From September 19–20 in Yangshuo, Guangxi, stories of “deep rock addiction” from around the world were vividly brought to life at the 2015 Kailas Yangshuo Rock Climbing Festival.
Photo: Opening Ceremony of the 2015 Kailas Yangshuo Rock Climbing Festival
Since 1992, when American climber Todd Skinner established the first sport climbing route in Yangshuo’s Moon Hill — a 5.10d with a second pitch of 5.12d — pioneering outdoor climbing in China, the spirit of climbing has been woven into Yangshuo’s very essence. To date, nearly 40 developed mountains and 700–800 routes are available for equipped climbing. The magical karst landscape has made Yangshuo a prime destination for climbers. It’s a place every climbing enthusiast should visit at least once in their lifetime — a universally acknowledged truth among the global climbing community.
Photo: International climbing elites tackling routes of varying difficulty
But climbers’ desire to “make a pilgrimage” stems not only from the allure of the rocks and routes, but also from the call of the people and the culture of climbing in Yangshuo. The people here refer not just to domestic climbing legends like A’Cheng, A’Bang, Zhang Yong, and Qiu Jiang, who have long made Yangshuo their home, but also to those unsung heroes hidden in the everyday streets. Take Wu Bai, the resident singer at a West Street bar — you might have heard him sing, but you probably didn’t know he’s climbed a 5.14b route. Or the breakfast stall owner by the roadside, whose charming hands make exquisite dumplings — you’d never guess she’s one of the few female climbers in China capable of conquering a 5.12d. Then there’s the man selling jewelry and grinding hairpins on County Front Street at night, or Ah Xing beating drums and selling CDs at the osmanthus lane entrance... These climbing enthusiasts come to Yangshuo, make a living by night, and spend their daylight hours scaling the cliffs as climbing “addicts.” “The real masters are among the people,” as Zhang Yong, head of the Yangshuo Climbing School, repeatedly emphasized during the Climbing Lecture on the evening of the 19th.
Photo: Principal Zhang’s Climbing Lecture
For those who love climbing, who wouldn’t want to meet these “Shaolin sweeping monks” hidden in the alleys? Andreas Aufschnaiter from Austria is one of the many international elites invited by Kailas to the Yangshuo Climbing Festival. As the 2014 Austrian Speed and Mixed Climbing Champion and winner of multiple European Climbing World Cup events, Andreas has climbed not only in his hometown but also in France and Spain. This wasn’t his first time in China, but when asked about his most unforgettable climbing experience, he said, “It’s this climbing festival. From the moment I received the invitation from Kailas, I was thrilled. There are so many routes to climb and so many experts to exchange ideas with.”
Photo: Austrian climber Andreas Aufschnaiter
Ma Zida, a member of the Chinese National Climbing Team and a Kailas-sponsored athlete, was equally excited about exchanging ideas with climbers from around the world. Earlier this year, Kailas sent him to various climbing gyms in Korea for learning exchanges. “In a place as small as Seoul, there are more climbing gyms than in all of China,” he noted. Ma, who graduated from university just this summer, has a great “addiction story” of his own. “When I was 13, my dad got a gym membership card, but he never used it — I did, and I’ve been climbing ever since.”
This edition of the Yangshuo Climbing Festival featured not only dazzling slackline performances, EDM parties, and traditional events like redpoint climbing and bouldering competitions, but also introduced a new “Deep Water Soloing” experience on the Lao’ai Mountain Bridge.Ma Zida had said the night before that he was afraid of catching a cold and wouldn’t try it, but seeing foreign athletes climb and leap into the water again and again with such enthusiasm on the morning of the 19th, he couldn’t help but join in. The electric atmosphere influenced many spectators, who began trying their hand at climbing and joined the “bridge jumpers.”
Photo: Chinese National Climbing Team athlete Ma Zida
Photo: The breathtaking and thrilling “Deep Water Soloing” event
“Life is an upward journey” — a sign placed at the beginners’ starting point. And high up on the mountain hung a banner that read: “Just to Climb.”
The 2015 Kailas Yangshuo Rock Climbing Festival not only built an independent, healthy, joyful, and broad-minded platform for climbing enthusiasts from around the world, but also planted the “Just to Climb” seed in the hearts of many who had never known what climbing was. Notably, the Yangshuo Climbing Festival organizing committee allocates half of each participant’s registration fee to a climbing fund. To date, over 200 new routes have been developed and more than 100 existing ones maintained through the Yangshuo Climbing Fund.
As a professional outdoor brand, Kailas has always taken it upon itself to promote China’s climbing endeavors. Since 2003, it has driven numerous public welfare projects including the “Kailas Unclimbed Peaks Project” and the “Kailas Mountaineering & Exploration School,” nurturing a large pool of key reserve talents for China’s mountaineering and outdoor sports. Moreover, Kailas also sponsors a variety of outdoor professional events including mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing, and cross-country challenges, making significant contributions to the development of China’s outdoor sports and climbing industry.