Xinhua News Agency, Yangbajing, Tibet, May 2 (Sports) — Title: A Yearning That Soars High — The Mountaineering Passion of Three Enthusiasts at the Tibet Spring Mountaineering Festival
By Xinhua reporters She Yonggang and Lai Yuchen
What is mountaineering for?
Is it to feel the grandeur and majesty of the mountains?
Or to reveal the unpredictable wonder of human nature through encounters with nature?
Or simply because the mountain is there?
At the Yangbajing Alpine Training Base of the Tibet Mountaineering Team, three participants in the Tibet Spring Mountaineering Festival shared their personal insights on mountaineering.
Hu Jianzhong from Shandong: Love for Nature
Hu Jianzhong, a mountaineering enthusiast from Shandong, is 55 years old. He said he climbs because of his love for nature.
“I’ve loved nature since I was young,” Hu said. In the early 1980s, when few people ventured into famous mountains and rivers, and when monthly salaries were only a few dozen yuan, the then 20-something Hu used every bit of his saved wages to travel by green trains heading in all directions.
Having read Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” as a child, he traveled to Africa in 2011 and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, reaching the highest point on the continent. The aspiration he had made at age 20 became clear again — to climb all the world’s famous mountains.
Hu often pays attention to news about other climbers’ accidents and fatalities, well aware of the dangers that come with climbing. He has seen many graves of heroes who never left the mountains, yet none could stop him from moving forward.
“My only regret is that I started too late,” Hu said at the Yangbajing Alpine Training Base.
For the dream planted in his heart since childhood, Hu has never stopped traveling.
Zhong Sheng’ai from Inner Mongolia: For a Greater Soul
Zhong Sheng’ai, a 34-year-old mountaineer from Inner Mongolia, said he climbs for a greater soul.
The idea of attending the Tibet Mountaineering Festival had lingered in Zhong’s mind for five or six years. The most recent edition, in 2009, almost saw him sign up, but various reasons prevented him from going.
He said his interest in climbing was somewhat influenced by entrepreneur Wang Shi, who, while managing his business, never neglects refining his sentiment and purifying his soul in nature — a spirit that deeply moved him.
However, in Zhong’s eyes, mountaineering is not just a refined pastime, but also possesses a rougher kind of beauty. “Danger tempts me,” Zhong believes. It is precisely because of the risks and the immense uncertainties of nature that he is driven to immerse himself in its mysterious embrace.
“It’s like swimming — some prefer the pool, while others choose the ocean,” Zhong said. Mountaineering can transform one’s soul, and the constant self-challenge helps cultivate stronger willpower. This is what makes mountaineering eternally magical and captivating.
Zhou Fei from Sichuan: No More Burdens in the Heart
Zhou Fei, a 25-year-old mountaineer from Sichuan, said climbing has freed his heart of worries.
Zhou considers himself restless. Barely 18 in 2005, he began solo backpacking trips, and since then, he has hit the road at least twice a year. He has been to Tibet twice, in 2010 and 2011, making this mountaineering festival his third visit to this ancient and mystical land.
He said his love for climbing was first sparked by posts about the activity on the Tianya forum. The magnificent scenes described in those posts deeply moved and attracted him.
“Stand higher, and your heart will open up,” Zhou said.
Tired of the trivialities of daily life and puzzled by people’s mutual distrust and suspicion, Zhou turned to climbing. In nature’s ever-embracing and vast bosom, he met others like him — people who share a love for nature, a fascination with endless journeys, and an open-hearted spirit. (End)