WANG ZISHUO, a Shenzhen boy aged 8 years and 9 months, smashed a record by redpointing “China Climb” in Yangshuo, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on May 22, becoming the country’s youngest rock climber to complete the 5.14A difficulty climbing route, Shenzhen Economic Daily reported.

According to a previous report, the 5.14A-graded “China Climb” was reserved for advanced rock climbers. “It is equivalent to the ‘graduate student’ level in terms of academic education,” Zhang Jiandong, deputy leader of Guangdong’s provincial rock climbing team, said.

Wang Muyi, a girl aged 9 years and 2 months, conquered “China Climb” as the youngest ever climber in April, but Wang Zishou broke the record at the age of 8.

Wang Zishuo, the Shenzhen child prodigy, has been interested in rock climbing since his childhood and started learning to climb at 6.

Wang, a student at Vanke Bilingual School in Longhua District, would travel 30 kilometers from school to a training center in Nanshan District. He would do his homework during breaks and insist on practicing every weekend.

To complete “China Climb,” Wang visited Yangshuo thrice and went through a tough training period, with the company of two coaches and his parents between April and May. On May 22, he finally achieved his dream.

Since 2016, when sport climbing was officially set as a medal sport for the Summer Olympics, the sport has experienced rapid development in China.

Shenzhen has also ramped up support by building rock climbing teams at the municipal and district levels, and organizing competitions at various scales for youngsters.

The efforts paid off with the city producing notable climbers such as Song Yinglin, China’s first Olympic Games speed climber.  (Xia Yuanjie)