In China, Officials Warn Climbers About Viral Crags
As climbing gyms in China attract an ever-wider audience, national climbing authorities are urging people to prepare more carefully before heading outside. Their warning focuses in particular on crags that have become popular through social media.
Last May, the state-run news agency Xinhua published a report on climbing’s commercial boom in China. It described gyms that had become social destinations, places where a climbing session might turn into a meal afterward and where people could spend much of their weekend. On September 23, the Mountaineering Administrative Center of the General Administration of Sport and the Chinese Mountaineering Association issued a different message: crags are not places for “daka.”
Daka daka
The word daka originally referred to clocking in at work. It later spread to tourism: people visit a place that has become popular, then post a photo on social media to show they were there. A restaurant, landmark, or scenic spot becomes something to check off a list and share online. In 2024, The World of Chinese magazine described the phenomenon through the example of Tianshui, in northwestern China. Restaurants serving a local specialty had suddenly gone viral thanks to short videos on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok. Crowds of tourists then traveled there to try the food they had seen on their phones.
“People coming for their first experience make up more than half of our customers”
Zhang Shanshan, manager of the Beiding Aosen climbing gym
Climbing gyms can become these kinds of destinations too. In its report last May, Xinhua featured a Shanghai facility combining bouldering, tennis, a café, and retail shops, describing it as a daka destination. Its founder said attendance had tripled in six months. In that context, the popularity was presented as a sign of commercial success.
The warning from Chinese climbing authorities, however, concerns outdoor areas, where popularity does not mean access is permitted or that conditions are safe. The two organizations say some people are venturing onto cliffs that have not been developed for climbing or officially opened to climbers. They are urging people to check local conditions instead of relying solely on recommendations online. That means learning about hazards related to the rock and weather, as well as what rescue options are available. Even at well-known, heavily visited crags, restrictions may be in place to protect natural areas or reduce wildfire risk.
Learning to Climb Outside
The warning comes as climbing gyms are expanding rapidly across China. In January 2025, the country had 811 commercial climbing facilities, up 27.5 percent from the previous year, according to the national climbing industry report cited by China’s official news agency Xinhua. In Beijing, Zhang Shanshan, who manages the Beiding Aosen climbing gym, said: “People coming for their first experience make up more than half of our customers.”
Since 2023, the Chinese Mountaineering Association has offered a national seven-level system for people participating in mountain outdoor sports
Programs designed to help climbers make the transition outdoors already exist in Europe.
In France, the French Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing offers a system of color-coded “passports” that allows club members to validate their skills progressively. The green passport covers bouldering and single-pitch routes, meaning climbs completed in one rope length. To earn it, climbers must know how to read a guidebook, the resource that describes routes and provides practical information, so they can make sure their rope is long enough and that they are carrying the right equipment for the route they have chosen. Descent procedures, communication with a climbing partner, and respect for access rules are also part of the required skills. Climbers must also be able to judge how serious a route is and know when to back off.
In Germany, the Deutscher Alpenverein, or German Alpine Club, offers the Kletterschein Outdoor, a certification designed specifically for people who already climb indoors. The program includes at least two and a half days of training, followed by an assessment on real rock. It focuses on single-pitch equipped routes and does not claim to prepare climbers for every type of outdoor climbing. Understanding the outdoor environment is a major part of the course. Participants learn about approach trails, seasonal closures during bird nesting periods, and protecting vegetation at the tops of cliffs. Those topics are also included in the assessment. The goal is partly to understand why a route may be technically climbable but still off-limits at a particular time of year.
Since 2023, the Chinese Mountaineering Association has offered a national seven-level system for people participating in mountain outdoor sports. Outdoor rock climbing is one of the disciplines it covers. The system is broader than the French passports or Germany’s Kletterschein, since it also includes hiking, trail running, and wilderness survival activities. But the basic idea is similar: giving people a framework for learning how to move safely and responsibly outdoors.
