Outdoor sports fuel summer economy amid karst landscapes in China

GUIYANG - Karst landscapes, typical in Southwest China's Guizhou province, have emerged as a magnet for adventurers and outdoor sports enthusiasts this summer, drawing crowds with their unique geological wonders.

SKY-HIGH LEAPS

"Come here, and you'll shoot a viral life highlight reel - guaranteed to go trending!" a travel blogger wrote on a short-video platform, describing a scenic area in Guizhou.

The Hou'er Tiankeng scenic area in Kaiyang county, a typical karst collapse sinkhole with a diameter of 300 meters and a vertical depth of 280 meters, has been transformed into an extreme sports park.

The Super Swing, the world's first extreme swing installed inside a sinkhole at the tourist attraction, boasts a vertical drop of 92 meters and has drawn crowds of visitors eager to try it.

"We release tickets in the early morning, and some people say they lose sleep over snatching them up," said general manager Wu Canhua. Due to its unique geographical environment, the area has a limited daily capacity and has implemented a reservation system since 2024.

While visitors walk along the mountain path, vines hang from the sinkhole's cliffs, with winding streams below. The empty space in between is divided by ropes, resembling a spider's web strung inside the sinkhole.

On the jumping platform, tourists, harnessed by two cables, took turns leaping into the sinkhole's depths. An FPV drone followed tourists closely, while a smartphone and a 360-degree panoramic camera captured moments from multiple angles.

Videos posted on social media by tourists sparked widespread attention and discussion. On Douyin, China's version of TikTok, related topics about Hou'er Tiankeng have exceeded 2 billion views, with some videos garnering more than 3 million likes.

"Long time no see, my brave and passionate self!" "Youth has no price tag - take the leap into the sinkhole." These are among the most popular comments on the trip after visitors challenged themselves.

"It was so thrilling. I felt like I was flying!" said Zhou Muning, a tourist from Chengdu. "I'd seen these extreme sports on short videos before, and I came specifically to try this time. The experience is unforgettable."

"Among our visitors, Gen Z makes up the largest group. We've catered to current filming and aesthetic trends, satisfying their desire to express themselves," Wu noted. "In the past, people traveled for a room or a view; now, they travel for an experience."

Centering on visitors' experience, the scenic area continues to enrich its offerings. Beyond the Super Swing, it also provides options like via ferrata climbing and cave exploration.

"We're adopting a three-dimensional development approach, aiming to offer visitors a layered experience," said Wu. A newly developed high-altitude pipe track project has been completed and is undergoing third-party safety assessments.

Shang Fajun, chief of the sports section in the county's culture and tourism bureau, said that the county fully leverages its mountain outdoor resources to promote deep integration of sports, culture and tourism.

Data shows that from January to June this year, the site received 107,000 visitors, with total sales exceeding 67.97 million yuan ($9.47 million).

"WATER ROLLER COASTERS"

In midsummer, the karst heartland of Southwest China resembles a naturally carved wonderland, where visitors drift with the waves, experiencing the wonder of excitement and tranquility.

At Luobei River in Guiding county, under a blue sky and white clouds, visitors put on life jackets and helmets, grab oars and board rafts to embark on a summer adventure amid green mountains and clear waters.

Guizhou, with its magnificent karst landforms, dense water networks, and steep gorges, ranks among China's top rafting destinations.

Luobei River, hailed by netizens as the Tongtian River in the ancient classic Journey to the West - renowned for its mythic perils and iconic episodes - boasts a perfect combination of karst gorges and dynamic hydrology. A rafting journey of over ten kilometers allows visitors to savor the joy of mountains and waters in a "crack of the earth."

The river, with a relatively wide channel, drops some 88 meters from start to finish. Its course includes seven major rapids - one with an 8-meter drop - making it perfect for rafting.

Huang Runcheng, general manager of the raft operator, said that to ensure visitors' safety, the company has deployed 66 lifeguards along both sides of the river and equipped four inflatable rescue boats for rapid response to emergencies. All lifeguards have received training in rapid water and flood rescue and are stationed along the seven major rapids.

In the heat of summer, the parking lot at the visitor service center is filled with cars from across the country. Huang noted that since the company reopened for rafting on June 20 this year, it has welcomed 35,000 visitors, a nearly 10-fold year-on-year increase.

"The more activities we offer, the better the experience," Huang said. Since resuming rafting in 2023, the site has focused on a "sports + adventure + outdoor" model, using rafting as a pivot to expand diverse outdoor activities and experiences, developing new projects such as water swings, deep-water diving platforms and electric paddle boards.

As rafts reached the endpoint, many visitors, soaked to the skin, still chose to dive into the water even amid light rain.

Xiong Peng, from Liupanshui city, has been selling local snacks, waterproof bags, sun hats and other items at the rafting starting point since late June. He said that during the summer vacation, as long as the weather is fine, visitors pour in, with weekend sales reaching 3,000 to 4,000 yuan a day.

Ma Yun, deputy director of the county's culture and tourism bureau, said that from a single rafting project to a composite experience of "rafting + folk customs" and "rafting + research," the county is continuously improving tourism quality to make every visitor's "wave-chasing journey" an unforgettable memory.

With diverse and innovative activities ranging from sky-high adventures to underground explorations, the mountainous province's summer economy is brimming with vitality. From January to June 2025, the total number of tourists across the province increased by 8.2 percent year-on-year, and the total tourism spending grew by 10.6 percent year-on-year.