Overcrowding leaves Chinese climbers stranded on a cliff for longer than expected.
Recently, adventurers trying to ascend Yandang Mountain situated in eastern China got stalled halfway up a rock face, clutching onto a rope following a directed trail, for over an hour.
Photographs of the mountaineers hanging tenuously to the cliffside as they waited for others to advance along the via ferrata - metal rungs affixed to the mountain - spread like wildfire on Chinese internet platforms.
"This is terrifying! Someone like me with a fear of heights might simply soil myself up there!" typed one Chinese internet user.
"I'm not even going, even if I'm given money to do this," observed another.
Yet another commenter inquired about the potential consequences if one of the climbers lost their grip and needed rescue, yet all of them were captured on video wearing helmets, harnesses, and safety equipment.
Wenzhou Dingcheng Sports Development Co., Ltd., which administers the via ferrata, admitted they had misjudged the level of interest in scaling the mountain.
"Due to our miscalculation of the number of potential climbers, the absence of efficient crowd management measures such as a ticketing reservation system, and flaws in on-site administration, tourists became congested on the trail," the business explained in a statement.
The business disclosed that it was presently refraining from selling tickets while it dealt with the situation on its own, and would implement a traffic-control system for visitors in the future.
Situated roughly 410 km (255 miles) south of Shanghai in the Zhejiang province, Yandang Mountain has a height of 1150 meters (3,773 feet).
The initial week of May is the Labor Day vacation in China, which attracted a large quantity of vacationers to the area.
A well-liked tourist destination in China, Yandang Mountain was proposed as a possibility for UNESCO World Heritage site status in 2001 and continues to be in the provisional list.
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Source: edition.cnn.com
