CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- Climbing trees is the childhood memory of many of us. Climbing up the tree and looking at the world from a different perspective offers endless fun! But can you imagine a tree climbing lesson? This semester, the School of Geography Sciences of Southwest University (SWU) has offered an elective course on tree climbing, allowing students to earn credits by climbing trees!

Recently, the Wilderness Survival – Tree Climbing Activity, part of the Tree Climbing optional course offered by Professor Yang Pingheng from the School of Geography Sciences of SWU, was staged on the campus, involving more than 30 students and more than 30 tree climbing enthusiasts from outside the school.

The way this child climbs the tree may evoke your childhood memories of climbing trees. Different from the common tree-climbing activities in the past, the tree-climbing course is arranged in a safe, scientific, and rigorous manner with the use of specialized equipment, allowing students to train their outdoor survival skills.

Tree climbing generally includes rock climbing and rope climbing. The rock climbing shown in the picture means to climb up a tree by holding and treading on the climbing holds on the tree at the same time.

Rope climbing refers to the activity where climbers freely climb, ascend, descend, and swing between trees with the use of specialized ropes, ascenders, locks, protective gear, etc.

Before the activity, Professor Yang Pingheng (the one in blue in the middle) and the professional rescue team prepared the helmets, ropes, and other tools needed for the participants, and carefully explained the safety precautions for tree climbing to ensure the safe conduct of the activity.

Yang Pingheng is a doctor of physical geography at the SWU and an outdoor sports enthusiast. He has explained the unique geographical features and geological relics in CCTV-10's Geography of China and CCTV-4's Home Far Away more than ten times.

Yang’s long-term outdoor experience has given him more opportunities to connect with nature and learn rich outdoor survival skills. Therefore, he offers the Field Survival elective course at the SWU, integrating his more than ten years of field practice into teaching. Tree climbing is one of the contents of this course.

Wang Minghong (the one standing in white) is a first-year graduate student majoring in physical geography at the School of Geographical Sciences, SWU. He comes from a rural area in Zunyi, Guizhou. When he was a child, he often had fun climbing trees. He never expected to take a professional course on climbing trees in college, which allowed him to earn credits and relive his happy childhood memories.

Unlike the tree-climbing activities in his memories, the professional tree-climbing course involves various technical equipment such as shoulder straps, belts, and locks, which makes him dizzy. He said that the more complex these techniques are, the more seriously we should study and master them. Only in this way, we will not be in a hurry whenever there is a real danger.

In addition to earning credits, this elective course can help students build physical strength, learn professional climbing techniques, and master outdoor survival skills, which are valuable gains, said the students. In case of emergencies when hiking, climbing, or camping outdoors, tree climbing skills may save lives. (Translated by Yuki, Fathom Language Limited)