Yangshuo's rep climbing the ranks

Yangshuo in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, has seized the opportunities generated from its booming climbing industry over recent years and hosted a range of regional and international events to become a better-known must-see outdoor sports destination.

The county in South China ranked top on the list of the most beautiful counties in the country, according to a report recently released by the Hong Kong-based China Institute of City Competitiveness. It is the third year in a row that Yangshuo has won the title.

The county made its name as a mecca for rock climbers since the 1990s, thanks to its dramatic scenery of craggy limestone towers and caverns.

Since Todd Skinner, a late well-known free climber from the United States, set Yangshuo's first climbing route on Moon Hill in 1992, the county's climbing industry has experienced rapid development in the past two decades.

Yangshuo is now home to 10 certified climbing clubs and more than 1,000 climbing routes, attracting thousands of rock climbing enthusiasts to visit.

Skinner "laid the foundations for the county to become a paradise for climbing in Asia", said Zhang Yong, deputy director of the Yangshuo Rock Climbing Association.

The Yangshuo Climbing Festival, an annual event launched in 2008, has so far attracted more than 10,000 participants.

The Yangshuo International Open Bouldering Tournament held in May attracted a total of 74 athletes from six countries and regions, including Thailand, Chile and Poland. The athletes include almost all of the top 10 male and female rock climbing athletes in China.

"Yangshuo is the best rock climbing destination in Asia and a paradise for a large number of players," said Przybysz Aleksandra from Poland, a silver medal winner in the women's group, who has visited the county many times. "It is my honor to attend the event and compete with the best players from around the world."

A challenge match of climbing crags was also held. Qu Haibin, champion of the men's challenge match, said he feels glad to win the title and will try new routes in Yangshuo to hone his skills.

Zhao Lei, an official at the mountaineering management center of the General Administration of Sport, said that more and more people are expected to try rock climbing after they watch the spectacular moves of the top players on the crags.

In November last year, the Yangshuo Maxi Race, a longdistance running competition, attracted more than 560 athletes from six countries, including France, Italy and South Korea, to compete on the 45.7-kilometer and 110-km routes.

Zhang Zhijian, secretary-general of the Chinese Mountaineering Association, said the event will further prove Yangshuo's capability of holding similar international events in the future.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/18/2016 page24)