Xiao Qian, we all remember your pure, smiling face that brought joy to everyone as a member of the 05 Club at the New Year’s Party; Xiao Qian, we all remember your simple yet happy life, always so caring toward friends—you always said, ‘Good things should be shared with everyone.’"
Xiao Qian, before setting off, you once wrote in your blog: ‘Long-distance trekking is just like this—no matter how well you prepare, there will always be unexpected things that happen. Isn’t life the same? It seems that unexpected things often happen to everyone.’ Little did you know these words would become a tragic prophecy, separating you from us forever. Your parents will never see their beloved daughter’s bright face again, and we will never hear your family’s silver-bell laughter again."
Since the 1980s, when Yao Maoshu rafted down the Yangtze River, Chinese people have rapidly immersed themselves in all kinds of adventure activities. Compared to a decade ago when such activities were mainly for professionals, adventure has now become a hobby for many ordinary people. More and more individuals view it as a fashionable and thrilling game, seeing adventure as a source of life’s pleasure, or even a reflection of personal value. However, the frequent accidents serve as a wake-up call for adventure tourism.
"Fellow Traveler" — one of the 31 people who went missing on the Cheshi Ancient Route in Xinjiang — still feels lingering fear when recalling the terrifying experience of the "May Day" trip.
He said that the decision to bring his 12-year-old daughter along on a "May Day" Cheshi Ancient Route tour organized by a local outdoor shop was meant to strengthen the child’s willpower. He considered himself a seasoned "veteran traveler," often joining trips with this club and having developed some trust in the leader, Zhou Ping. But it was this trust that caused him to overlook the fact that Zhou Ping had never actually traveled the Cheshi Ancient Route before.
There were six children in their group. During the four days they were lost in a snowstorm, the younger children cried from the cold, and their faces were burned by intense ultraviolet rays. By the time they were rescued, some in the group had frostbitten toes, and three suffered from snow blindness, needing to hold onto their teammates’ backpack straps just to move slowly forward. Fortunately, they were eventually rescued safely. But Beijing tourist Ning Qian wasn’t so lucky. The news of her death in Inner Mongolia due to her frail condition left "fellow travelers" across the country deeply saddened.
However, such tragedies are not isolated incidents. Earlier this year, backpackers who perished in the Lop Nur wilderness were only able to return home after an online search for relatives by fellow travelers across the country; on the Sichuan routes favored by many "fellow travelers," last May, a local Tibetan guide and a couple running an outdoor gear store got into trouble while mountaineering in Mount Siguniang, resulting in two fatalities; on New Year’s Day this year, two tourists from Shanghai froze to death while climbing a mountain in Kangding. Rescuers found them wearing jeans, which hindered movement.
News Analysis
Why Go on Adventure
Wang Tiannan, chairman of the Urumqi Mountaineering and Exploration Association and hailed as the "Number One Outdoor Enthusiast in Xinjiang," said that from the death of the Beijing tourist in the Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia to the rescue of the 31 "fellow travelers" in Xinjiang, their common problem was blind overconfidence and underestimation of potential risks.
The news of the Xinjiang "fellow travelers" being rescued after getting lost in the Cheshi Ancient Route also garnered widespread social attention. Amid relief, many condemned the leader for being irresponsible and questioned the practice of involving children in "exploration."
Some professional outdoor exploration experts lamented: Many current outdoor exploration organizers vary greatly in skill level, and field organization is often extremely disorganized. What seems like adventure tourism is essentially challenging nature at the expense of explorers' personal safety—nothing short of throwing stones at an egg.
Wang Tiannan said that the Cheshi Ancient Road itself is an old national highway. In adventure travel, it is of medium to low difficulty, and the route is very well-established, so there shouldn’t have been any problems in the first place. The reason such an accident occurred was primarily because the team leader was completely unqualified. As a leader, one should not leave the trailing members behind and walk off on their own. Instead, they should set up camp on the spot, make every effort to contact those at the back, and wait out the snowstorm together before moving on—or simply lead everyone back the same way safely.
Secondly, when leading a large group of over 40 people, including physically weak women and children, five to six support staff should have been hired to provide coverage both at the front and the rear. How could anyone leave a group of people who knew nothing about the route behind?
Furthermore, leading a team to cross terrain that the leader themselves had never traversed is no different from gambling with others’ lives.
Lastly, the police should have been alerted promptly. In the event of an accident, relying solely on individual effort is insufficient—it is essential to seek government assistance to rescue people as quickly as possible. Wang Tiannan said that after 31 people went missing on the Cheshi Ancient Road, the alarm was not raised in time. Had there been a further delay of even a few days, the situation could have been much worse.
According to statistics, Xinjiang alone currently has nearly 30 outdoor equipment stores in Urumqi, over a dozen outdoor sports clubs, and the number of people regularly participating in outdoor hiking activities has increased from several hundred in the late 1990s to nearly 10,000 today. During this year’s “May Day” holiday, Xinjiang saw around 30,000 “travelers” engaging in self-guided outdoor tourism, while nationwide, the number of people participating in outdoor exploration activities annually exceeds one million.
From the participants’ perspective, inadequate preparation and blind confidence have become common issues in adventure travel. Xiao Qian, a Beijing tourist who participated in an exploration trip, posted before the trip: “The last time I worked out was probably last summer, when I ran on a treadmill for less than 30 minutes.” With such poor physical fitness, how could she go on a desert exploration? From the time she started preparing for the trip to when she departed, it was just over a week. She only did some running exercises and one training session. Clearly, she was not well-prepared for the adventure, which led to her experiencing adverse reactions and fainting in the heart of the Kubuqi Desert.
Due to lack of experience, most people have insufficient understanding of exploration. For example, the Tianjin university students who got into trouble underestimated the desert, not expecting such high physical exertion and water consumption. Exploration is not the same as adventuring. In polar expeditions, how much preparation do governments make for explorers? Meanwhile, the Tibet Mountaineering Association stops many people every year who have no mountaineering experience or training—people who show up wearing sandals, formal leather shoes, or just a military coat and apply to climb Mount Everest.
“If you get lost, the correct approach is to stay put and wait for rescuers,” he said. The missing individuals on the Xinjiang Cheshi Ancient Road ended up on a “terrifying journey” precisely because they continued on their own after failing to contact the leader. Venturing blindly in unfamiliar terrain only increases danger and complicates rescue efforts.
A term Wang Tiannan repeatedly emphasized is “know your limits.” When participating in outdoor sports, everyone should first check whether the adventure level of the route matches their own capabilities. In addition to making adequate material preparations, they should gather as much information as possible to be well-informed. It’s also important to hire qualified professionals to organize and lead the trip, ensuring they have the ability to handle emergencies. Organizers, too, must not be careless—they should conduct certain adaptive training in advance and make every safety preparation possible.
Nowadays, adventure travel has spread across the country, with the fastest-growing segment being various types of self-guided tours—and these are also the most prone to problems. Wang Tiannan said that the current adventure travel market has many issues. For example, a single recruitment post can gather numerous strangers, resulting in temporary teams that are often disorganized and lack unity. Add to that a leader who lacks responsibility or has poor personal qualities, and the risk of danger becomes very high. Another issue with the AA system is that no one buys insurance—who is responsible if something goes wrong?
Therefore, Wang Tiannan suggests that the market should be regulated as soon as possible, particularly by improving the quality of team leaders, promoting commercial operations, strengthening management, and establishing rescue mechanisms. Only then can travelers’ lives be fully protected and “adventure travel” develop healthily.
Ying Gang, an adventure enthusiast from Xinjiang, said that exploration is not about conquest but about understanding and respecting nature. In 1997, at the send-off ceremony for China’s first successful ascent of Bogda Peak, the then-chairman of the Chinese Mountaineering Association and veteran explorer Zeng Shusheng’s words still hold meaning today: “Exploration is not adventure—you don’t need to pay with your life. If you can’t climb today, there’s always tomorrow. The mountain will still be there.”
Knowing when to advance and when to retreat is what makes true exploration. (Some materials sourced from Xinhua News Agency)
News Link
“Traveler” Mountain Climbing Organization Manual
Upon arriving at the destination, the team leader must assign personnel to clean the vehicle, check for forgotten items, and begin breakfast preparations. After daily breakfast and before the team departs, the leader must (1) re-explain the day’s itinerary overview and precautions during the trek, (2) determine the warm-up exercise duration based on the current temperature (the warm-up must last at least ten minutes to prevent leg cramps or exhaustion), and (3) appoint and announce the lead and tail guides, instructing team members not to overtake the lead guide or fall behind the tail guide. Team members must report to the lead guide upon reaching the destination to prevent anyone from getting lost without the organizer’s knowledge.
As the team proceeds toward the destination, various challenges may test the guides. There are no standard answers to solving these issues—it all depends on the guides’ on-the-spot adaptability.
During the trek, when the leader or guides encounter other teams, they must greet them proactively. If encountering an oncoming team, they should ask about the latest mountain conditions, such as mountain huts, water sources, and trail status. When meeting a team traveling in the same direction, they should exchange information about their climbing routes and occasionally support each other—mountaineering is also about making friends.
Geographical Landscape Introduction
When the team reaches a location with a wide view or during rest periods, the guides must introduce the surrounding landscape and map orientation to help team members understand the general scenery of the area and basic map reading.
Pace and Breathing Regulation
Within the first kilometer of the trek, the leader must remind team members (1) to maintain a moderate pace, regulate breathing, avoid mouth-breathing as much as possible, keep stride width within shoulder width, and for guides to monitor team members’ conditions, and (2) to remove any unnecessary warm clothing.
Rest
During the trek, the team must take several breaks to adjust members’ stamina and maintain overall control. The leader and guides should decide based on conditions, with basic guidelines being (1) if the gap between the front and rear of the team is too large, the lead guide should increase the frequency of breaks and shorten their duration to close the gap, (2) each guide must ensure they can see at least a quarter to a third of the team within their line of sight; otherwise, they should call for a break to regroup, preventing middle members from straying onto wrong paths or forming independent exploration groups, and (3) rest areas must accommodate the guide and surrounding team members. Guides should decide whether to have team members rest in a line or cluster based on terrain—not just plop down wherever looks best, as doing so without considering others’ space or blocking passage is considered selfish. Rest periods vary by situation but should generally not exceed five minutes, and members should not wait until they feel cold before moving on.
During the Trek
To rest, backpacks can be placed on boulders, fallen logs, or tree trunks for easier shoulder re-adjustment. If placing the backpack on the ground, bend the knees into a half-squat, move the backpack to the thighs, insert the right hand into the right shoulder strap to shift the weight, then the left hand into the left strap. This method is only suitable for backpacks under 25 kg—for heavier loads, it’s better to sit and lift the pack.
Recording
The leader must assign someone to complete written and photographic records using the activity log form. Written records should include a timeline of the day’s events and a travelogue detailing the day’s trail conditions, campsites, water sources, and landscape overview. Photo records must include at least (1) mountain scenery, (2) trail conditions, (3) team activities, and (4) camp life.
Equipment Redistribution
After about an hour of trekking, the lead guide can assess the team’s stamina and confirm the availability of cooking equipment and food for the day. The lead group must have at least one set of cooking gear; otherwise, they must wait for redistribution before proceeding. This prevents scenarios where the lead group arrives at a lodge without cooking equipment or tent setup capability.
The leader upon reaching the destination must assign tasks: (1) Prepare afternoon tea or dinner, (2) Start roll call, so that team members will gather, and also let those behind know the leader has started cooking, which will naturally prompt them to quicken their pace.
The rear guard must carry medical supplies, as the trailing group tends to have lower stamina and is more prone to issues, especially minor injuries like abrasions. The rear guard needs to understand each person’s condition, inspire their potential when appropriate, and handle any issues within the trailing group entirely, reporting back to the leader only afterward. Any disputes must wait until the debriefing meeting; no arguments should occur during the activity.
Getting lost
It is rare for teams traveling traditional mountain hiking routes to get lost, as these trails usually have markers from hiking clubs. Even at forks, there may be tree trunks placed as barriers, and open scree fields or riverbeds often have stacked rocks indicating the path. The main reason hikers get lost is taking shortcuts or choosing wrong turns in forest trails. In such cases, simply backtrack along the original path, reassess, and then proceed again.
Teams taking non-traditional routes are more likely to get lost. Such exploratory routes are not advisable in bad weather.
Arrow Bamboo Forest Trail
Small teams on exploratory or training activities often navigate through arrow bamboo groves or tall grass. The physical and mental strain on the leader is considerable, and a slight lapse in attention can easily lead to wrong turns and unforeseen mistakes. Team members behind the leader must promptly offer corrections, while the overall leader should rotate the leading role periodically to prevent the whole team from being misled or overexerting an individual, which could slow the team’s pace or lead to dangerous areas.
Night navigation training
Regardless of the team type, it is best to schedule a daytime light-load hike in the early morning. The goal is to train team members in using headlamps for climbing, allowing them to find their own sense of movement. The night navigation period should not exceed two hours, otherwise participants may become too tired and sleepy.
Hypothermia treatment
During the trek, if the weather turns severe, team members may develop hypothermia. Typically, you’ll notice their gait becoming unsteady, as if they’re walking drunk. At this point, immediate steps must be taken to ensure their safety, generally by: (1) Taking out heat packs (each team member should carry at least three), using them according to instructions, and placing them on the patient’s chest near the heart once warmed up. (2) Using a stove to boil water or carrying a thermos to prepare sweet drinks such as ginger soup.
If a team member is semi-conscious or unconscious, combine two sleeping bags. Place two heat packs on the hypothermic person’s chest. Crucially, the person must be stripped of all outer clothing, and another person should also remove their outerwear to share body heat by closely embracing the hypothermic individual. Everyone should take turns providing warmth, while continuously drinking ginger soup to stay warm. If the person remains unconscious, soak their feet in warm water, ensuring the temperature remains stable.
Altitude sickness treatment
The pre-trip meeting must advise all participants to sleep well and eat properly two days before departure. Maintaining a normal routine can reduce the occurrence of altitude sickness. Altitude sickness is caused by the body’s inability to adapt to external atmospheric pressure. Each person’s tolerance varies. The solution is to have those affected rest in place or descend about 10 meters for around half an hour, then assess whether to continue. If they can manage to walk, it’s best to wait until reaching camp to address the issue.
Conclusion
Returning from the campsite to the trailhead marks the end of the activity, making it even more important to keep track of everyone. Count heads both when leaving the camp and upon reaching the trailhead to avoid leaving anyone behind. Do a final headcount before getting into vehicles.
Getting close to nature is what everyone looks forward to on holidays—a moment to find peace and appreciate the beauty of the world. However, lack of wilderness experience often prevents people from fully enjoying it. Accumulating outdoor experience relies not only on stories from others or information from books but, more importantly, on personal experience. In natural settings, avoid acting impulsively or driven by a refusal to back down. Stay calm, think clearly, act cautiously, and you’ll naturally overcome any challenges. Wilderness knowledge isn’t based on fixed standards or perfect manuals—it’s about how you flexibly apply your mind and make use of the gear and equipment you have.
Images ①②③: Beautiful scenery of the Kubuqi Desert
Image ④: Explorer’s backpack
Image ⑤: Site where Ning Qian met her accident
Author: Zhou Kan