“Either I’m on the wall, or I’m on my way to the wall.” This is what one rock climbing enthusiast from Zhongshan wrote on the homepage of their blog.
“Every nerve is tied to the rock; every thought is hanging on the cliff face.” Some rock climbing enthusiasts even adopt this as their personal motto.
As fanatically as some are obsessed with rock music or Super Girl contests, as devotedly as others love travel or flying – in Zhongshan, rock climbing has no shortage of followers.
A passion unleashed without bounds
“In my childhood dreams, for some reason, there were always images of climbing: hands gripping the rocks, the body straining upward along the cliff wall… Though I didn’t have access to rock climbing as a child, climbing walls could still bring me joy. If I’d had a game like rock climbing back then, how much satisfaction and happiness it would have brought me. Unable to suppress the urge in my heart, the dreams I once had and the passion modern people yearn to experience – the moment I approached the wall, touched it, and found the holds, I felt a passion being released without bounds…” This is an excerpt from the journal of “Feng,” one of Zhongshan’s younger generation of “crawlers” in the climbing scene, describing his feelings about the sport.
This tall, slim young man with a childlike, sunny smile is called Xiao Jie by many fellow young climbers. For Xiao Jie, rock climbing is as essential as food and air, so much so that many of his female friends joke, “Climbing is Xiao Jie’s lifelong spouse.”
Why such a deep obsession with rock climbing? Xiao Jie smiles and says, “When you climb using all four limbs, you’re tapping into your most primal potential. Stiff arms, numb fingers, trembling legs – these test your limits. It’s only when you’ve exhausted your last bit of strength and fall off the wall that you truly experience the thrill, the release of passion throughout your entire being. And when you push yourself to the very top, the sense of achievement from realizing your potential mingles with the exhilaration of surpassing yourself – that’s what fuels your next climb.”
It’s this passion for rock climbing that drives these “crawlers” to travel far and wide to try out different cliffs. “I think rock climbing will give me something beneficial for life: resilience and optimism. After all, ‘climbing’ is the immediate goal, but ‘joy’ is the ultimate purpose.” Rock climber Xi Long heads out to climb with his “comrades” in the climbing circle every weekend. During this year’s National Day Golden Week, Xi Long also plans to team up with Xiao Jie and a few other climbers to tackle the natural cliffs in Yangshuo.
Lifelong friends in the climbing circle
Xiao Jie, who has been climbing for two years now, stays in touch with his first climbing coach who introduced him to the sport. That former coach has since “switched careers” and now sells climbing gear.
Most of Xiao Jie’s current social circle consists of friends he met through climbing. And the people he climbs with come from all walks of life – there are those in advertising, government offices, IT companies, civil servants, and even foreigners. “If it weren’t for climbing, we probably wouldn’t have met at all.” In Xiao Jie’s view, climbing has enabled him to build such a diverse circle of friends.
Xiao Jie believes that friends made through climbing are completely different from those made at work. Work friends usually cooperate professionally, often driven by mutual interests, and once the workplace setting is left behind, their personal relationships tend to be quite ordinary. The climbing circle, however, is different – everyone comes together out of a shared passion, and there’s a genuine sense of camaraderie. While experiencing the joy of climbing, they exchange skills, share insights, and make progress through communication, discussion, and friendly competition.
“What’s more important is that climbing requires mutual cooperation among friends. For example, while climbing, someone has to provide belay support. Choosing who to trust with your safety means entrusting them with your life. Therefore, you’ll only trust your life to someone you completely trust – to some extent, that’s a bond of life and death, a level of trust you simply can’t find in the workplace,” says Xi Long.
Liberation shoes become the “favorite”
Many young people are keen on extreme sports, but bungee jumping isn’t practical, off-trail hiking is too dangerous and time-consuming. Nineteen-year-old climbing enthusiast Kang Zai says, “Then let’s go rock climbing.” Some expensive professional climbing gear is beyond the reach of “proletarian newcomers,” so everyone pools money to sponsor shared essentials like harnesses, climbing ropes, figure-eight descenders, carabiners, quickdraws, ascenders, climbing helmets, slings, etc. They throw on sporty clothes and a pair of light, thin shoes, then head to some low-cost theme parks or outdoor training camps in the suburbs for a taste of the climbing life.
Surprisingly, many climbers own a pair of “liberation shoes,” which are almost extinct in Zhongshan these days. Climbing requires shoes with thin, small soles, but professional climbing shoes are expensive, and shoes wear out quickly during practice. Affordable and durable liberation shoes or white canvas sneakers have thus become the top choice for climbers.
This isn’t just a man’s world
Friends familiar with A-Xin call her A-Mao because they feel it suits her outgoing personality and nimble movements, to the point that many have forgotten her real name.
A-Xin is 26 years old, but her climbing friends say her mental age is much younger – perhaps due to her sporty, adventurous, and outgoing nature. Whitewater rafting, skiing, swimming – these were all activities she used to enjoy frequently. But ever since she took up climbing, she’s had no time even for swimming, her former favorite. Now, given any spare time, she’s on the cliffs.
Female climbing enthusiasts like A-Xin are not rare in Zhongshan. Xiao Jie believes that many people misunderstand climbing – they think it’s a sport for men, an arm-strength activity. But in actual daily climbing practice, women often have an advantage over men. Since climbing requires the coordination of the whole body, strong legs, core power, and proper technique help climbers complete routes more smoothly. It’s common to see a burly man struggle to climb five meters, while a petite woman might conquer eight. The reason? Climbing isn’t about brute force – women know better how to use full-body coordination to assist their ascent.
Pain? Sunburn? But still addictive
“The skin on my hands is worn off – does it hurt?” “No pain – if you want to learn to climb well, you can’t be afraid of pain.” A-Xin shakes her head. Though she’s only been practicing for a few months, she’s utterly hooked. “I really envy climbers in Yangshuo – there are so many ideal places nearby to climb. In Zhongshan, aside from a few outdoor training camps, it’s hard to find natural cliffs nearby. My friends and I often drive around looking for places to climb.”
Climbing is addictive. A-Xin enjoys the challenge of enduring hardship while climbing. “If you’re climbing natural walls, you can’t fear sun exposure. Many girls don’t like the sun, but honestly, as long as you protect your skin with sunscreen, a bit of sun is good for you.”
■ Circle Stories
◎ Climber: Xiao Jie
◎ Occupation: Customer Service Manager
◎ Circle Quote: “We often deliberately design moves that are sometimes impossible to complete on the wall, then challenge ourselves to do them – even getting injured or going crazy with training for them. Honestly, we’re just a bunch of masochists.”
We are a bunch of masochists.
Two years ago, when Xiao Jie rushed to meet a client with a stack of materials in hand, he never imagined that this ordinary business meeting would lead to his passion for rock climbing. Xiao Jie worked at a large international freight company headquartered overseas, and on that day, he was meeting with one of the company’s major clients — an outdoor gear manufacturer.
A pile of rope product samples in the client’s office caught Xiao Jie’s curiosity. The client’s representative said these items were used for rock climbing. It was the first time Xiao Jie had seen rock climbing equipment and also the first time he’d heard the term. At that time, among Xiao Jie’s circle of friends, very few people truly understood rock climbing, let alone were enthusiasts of the sport.
Invited by the client, a few days later, Xiao Jie took part in a rock climbing event. There, he experienced the thrill of climbing, the joy of conquest, and the pleasure of challenge. From then on, he was hooked. As one avid climber commented on his blog: “Either I’m on the wall, or on my way to the wall.”
Rock climbing has almost taken up all of Xiao Jie’s holidays. Every weekend, he heads out with his “battle buddies” to an outdoor adventure training camp in the suburbs of Zhongshan to climb. For nearly a year, he and a few other climbers, including Xi Long, have made it a habit to spend their long holidays like “May Day” and “National Day” at outdoor climbing sites or natural cliffs elsewhere to enjoy the sport.
◎ Climber: A-Xin
◎ Occupation: Sales assistant
◎ Words from the climber: Experiencing the climb is a joy — it's a stage for self-expression. There are no set rules or rigid constraints. With just a main rope, a few tools, and a cliff under the blue sky and green fields, you can freely showcase yourself.
Found the feeling of pushing limits
Rock climbing has always been known as a beautiful yet thrilling extreme sport. But not everyone who climbs on the wall can truly experience the sensation of challenging their limits.
Outgoing by nature, A-Xin knows that feeling. During an impromptu rock climbing competition, provoked by another climber, she impulsively chose a route she had never tried before — one that was clearly beyond her ability level. Halfway up, she felt exhausted, her ligaments tearing, and her limbs weak as if they had no support. Yet the encouragement from fellow climbers watching below made the stubborn her unable to give up. She gritted her teeth and kept climbing. A-Xin doesn’t even remember how her body stretched and moved across the wall. When cheers finally erupted from the ground, she knew she had made it. That day, she truly understood what an extreme sport is.
◎ Rock Climbing Secrets
1. Be sure to trim your fingernails before climbing.
2. Tie up long hair tightly, or it might get caught in the equipment.
3. Remove any jewelry, especially hard or rigid pieces.
4. Rock climbing shoes should be about half a size smaller than your regular foot size. They should fit so snugly that your big toe is curled inward and can’t straighten — the tighter the shoe, the more stable your foot will be when exerting force.
5. Don’t skip the warm-up.
6. Staying relaxed during the climb is an effective way to conserve energy.
◎ Rock Climbing Tips
1. Keep your fingers together to grip holds securely.
2. Alternating the use of hands and feet saves energy, and occasionally “swinging” upward can make your effort more efficient.
3. Face the wall and keep your limbs spread out when descending to avoid bumping into the rock.
4. Observe the holds and plan your route before climbing to improve speed.
Photos in this article provided by interviewees.