On the evening of December 2, 2014, the Golden Frame Awards of the “Travel Channel 2014 Explorer Image Festival” concluded at the Rulun Lecture Hall of Renmin University of China. That night, Wang Jing, a renowned Chinese female mountaineer and co-founder of outdoor brand Toread, was awarded the “Outdoor Personality of the Year” for her exploits during the “Earth Nine Summits (9+2) Challenge.” Sharing the award with her was extreme runner Chen Penbin, the first person to complete the “Seven Continents Extreme Marathon Grand Slam.”
2014 Explorer Image Festival Golden Frame Awards Conclude — Female Mountaineer Wang Jing [second from right] and Extreme Runner Chen Penbin [second from left] Jointly Awarded “Outdoor Personality of the Year”
2014 Explorer Image Festival Golden Frame Awards Conclude — Female Mountaineer Wang Jing [right] and Extreme Runner Chen Penbin [left] Jointly Awarded “Outdoor Personality of the Year”
The Explorer Image Festival was established in 2011 by Travel Channel’s program “Explorer,” based on the philosophy of “Everyone is an Explorer.” It is an annual visual celebration in the fields of mountain outdoor activities, environmental conservation, and cultural travel. As Asia’s largest outdoor-themed media festival to date, the Golden Frame Awards of the “Travel Channel 2014 Explorer Image Festival” focus on outstanding Chinese works and figures in outdoor exploration, environmental protection, and humanistic-themed filmmaking. This year marks its fourth edition. Over the past four years, the Explorer Image Festival has selected numerous exceptional works and individuals, serving as a strong support for adventurers like Wang Jing who are “always on the road.” Unlike previous years, the theme of the 2014 Travel Channel Explorer Image Festival is “Never Stop,” which, while continuing to promote the “spirit of the explorer,” incorporates more musical elements. Seven of China’s most travel-inspired singers — Hanggai Band, Xu Fei, Mo Shiqishi, Wan Xiaoli, Wei Xueman, Chen Ming, and Xu Wei — attended to deliver a “visual, auditory & spiritual” feast for the audience.
Chinese female mountaineer Wang Jing was honored as the “Outdoor Personality of the Year” at the 2014 Explorer Image Festival. On January 15, 2014, she arrived at the South Pole to begin her “Earth Nine Summits (9+2)” adventure. On June 6, she summited the final pole — Mount McKinley — completing the entire challenge in 143 days, breaking the previous record of 196 days set by American Richard Parks. The “Earth Nine Summits (9+2)” refers to an extreme expedition that involves climbing the highest peaks on all seven continents and trekking to both the North and South Poles. In addition to the conventional 7+2, Wang Jing also summited two globally disputed highest peaks during this period — Australia’s Kosciuszko and Europe’s Mont Blanc.
Within just 143 days, Wang Jing overcame extreme conditions including ice, freezing temperatures, altitude sickness, and avalanches. With the unyielding determination of a “Chinese female Sherpa,” she successfully reached the summits of the highest peaks on each continent: Vinson Massif in Antarctica, Aconcagua in South America, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Carstensz Pyramid in Oceania, Everest in Asia, Mount Elbrus in Europe, and Mount McKinley in North America. She also reached both the North and South Poles, becoming the bravest adventurer to complete the “Earth Nine Summits Challenge” in the shortest time. Throughout the challenge, Wang Jing also documented her journey from a unique perspective, acting not only as an outdoor adventurer but also as a chronicler of the expedition. At the Golden Frame Awards annual gala, Wang Jing said emotionally, “As an explorer, I am and will always be someone who is on the road.”
(2014 Explorer Image Festival Golden Frame Awards Conclude — Female Mountaineer Wang Jing Awarded “Outdoor Personality of the Year”)
In her acceptance speech, Wang Jing shared that her original motivation for embarking on the Earth Nine Summits challenge was to investigate human pollution and ecological conditions in extreme environments, aiming to find feasible solutions for future environmental actions in such regions. Additionally, as a co-founder of Toread, a leading domestic outdoor brand, Wang Jing has long been dedicated to providing outdoor enthusiasts with practical and comfortable gear through the brand, encouraging more people to embrace outdoor life as explorers. Her multifaceted identity in outdoor activities, environmentalism, public welfare, and culture aligns perfectly with the Explorer Image Festival’s bold exploration in these four domains. Moreover, the summit data and experience she has shared with the public and fellow explorers represent invaluable resources that the Explorer Image Festival has long sought to gather.
In addition to the “Outdoor Personality of the Year” award, the Golden Frame Awards of the 2014 Travel Channel Explorer Image Festival also presented accolades for “Best Outdoor Film,” “Annual Public Welfare Event,” “Best Travel Film,” and “Annual Public Welfare Film.” Outstanding outdoor productions such as “Come On, Potala” and “One Day” received recognition.