Han Ximin
THE boom and development of hiking and mountaineering activities, which reflect the vitality and pioneering spirit of Shenzhen youth, should be a brand name for Shenzhen.
Speaking at a forum on Olympic Spirit, City Culture and Mountaineering in Beijing, Wang Yongfeng, vice chairman of the China Mountaineering Association, said Shenzhen had taken the lead in outdoor activities including hiking and mountaineering. Wang was the team leader and third torchbearer for the torch relay on Mt. Qomolangma in May this year.
Shenzhen was one of the pioneering cities in China to develop hiking activities.
A survey has shown that around 8 to 10 percent of the population, or 600,000 to 800,000 people in Shenzhen, are involved in hiking. The large and diversified hiking activities organized by the Shenzhen Mountaineering Association and hiking buffs through an online network had become city brand names.
“Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen are the first three cities in China to have fully-developed hiking activities and Shenzhen features for its diversified, standardized and innovative development mode,” Wang said.
“Shenzhen, whose residents’ average age is 27, provides a solid foundation for the development of hiking and mountaineering activities,” Wang said.
“Hiking is a kind of city culture, and Shenzhen could enrich its city image and increase its popularity and gain global reorganization through hiking activities,” Wang said.
Shenzhen played a vital role in the early stage of the development of outdoor activities. It is the origin of commercial and civil mountaineering enterprises in China, Wang said.
The China Mountaineering Association organized an activity in 2003 to commemorate the scaling of Mt. Qomolangma. Among the eight climbers, three were from Shenzhen.