"Come on!" "You're the best!" "Oh yeah!"

From May 24 to 26, in the picturesque Wanxian Mountain Scenic Area in Huixian County, Xinxiang, Henan Province, where the peaks are competing and overlapping, cheers and shouts echoed in the mountains.

The children are in the game. Pictures provided by the sponsor

Here, the 2024 National Youth U Series Rock Climbing League is being held. A total of 82 teams and 252 players from 22 provinces, autonomous regions and cities participated in the competition of U11, U13 and U15 according to their ages. Each group was divided into men's and women's groups, including speed race, difficulty race, rock climbing race and all-around race.

In the three-day fierce competition, the young athletes constantly challenged themselves, fought bravely and chased each other on the court. The cheers and cheers of the audience rose one after another on the court, which was very lively and played a high spirited and cheerful song of youth together.

This competition combines the characteristics of youth competition, and divides the difficulty competition and rock climbing competition into two rounds: preliminary and final. The preliminary is an open competition, and the final is an isolated competition; In the biathlon, the ranking is determined by calculating the difficulty and rock climbing. There is no other competition. Young athletes not only compete fiercely on the court, but also make friends happily off the court. While enjoying the fun of the game, they also gain friendship and grow.

Yang Ker, the champion of the U13 Women's Difficulty Competition from Shenzhen, told reporters that the reason why she likes climbing is that it is very exciting, and she feels very happy when climbing up and looking down. Yin Yanhui, her team coach, told the People's Daily Online that Yang Ke'er had basically played his personal level in the competition. The country is now vigorously popularizing and developing rock climbing. Teenagers have more and more competition opportunities, which has a good role in promoting their level. Zhang Jianglong of the U13 men's group is from Liaoning. His father accompanied him to the event site. He and his son went to the scenic area to play outside the competition. The children enjoyed themselves and made many new friends. "I always accompany him when he likes".

Yang Ker is in the game. Pictures provided by the sponsor

The 2023 Analysis Report on China's Rock Climbing Industry released by the China Mountaineering Association not long ago shows that China's youth rock climbing enthusiasts are developing rapidly, and the scale of the event has reached a record high. Among them, the 2023 National Youth Rock Climbing Open (Zhejiang Jiangshan Station) and the 2023 National Youth U Series Rock Climbing League (Chongqing Jiulongpo Station) reached new heights with 716 and 796 participants respectively. The National Youth U Series Rock Climbing League held in Meishan, Sichuan this season has set up a whole group (6 age groups) and a whole project (4 projects), with a record number of 806 participants.

Ding Xianghua, director of the Youth Department of the Mountain Climbing Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China and secretary-general of the China Mountain Climbing Association, told reporters that at present, the popularity of rock climbing among young people in China is very good, and young people are very enthusiastic about participating in the competition. In order to meet everyone's participation needs, they have spent a lot of energy coordinating resources from all parties, including local governments and tourist attractions, Provide a series of high-quality competition platforms and competition opportunities. This Wanxian Mountain race is limited by the venue and reception capacity, and only three groups of the senior age group have been set up. However, in the future, the race period may be extended to cover all groups and events by exchanging time for space.

The children are in the game. Pictures provided by the sponsor

The event is held in Wanxian Mountain Scenic Area, which is located in the hinterland of Taihang Mountain in the northwest of Huixian City, Henan Province. It belongs to the South Taihang Tourist Resort in Xinxiang, with a forest coverage rate of more than 95%. The air is fresh, the environment is beautiful, the peaks are stacked, the waterfalls are singing, and the ancient villages, stone walls, and caves are dotted in it, like a fairyland, known as the "Pearl of Taihang". This place has an indissoluble bond with rock climbing: in 1996, Wanxian Mountain became connected with rock climbing for the first time and held the fourth national rock climbing championship; In 2010, Wanxian Mountain National Rock Climbing Park was established, becoming the first and only national rock climbing park in China; From 2014 to 2018, large-scale rock climbing events at home and abroad were held, such as the National Rock Climbing Competition, the Asian Cup Rock Climbing Competition, and the "Belt and Road" International Rock Climbing Masters Competition; In 2023, the National Youth Rock Climbing League was successfully held for the first time.

It is understood that this event is also the full implementation of the requirements of the "sports events into scenic spots, streets, and business districts" jointly carried out by the General Administration of Sport, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China, so that the participants of the event can "travel with the event" after the event, and transform the "flow" brought by the event into the "increment" of the economy, Contribute to sports for the continuous expansion of consumption.

Yue Xuezhen, manager of the marketing department of Xinxiang South Taihang Tourism Co., Ltd., told people.com.cn that Wanxian Mountain Scenic Area has a good rock climbing tradition and resources. They found through practice that holding youth rock climbing competitions is more conducive to improving the brand awareness of the scenic area. In addition, children are usually accompanied by their parents and even mobilized by the whole family. In addition to participating in the competition, they will also travel in depth, which is beneficial to promoting the development of local cultural tourism and rural revitalization.

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