China's ‘Spider-Woman’ Scales 108-Metre Cliff With Her Bare Hands
Luo Dengpin is the world’s only female practitioner of the ancient Miao tradition of bare-handed climbing.
By Sukhbir Cheema — 09 Oct 2024, 04:52 PM
A 43-year-old woman from China has captivated the nation with her astonishing rock-climbing skills, scaling cliffs over 100m high without gloves, ropes, or any safety equipment
Luo Dengpin, known as the "Chinese Spider-Woman", hails from Guizhou province in southwestern China and is the world’s only female practitioner of the ancient Miao tradition of bare-handed climbing, a craft rooted in her people’s historical burial customs.
According to the South China Morning Post, Luo hails from the Ziyun Miao and Buyei autonomous county, where, for centuries, the Miao people have practised cliff burials.
These burials, carried out on cliffs hundreds of metres high, allowed the dead to "look towards their ancestral homeland" and preserved farmland. Over generations, these climbs honed the strength and skills that Luo now demonstrates with ease.
Her most famous climb is a breathtaking 108-metre ascent, equivalent to scaling the heights of a 30-storey building, which she completed without any modern climbing gear
This feat earned her a nickname reminiscent of a comic book superhero.
In a 2017 BBC interview, Luo said this tradition was passed down from her father. She began climbing at 15 to prove that girls were just as capable as boys in this physically demanding practice.
Originally, she climbed to collect medicinal herbs and bird droppings, which were used as fertiliser. The gruelling task could take up to five hours on steep, unforgiving terrain.
As tourism grew in her region, Luo's dangerous craft became a form of entertainment
"Many visitors wanted to see how we gathered the herbs and paid us to demonstrate. My income isn't high, but I take pride in being a spider woman," she told Shandong TV.
Luo's story has gone viral on Chinese social media, inspiring admiration from many.
"Kudos to the brave spider woman. Women are just as capable as men, and true masters live among the people," one commenter noted.
Despite her remarkable skill and fame, Luo remains humble, continuing to live in her hometown where she raises her family and honours her people’s ancient traditions.
