These days, all kinds of wilderness hiking groups are hugely popular online, and more people are rushing to the mountains for outdoor experiences. Yet most such activities go deep into pristine hills, not conventional scenic areas, hiding real safety risks behind the beauty.
At 2,303 meters, Dongling Mountain is Beijing's highest peak, called 'the roof of Beijing.' On social platforms, 'night-climbing Dongling for sunrise' keeps trending. Before controls, a single peak night could draw thousands. To dodge checks, leaders change routes and take side paths where there may be no signal, so everyone must stay close. Just after midnight, a bus arrived at the foot; to avoid inspection, the leader led this group up a detour wild path.
Because of surging visitors and ecological degradation, Dongling has been fully closed to the public since 2019, ending all tourism, and remains in ecological recovery. That night, the nearly 150-strong group climbed a narrow wild gully. With poor lighting, many tripped in the dark, pants caked in mud. The leader chose a more remote, non-standard route, strewn with rocks and thick with silt that grew deeper uphill, where traces of flood passage were everywhere.
After three hours, the group emerged from the dangerous valley forest onto alpine meadows around 1,700 meters, where warning signs appeared telling visitors not to proceed. But the leader did not stop, instead leading members around the fence. Although Dongling strictly forbids entry, 'night-climb Dongling' groups are still privately organized.
In recent years China's outdoor participation has grown fast, with enthusiasts reaching 400 million, but industry rules and safety capacity lag badly, and the contradiction between regulatory vacuum and market expansion is acute. The latest China Adventure Association statistics show 473 outdoor accidents in 2025, up 41.2% year on year, with mountains the most concentrated, over 80% of the total.
Insiders warn that when choosing outdoor hiking, consumers should vet the operator and leader credentials, team setup, price and warnings, and stay away from groups preaching 'if you have legs you can walk, canvas shoes are enough.' Such claims badly understate mountain risk and easily plant safety hazards. Outdoor sport is a healthy embrace of nature, but many commercial wild-tour groups turn danger into a selling point and bans into decoration, endangering lovers' lives. Resolving the risk needs better industry rules, certified leaders and standardized operations. And to keen solo 'check-in' hikers: the wild has risks; stay away from undeveloped mountains, for your own safety and out of respect for public rescue resources.
