The sport is spawning a boom blending lifestyle with new consumption scenarios

On a Tuesday evening in Beijing's Chaoyang district, the air inside Bloc1 Climbing Gym is filled with the rhythmic "thwack" of rubber-soled shoes hitting textured fiberglass and the sharp exhales of exertion from urbanites trading their office stress for a gravity-defying puzzle.

Amid the neon-lit bouldering routes, 29-year-old marketing executive Chen Liting is clinging to a sequence of lime-green holds, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Two years ago, I would have been at a happy hour bar," she said.

"Now, this is my social club. It's cheaper than a therapist, more exciting than a treadmill, and the community is far more genuine than a networking event."

Chen is the face of a burgeoning demographic that has transformed rock climbing from a niche pursuit into a multi-billion yuan industry.

Following climbing's successful debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and its high-octane showcase at the Paris 2024 Games, the sport has reached an inflection point in the world's second-largest economy. What was once seen as a perilous feat for adrenaline junkies is now being embraced by urban white-collar workers and elementary school students alike.

The catalyst for this vertical revolution is undoubtedly the "Olympic effect". Since the International Olympic Committee officially added sport climbing to the roster, the Chinese government has increased support for national training programs, which in turn has trickled down to the grassroots level.

According to the China Climbing Industry Development Report, the landscape of the sport has undergone a structural shift.

In 2023, the number of commercial climbing gyms in China surpassed those in the United States for the first time. As of January 2025, that number has jumped 27.5 percent to reach 811 facilities, it said.

While the growth is staggering, analysts suggest we are only at the foothills of the mountain.

"When you look at the density of gyms per capita, the upside is enormous," said Wang Yuxiong, a professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics.

Against global benchmarks, China's climbing gym market remains vastly underpenetrated, with massive untapped potential.

For China's 1.4 billion people, a similar penetration rate would theoretically support a market of 2,700 to 6,400 climbing gyms.

"The explosive growth in the climbing population following its inclusion in the Olympics has spanned all demographics," said sports consultant Zhang Qing, who is also founder of Beijing-based sports marketing consultancy Key-Solution.

While climbing was viewed as "adventurous" — a euphemism for dangerous in the past, it is categorized as "competitive athletics" nowadays, he said.

While both adult and youth participation have grown at a phenomenal rate in recent years, Zhang believes rock climbing represents a rare, untapped "blue ocean" opportunity within the sports industry.

Mia Liu, founder of Bloc1, a recently opened climbing gym in a residential community in Beijing, said while the Olympics provided the spark, the "white-collar" workforce has provided the fuel.

Liu said for the overworked residents of China's tier-1 cities, climbing offers a unique "flow state" those traditional gyms lack.

"When you are four meters up a wall, you cannot think about your KPIs or your unread emails. You can only think about your next move."

"It is the ultimate mindfulness exercise for the high-pressure era," she said.

According to the China Climbing Industry Development Report, there are currently three main categories of climbing gyms in the market: small-scale venues located in residential communities or shopping malls; medium-sized facilities situated in renovated industrial parks; and large-scale gyms housed within sports complexes or transformed cultural and athletic districts.

This psychological benefit has led to a boom of the sport.

Climbing gyms are increasingly designed as lifestyle hubs rather than just workout spaces. Many new facilities in Shanghai and Shenzhen now feature integrated specialty coffee bars, co-working spaces, and even craft beer taps for the "post-climb" wind-down.

"We aren't just selling access to a wall; we are selling a third space," says Wang Qian, co-founder of Stonehaven, a recently opened climbing gym in Shanghai.

"Our average member stays for three hours. They climb, they work on their laptops, they have a flat white, and they talk 'beta' (climbing strategy) with strangers. It's the new golf, but with more chalk and less grass."

If white-collar workers are the current bread and butter of the industry, teenagers are its future.

Following the "double reduction" policy — which eased the academic burden on students — parents have been scouting for extracurricular activities that promote "grit" and "problem-solving".

Climbing fits the bill perfectly. "It's a physical chess game," says Lyu Shan, a mother of two in Beijing who spends 1,500 yuan ($210) a month on climbing coaching for her 7-year-old son.

"It teaches him that it's okay to fall, as long as you figure out why you fell and try again," Lyu said.

The youth segment has become the most lucrative "blue ocean" for gym operators. Weekend kids' classes are often booked out weeks in advance, and youth-specific climbing leagues are drawing major corporate sponsorships as well.

For prominent Beijing climbing gyms like Mellow, the youth demographic is no longer just a supplementary market — it has become a major part of the business model.

While late evenings might still belong to adult climbers projecting hard boulder problems, the afternoons and weekends at Mellow are bustling with youth training squads, after-school academies, and cheering parents.

Mellow has effectively capitalized on the sport's unique developmental benefits by structuring highly targeted curricula, said Gina Wen, founder and operator of Mellow.

From a commercial perspective, the increasing participation of young climbers provides Mellow with immense financial stability. Unlike adult climbers who might sporadically buy day passes or prefer to climb independently, the youth segment is built on long-term coaching packages, seasonal training camps, and one-on-one instruction.

Furthermore, Mellow also acts as a vital hub for competitive advancement, frequently participating in and funneling young athletes into under-age series championships.

By structuring climbing as a measurable, progressive skill with clear competitive pathways, the climbing gyms are turning what was once a niche extreme sport into a premium, highly recurring educational investment for Beijing families.

However, as the market expands, the business landscape is becoming increasingly competitive.

"The barrier to entry is also getting higher," said Liu.

"While one could throw some holds on a wall and call it a gym years ago, you need professional route-setters today, the 'chefs' of the climbing world, who change the problems monthly to keep members from getting bored."

Climbing walls and holds account for the largest share of the initial investment for new venues, and the prices of imported holds currently on the market are prohibitively expensive. The shortage of route setters and coaches is also directly linked to the nascent stage of the climbing industry while requiring significant investments of both time and capital, she said.

The rapid proliferation of climbing gyms has driven explosive growth across the entire industry chain.

According to data from the JD Research Institute for Consumption and Industrial Development, sales of climbing chalk, climbing shoes, and climbing helmets in 2024 surged by 210 percent, 52 percent, and 37 percent year-on-year, respectively.

This boom extends beyond e-commerce sales figures. Domestic suppliers of climbing walls and holds are also experiencing this market shift.

While overseas manufacturers grapple with challenges such as tariffs, high labor costs, sluggish supply chain responses, and slow channel distribution, China's robust supply chain is empowering domestic manufacturers, said sports consultant Zhang Qing from Key-Solution.

"A growing number of Chinese brands are leveraging their localized advantages to rapidly capture this expanding market share," he said.

In the realm of climbing training boards, alongside star products like the Kilterboard created by international brand Kilter Grips, domestic manufacturers have developed and produced their own standardized alternatives, such as the AlphaWall (by AGHolds) and the BAT Boards by Beijing Let's Climb Technology.

"Currently, our BAT Boards have received highly positive feedback in markets like Beijing, Xi'an, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou, and we are continuously refining and upgrading the product," said Li Shuangfu, founder and CEO of Let's Climb, which is also coming up with BAT Boards, adjustable training walls matching various climbing routes and courses that serve as the domestic substitute for these international staples.