Indoor rock climbing takes hold in Shanghai
Give a new meaning to "hanging" around Shanghai.Indoor rock climbing’s foothold in China started in Shanghai in 1998 when the Hengyi Indoors Rock Climbing Gym opened its doors in Shanghai, the first of its kind in China.
Today, “There are 5,000 people in Shanghai who actively participate in the sport,” says Zhuang Jin, one of the lead instructors at the gym.
And it’s continuing to grow.
The gym has 500 square meters of climbing surface suitable for everyone from beginners to pros. The main room has several climbing paths made with wooden panels with plastic holds as well as an artificial rock face for more of that outdoors feel.
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There is an area for boldering, climbing at a low height without the aid of ropes, and the rear of the gym has a series of walls at varying angles. One wall requires maneuvering through 90 degree turns on one’s way up to the roof of the gym.
The Hengyi Rock Gym has put itself at the center of the growing Shanghai rock climbing scene, even working with gym members on a blog, and helping to organize trips to a nearby rock climbing site in Zhejiang province.
In December the gym, as well as the Rock Dance Space climbing center, hosted a quarterly competition of over 100 climbers from every nook and cranny of China.
Tone your body, control your mind
Liu Yuan, who took first place in the quarterly rock climbing competition in December, has been hooked ever since he found the gym by accident two years ago.
“People come for the exercise but they also come to condition their mind. Climbing gives one a psychological boost and develops a stronger sense of will power,” he says, adding that this is the appeal that draws many people to the sport and can even change their lives.
“It’s easy to get started, anyone can do it. One can start from the small walls and work toward the higher ones; or one can start from lower angles and work toward larger ones.”
But people often have the wrong idea. “Rock climbing isn’t well understood in China, people think it’s quite dangerous,” says Zhuang Jin, who is working to change this perception.
It’s different than the West he says, “Where most people already have a sense of what rock climbing is all about.”
For many Chinese, their trip to this Shanghai rock climbing gym is the first time they’ve come face-to-face with the sport. But rock climbing is addictive, says Zhuang, and people quickly realize the activity is one part physical, one part mental and a great way to make a lot of adventuresome friends.
“Climbing culture is the same everywhere,” says Ben Carter who first encountered the sport back in his native Virginia. The only difference is that “each gym has its own flavor” depending on how the different climbing paths are set up.
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Li Yang, who has been making her way higher and higher up the gym’s 10 meter walls for the past nine months, says, “The feeling one gets when you get to the top of the rock is so good.”
It has become her favorite hobby, and encouraged by the friends she’s met she comes as much as she can, both to exercise as well as to conquer her fears.
“If you can face your fears you can try to overcome them,” she says.
getting there
Hengyi Indoors Rock Climbing Gym
3/F, Gate #21, Hongkou Football Stadium, 444 Jiangwandong Lu, near Huayuan Lu
东江湾路444号, 近花园路
+86 21 5696 6657
Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
Prices: Unlimited climbing for RMB 40 weekdays and RMB 50 weekends; harness rental RMB 10 and climbing shoe rental RMB 5
www.hyclimbing.com
Rock Dance Space Climbing Center
No. 128, Huayuan Lu, Block 1, Bldg A, Rm. 105, near Zhongshan Bei Lu
花园路128号1区A楼105室, 近中山北路
Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
Prices: RMB 30-40
+86 21 3636 8028
