By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-10-08 01:18:34 | Updated at 2024-10-08 04:41:49
3 hours ago
A 43-year-old from the mainland, known as the “Chinese Spider-Woman”, has captivated onlookers with her remarkable ability to climb cliffs exceeding 100 metres in height without gloves or safety gear.
Luo Dengpin, hailing from Ziyun Miao and Buyei autonomous county in Guizhou province, southwestern China, is recognised as the world’s only female practitioner of the ancient Miao tradition of bare-handed rock climbing.
She skilfully ascends a 108-metre-high cliff - the equivalent of a 30-storey building - effortlessly navigating nearly vertical rock faces, earning her the nickname reminiscent of a famous cartoon superhero.
Her exceptional skill is rooted in the ancient Miao practice of cliff burials.
The Miao people, who traditionally inhabit remote and mountainous regions, believed that high-altitude burials allow the deceased to “look towards their ancestral homeland” in central China.
They also viewed boat-shaped coffins as symbols of hope for souls seeking to return home after death.
