Video | Rock climbing in China: why Yangshuo is the best place to go as the sport booms in Guangxi province
Climbers from around the world are visiting Yangshuo county to experience its lofty peaks and unique rock formations, contributing to a rock-climbing revolution that is seeing many new facilities developed
Bristling with lofty and precipitous peaks, Yangshuo county in China’s Guangxi province is frequented by rock-climbing enthusiasts from around the world.
Following the International Olympic Committee’s 2016 announcement that climbing will become an official medal-winning event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the largest-ever rock-climbing event in China was held on Yangshuo’s Wine Bottle Cliff in August that year.
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For two days, veteran climbers and small children buckled up and clambered up sheer crags, with some untethered free climbers diving into nearby waters after their arduous ascents.
With its abundant countryside natural rock formations, Guangxi has been promoting rock climbing to boost residents’ health and help nurture top-notch climbers to pursue Olympic glory for the country.
The Yunqi Sports Climbing Centre opened last September in the provincial capital of Nanning. The 300 square metre (3,230 square foot) venue is the largest artificial rock-climbing centre in Guangxi, with indoor and outdoor climbing walls up to 15 metres high of varying levels of difficulty.
For 10 yuan (US$1.60), novices can don safety equipment and can try to reach the top of the eight-metre indoor flat climbing wall under an instructor’s guidance. Those with more derring-do and stamina can tackle the indoor convex slopes, or the three-storey-high outdoor climbing wall under the blistering sun.
