A participant climbs in the 2023 Liangtoudong International Rock Climbing Redpoint Competition in Quzhou. [Photo/tianmunews.com]

The 2023 Liangtoudong International Rock Climbing Redpoint Competition started on Dec 2 at Liangtoudong in Huiping township, Quzhou, the oldest rock climbing base in East China.

About 150 people participated in the event, including people from Canada, Sweden, Bulgaria, Russia and other countries.

The event aimed to increase interest in domestic outdoor extreme sports and promote the development of national fitness and outdoor extreme sports. Liangtoudong, the venue of the competition, is a cave with two entrances and exits.

Liangtoudong was home to more than 60 rock climbing routes before the competition, and 20 new routes were developed specifically for this competition. The difficulty level of the routes ranged from 5.9 for beginners to 5.15 for experts. The 5.15 route was the most difficult rock climbing route in China.

"The Liangdongdong area boasts unique karst landscapes and beautiful scenery. The rock walls are very strange and spectacular. It is one of the coolest places I have ever climbed," said Pim Shaitosa, a rock climber from Sweden.

The event lasted two days. The first day featured the redpoint competition, and the second day featured the speed competition. The redpoint competition offered a total of 86,000 yuan ($12,076.8) in prize money, while the speed competition offered 17,000 yuan.