Picturesque Yangshuo is in Guangxi autonomous region, which is now world famous for the quality of its climbing. “If you come to Baisha crag here in Yangshuo,” said Farnworth, “at any time there will be a dozen Chinese climbers who climb 5.13 [elite difficulty grade]”.
But the pull of competition climbing is changing the scene.
“The same strong climbers who, four years ago, would quit their job and move to Yangshuo to climb, now stay in cities. They work, and climb indoors instead. Their goal is competitions,” said Farnworth.
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In the 2019 International Federation of Sport Climbing World Cup, 19-year-old Song Yuling won the overall female speed climbing title. Zhang Yutong and Pan Yufei both placed second in lead climbing in one of the stages.
Climbing Factory opened in Shanghai last year and is one of the largest climbing gyms in the country. One of the co-owners is Jiang Yizhen, a pioneer of Chinese climbing.
Jiang managed the first climbing gym in China that opened in 1997 at Hongkou Stadium in Shanghai. He said some models of imported climbing shoes are now so popular with Chinese climbers that the brands cannot keep up with the demand.
Shanghai alone, Jiang said, has about 30 climbing and bouldering gyms and about 300 smaller climbing walls, spread across colleges and schools.
His business partner, elite climber Aleksandra “Ola” Przybysz, is from Poland and has been resident in China for more than 10 years.
Przybysz said children are driving the growth as “parents think climbing builds character”.
“Around 2008, in all of Beijing there were three kids climbing,” she said. “Now a local competition in Shanghai has 200 to 300. There are some incredibly talented kids coming through.”
Przybysz said many parents “want me to push their kids in training” so they can become elite climbers.
But Jiang said not all parents are pushing their children. “Kids really love it. Parents want them to have fun. If kids want to become champions, it is up to them.”
Climbing champions can win good money, with “10,000 yuan (HK$11,967/US$1,500) very standard for the win, which is better than anywhere in the world”, said Przybysz. “There are competitions every weekend. It is a good time to be a climber in China.”
Anyone who thinks they are good enough can register with the Chinese Mountaineering Association (CMA) as a professional climber. But professionals are not always welcome at smaller competitions, unless there is a separate category, Przybysz said.
All professional climbers must be members of an official climbing club registered with the local sports authorities. There is fierce competition among clubs and those with generous commercial sponsors lure climbers away from their rivals.
If you do well in competitions, you can get scouted by your provincial or city team, said Jiang, and be able to dedicate all your time to climbing.
The business side of climbing is also growing.
The cost of attending a climbing gym is on a par or higher than in Europe – it is standard even for small bouldering gyms to charge 100 yuan per day’s climbing. Annual gym memberships cost between 3,000 and 4,000 yuan.
The services of route setters – experts who design indoor climbing routes by arranging climbing holds in specific sequences and positions – also cost more than in Europe, according to Przybysz.
Production of artificial climbing holds for gyms is also developing fast. Until recently if you wanted good holds, imported ones were the only choice, but Chinese brands have caught up in the past two years, said Jiang.
“Now there are more than 10 domestic brands in China, with 70 per cent of holds used in gyms are now made and designed in China. Designed, not copies! The cost is 30 per cent of imported ones, and they are 90 per cent as good as the best foreign holds,” Jiang said.
