Mountaineering team captain credits 'spirit of climbing' for making China sports powerhouse

Citing the country's recent success at the Winter Olympics in Italy, Wang Yongfeng, captain of the Chinese mountaineering team and a national political advisor, hailed the "spirit of climbing" as a driving force for developing an overall sports powerhouse.

The "spirit of climbing", embodied by Chinese athletes overcoming various challenges to achieve the nation's best medal haul at an overseas edition of the Winter Olympics last month in Italy, should be promoted and implemented across the sports sector to contribute to country's ambition of building a world-class sporting power, Wang said before the opening of the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on Wednesday.

"For decades, the fearless and tenacious spirit of climbing has been passed down from one generation of mountaineers to the next," Wang, a member of the sports group of the CPPCC National Committee, said during an interview at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

"Whether it's about pushing for breakthroughs at the Olympic stage, promoting mass fitness campaigns at the grassroots level, or pursuing Chinese-style modernization, as long as we uphold this spirit, stay focused on our goals, stay grounded, and march forward with courage and perseverance, there will be no dangerous peaks we cannot scale, no dreams we cannot realize," Wang, who is also a vice-chairman of the Chinese Mountaineering Association, said.

As one of China's mountaineering pioneers, Wang has scaled the Mount Qomolangma, the world's highest peak, multiple times and played a key role in the historic Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games' torch relay to the top of Qomolangma in May 2008.

In 2020, Wang served as the general commander of a national expedition, leading the mission to measure the latest official height of Qomolangma at 8848.86 meters.

The pursuit for excellence at a higher level has been a powerful driving force behind China's progressive sports development on all fronts, Wang said, adding that Team China's impressive campaign at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics last month was a strong embodiment of the spirit.

Led by speed skating Olympic champion Ning Zhongyan and freestyle skiing star Gu Ailing, Chinese athletes won a total number of 15 medals, including five gold, at the 2026 Winter Games to bring home the country's best ever medal haul at overseas Winter Olympics since 1980.