Rock Hour: Climbing Gym Reaches New Heights in Xi Dawanglu
Beijing has no shortage of rock climbing gyms where one can climb, boulder, or just plain dangle around, but it was the opening of Rock Hour gym last month that showed us just how a professional rock climbing gym should look and feel.
While it helps that Rock Hour is clean and brand-spanking-new, it will hopefully remain this way because there is a no-shoe policy inside so outside muck won’t dirty up the climbing wall with whatever icky stuff your shoes may have encountered on the way there.
There’s lots of wall space here featuring climbing routes (this is the path of the various climbing holds) with varying degrees of difficulty. These were created by a Japanese climber with years of experience, who they brought in to design this portion of the gym. At the intermediate section of the gym’s climbing wall, there is also an automatic belaying contraption that allows you to climb without the need of a professional at the bottom holding the rope. That may sound scary but watching people of all ages conquer the wall before being gracefully hoisted down by this contraption allayed any fears that we initially had.
Otherwise, the gym is still warming up in terms of group and individual climbing classes but so far they have done a great job building a classy space that equally caters to the needs of both serious climbers and beginners.
Admission is RMB 100 for the day, RMB 80 for children between the ages of 6-14, and free for kids under 6. There is an extra fee for equipment rentals for things like climbing harnesses, shoes, or anything extra you may need. One of the downsides to Rock Hour is that it can be a little hard to find as it is hidden by a bit of construction currently ongoing. We recommend giving them a call if you get lost as all the staff are friendly and speak English, which should help if you need some directions.
Rock Hour
Daily 10am-10pm. Room 27, Bldg 74, Xidawang Lu, Chaoyang District (185 1916 6168)
西大望路27号院74栋岩时攀岩馆
This post originally appeared on our sister site beijing-kids.com.
Photos: Kipp Whittaker
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