Climbers aiming to reach for new heights

Internet search giant Baidu recently unveiled the top 10 online catchphrases for last year.

One of them, "Do you dare to climb mountains with me?", which comes from the popular online drama The Bad Kids, shone the spotlight on Liufeng Mountain in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, where the production was filmed.

With the pandemic largely under control in China, people are paying more attention to their health by resuming activities such as hiking and mountain climbing.

The emergence of outdoor sports in the country dates to the late 1950s, and in 1960, Chinese mountaineers first conquered Qomolangma, known as Mount Everest in the West, from the north face.

With preferential government policies launched to boost the sports industry, outdoor activities have been integrated with tourism and have developed rapidly in recent years.

The Chinese Mountaineering Association has been working hard in fields such as talent training, outdoor rescue work and infrastructure-building. Some 400 mountain climbing clubs in China are registered with the association.

However, in 2019, a report by the association on the nation's outdoor sports industry showed that 50 percent of respondents took part in hiking, mountain climbing and camping activities fewer than 10 times that year. Most parents also said they were willing for their children to engage in outdoor sports.

The report said a typical outdoor sports fan is a young or middle-aged male with a bachelor's degree, who has been employed for more than eight years.

Domestic destinations, including those in mountainous areas, are striving to use their rich natural resources to attract more visitors through tourism products, good service and facilities.

These venues include Mount Siguniang in Sichuan province, a popular spot for snow-mountain climbers. Annual ice climbing and other competitions are staged on the 6,250-meter mountain, where an operational system has been established for outdoor sports.

Meanwhile, in October, a conference on mountain sports was held in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

Experts and mountaineers from home and overseas discussed snow mountains and outdoor sports at the event, which was aimed at coming up with ideas to make Mount Siguniang an international destination.