Winter sports finds favor

Hao Shuaifei, an avid climber, goes up a frozen waterfall during the competition.[Photo by Wei Xiaohao/China Daily]

In China, ice climbing is growing in popularity, especially among the young. Zhang Zefeng reports.

Armed with ice axes and crampons, climbers scale a 25-meter-high frozen waterfall. Their bodies are supported only by their equipment. And below them lies a frozen lake stretching across the base of a mountain.

You may think that this is a scene from an adventure movie like Touching the Void or Meru, but this is what a group of thrill-seekers experienced at an ice climbing competition on the outskirts of Yunmengxia Valley, Miyun county, in Beijing, over Feb 11-12.

Speaking about the event, Yu Kaihao, the event organizer, says: "We want to offer a platform to amateurs to learn from elite climbers.

"You never know how good you are until you meet the best."

In China, ice climbing is growing in popularity, especially among the young.

And, the number of ice climbers has grown from a few hundred to around 6,000 in recent years.