Thrill-seekers embrace new wave of hair-raising sports

The height of fashion

The accessibility of venues and its appeal to fitness fanatics have paved the way for more urban Chinese to dip their toes into extreme sports from the relative safety of their entry levels.

Almost every day at 8pm, an adrenaline-pumping rush hour begins at the O'le Climbing Gym located in southwest Beijing's Sihui area, near the capital's Central Business District.

Urbanites ranging from students to office workers scale a 12.5m-high artificial rock wall, wrenching themselves upwards with harnesses as a pop-music soundtrack blares in the background.

Xu Xiaonan, a half-year membership card holder of the club, which opened in 2008, has embraced the energy-sapping exercise as a way to toughen her mind and body after a long day at the office.

"It looks so masculine and difficult but it's quite accessible from the beginner level where you can start from doing strength exercises on the ground and then graduate to shorter walls," said Xu, who took up climbing in 2015.

Offering affordable fees of 65 yuan ($10) for a one-day admission and 240 yuan for a one-on-one training session of 1.5 hours, the club has attracted over 500 regular members and demand is soaring.

"I've noticed that this place is getting more crowded in peak hours and the club has opened a second gym in northeast downtown Beijing. More and more people seem to be taking up climbing," said Xu.

According to the mountaineering administrative center of the General Administration of Sport, there are at least 100,000 amateur climbers in the country now and 200 registered athletes.

Although the number pales in comparison to other mainstream sports like running and badminton, the governing body envisages a sharp increase, with more facilities being built in schools, fitness clubs, shopping malls and public parks around the country.

"The popularity will only go up as the public, young and old, look to more individual and fresh choices of fitness activities. Climbing caters to the growing need for accessible and affordable participation," said Li Guowei, an official from the center in charge of sport climbing.