From bouldering to BMX, emerging sports gain a grip

As the National Day holiday drew to a close, young people took turns tackling a rock climbing wall at a gym in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. Some carefully tested each hold before moving upward, while others dropped back onto the mats and prepared to try again.

For Zhao Yu'an, a young climber at the gym, the appeal lay in the challenge itself — figuring out how to complete a route and sharing the experience with friends.

Earlier in the holiday, thousands of kilometers away, Chinese climbers had faced a very different test at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Zhang Yuetong won the women's bouldering gold medal, while Chu Shouhong claimed the men's speed climbing title with a time of 4.71 seconds.

From street culture, climbing communities and grassroots training spaces to the Asian Games and Olympics, emerging sports such as skateboarding, sport climbing and breaking are reaching wider audiences in China. Major competitions have brought these disciplines greater visibility and helped establish clearer pathways for elite athletes. Their performances, in turn, inspire more young people to take up the sports.