Creative
No need to go outdoors for rock climbing—you can show off your skills right on the walls of your own home. Have you seen it? Recently, Deng Lin, a rock climbing enthusiast in Wenjiang’s Nanxun Avenue Section 2 Xingsheng Jiayuan residential community, has been planning her own “home rock climbing gym”: she’s transforming the walls on both sides of her dining room into rock surfaces and installing climbing holds of various sizes for practice. This unconventional home renovation not only serves as a decorative wall but also lets you satisfy your climbing urge by scaling the wall to your heart's content.
Outdoor Enthusiast Turns Wall Into a Rock Climbing Wall
A reporter visited Deng Lin’s home on the second floor of Building 12 in Wenjiang’s Xingsheng Jiayuan and was drawn to two uniquely decorated walls: two walls approximately 3 meters in length and width had been painted in bright colors such as purple, orange, and yellow, with sloped surfaces angled at about 45 degrees in the middle; the walls were dotted with climbing holds in various shapes, including hippos and skulls, fixed in place with screws.
“This is a bouldering wall,” explained 27-year-old Deng Lin. Bouldering is a form of rock climbing where climbers scale walls no higher than 5 meters without ropes. As a rock climbing enthusiast, she had long dreamed of having her own “bouldering wall.” At the end of last year, she contacted a specialized wall renovation team to transform the walls of her dining room into climbing surfaces.
Chengdu Business Daily reporters observed that the left side of the dining room wall was already covered with over a hundred climbing holds. On the right wall, small holes had been drilled. Deng Lin said that once the next batch of holds arrived, they would be installed.
Renovating a Rock Climbing Wall Costs Nearly 20,000 Yuan
Deng Lin explained that the two walls are connected by five climbing holds mounted on a crossbeam. Once all the holds are installed, she’ll be able to freely climb from one wall to the other. “It’s both a decorative wall and a climbing wall.”
According to Wang Zheng, head of the sports company responsible for renovating Deng Lin’s home, the two walls cover an area of nearly 20 square meters. Based on the market price of around 1,000 yuan per square meter, the cost came to nearly 20,000 yuan, and the entire project took about a week. Currently, although there aren’t many clients seeking such renovations, they span various fields including schools, military units, and real estate developments.
Climbing the Wall “From Scratch”—Challenging for Beginners
Deng Lin said that apart from her passion and love for the sport, she designed her “home climbing gym” to give herself more time to hone her climbing skills. As she spoke, Deng Lin rubbed her hands together and smoothly began climbing. Then, a Chengdu Business Daily reporter tried climbing too—but unexpectedly lost their footing on the third hold and landed on the mat laid out on the floor.
She also explained that typically, the distance between bouldering wall holds is around 25 centimeters, but the holds on her wall are spaced 30 centimeters apart. The greater spacing increases the difficulty; and if climbers want to switch between the two walls, they have to use the holds on the crossbeam, which is also quite challenging. So, although her bouldering wall is only 3 meters high, climbers still need technique and strength to conquer it—such as applying force with the toes when stepping on holds. “Whenever guests want to try the bouldering wall, I always lay down a mat on the floor.”
Reported by Chengdu Business Daily reporters An Liping, interns Lin Fei and Yan Shikang, photography by reportage team