Wang Fuzhou, the first Chinese who summited Mount Everest

Published : 2024-09-30

Wang Fuzhou became a climbing member with geological background

In 1935, Wang Fuzhou was born in Xihua County, Henan Province, where there are no high mountains. He graduated from the Beijing College of Geology (now China University of Geosciences) in 1958.

In the 1950s, China was keen to develop sports. Among them, mountaineering was regarded as a hopeful challenge to the world and was highly valued. The formation of mountaineering teams was accelerated.

Wang Fuzhou, who was physically fit and originally from a geological science background, was selected as a team member.

Later, Wang went to the Soviet Union for training and became a member of China's first Everest expedition team in 1960.

Mount Everest, also known as Chomolungma, is the main peak of the Himalayas, located on the border between China's Xizang (previously known as Tibet), and Nepal. As the highest peak in the world, it has an elevation of 8,848.86 metres.

Mankind began to challenge Mount Everest in the 1920s, but it wasn't until May 1953 that Edmund Hillary of New Zealand first reached the top of Mount Everest from the Nepalese south slope.

Challenging the highest peak, Wang Fuzhou did it for national dignity

However, no Chinese had yet set foot on Mount Everest, and no one had successfully challenged the north slope, which is on the Chinese side and more difficult to climb. For this reason, China decided to send a team on its own to climb Mount Everest from the north slope.

The Chinese attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest was not just for the challenge of the sport.

At that time, China and Nepal were negotiating the border, and the ownership of Mount Everest was a key issue.

Some people had questioned: "You (Chinese people) have never reached the top of Everest, so why do you say that Mount Everest belongs to you?"

Therefore, reaching the summit of Everest as soon as possible also involved national pride and sovereignty.

The first Chinese Everest expedition team consisted of 214 people, of which about 60 were athletes. They arrived in Dingri, Tibet, on March 19, 196, and set out in stages, setting up fire stations along the way.

During the third phase of the march on April 29, the team members climbed to the "second step" at 8,600 metres, but encountered a sudden change in the weather. More than 50 people from the entire team suffered from frostbite, and one of the teachers from Peking University unfortunately sacrificed his life. Because the situation was critical, everyone had to retreat.

Wang Fuzhou was appointed in an emergency and took over as the leader

By this time, the weather was gradually getting warmer, and the season suitable for climbing Everest was coming to an end. The uninjured team members had a short rest and set off for the fourth time in mid-May.

The fourth march had to succeed and failure was not an option. After several days of traversing, more than a dozen team members finally arrived at the camp at an altitude of 8,500 meters.

According to the plan, the four members of the assault team, deputy leader of the mountaineering team, Xu Jing, Wang Fuzhou, Liu Lianman, and Tibetan team member Gongbu, was going to start challenging the summit on the May 24.

But Xu Jing, who had been leading the way for several days, was already overdrawn. He had no choice but withdrawing from the assault team. His task was replaced by Qu Yinhua, a team member who was originally responsible for shooting, and Wang Fuzhou took over as the leader of the assault team at the critical moment.

At noon on the 24th, Wang Fuzhou and his teammates came to a vertical cliff over 4 metres high at 8,680 metres. They tried several times without success. At this moment, Liu Lianman, a fireman, suggested using the method of "building a human ladder" to climb, and volunteered to be the "base".

With the help of Wang Fuzhou and Gongbu, Qu Yinhua stood on the shoulders of Liu Lianman, struck an ice nail on the cliff, put on a safety rope, and "paved the way" for everyone. In order to prevent injury to Liu Lianman and prevent slippage, he had to take off his spike shoes and socks while climbing. His feet were severely frostbitten...

Read more: Xi Jinping and Nepal's President Bhandari exchange letters jointly announcing the height of Everest

Liu Lianman's contribution helped Wang Fuzhou reach the summit

After nearly 6 hours of effort, they finally climbed up the cliff, but at this moment, Liu Lianman had exhausted his strength and could no longer stand up.

In order not to delay his team members from continuing to move forward, he decided to give up on reaching the summit and stay in the original place alone.

Wang Fuzhou understood what it meant to leave Liu Lianman alone. Weighing the importance of the mission, he had no other choice. He, Qu Yinhua, and Gongbu let Liu Lianman stay under a large wind-resistant rock, left an oxygen bottle, and moved forward with tears.

After his teammates left, Liu Lianman took off his oxygen bottle. He wrote his last will: "Let the three of you complete the mission! There is still a little oxygen in my oxygen cylinder, and I leave it for the three of you to use when you come back with victory! Maybe it will be useful..."

By this time it was getting dark, and the three of Wang Fuzhou continued to climb upward with risk. When only 52 metres away from the top, the most important oxygen supply was exhausted, but they still gritted their teeth and continued to move forward.

In the environment of low temperature and extreme hypoxia, everyone had headaches, blurred vision, breathlessness, and weakness. Each step would take long time for rest. It even took more than half an hour to climb a rock one metre high.

A note: "Mount Everest was conquered by Wang Fuzhou and two others"

At 4:20 am on May 25, 1960, it was a historical moment.

Wang Fuzhou, together with Qu Yinhua and Gongbu, finally set foot on the highest point of Mount Everest. As the captain of the assault team, Wang was also called the first Chinese to conquer Mount Everest.

Of course, people would also remember Qu Yinhua and Gongbu, who reached the summit together.

They stayed on the top of Mount Everest for 15 minutes, leaving a national flag, a 20 cm high plaster statue of Chairman Mao, and a note.

The note was written by Wang Fuzhou on the spot, writing "Mount Everest was conquered by Wang Fuzhou and two others".

The return journey of Wang Fuzhou and his teammates was also fraught with difficulties.

The exciting thing is that when everyone returned to the place at 8,680 metres at noon the same day, they found that Liu Lianman miraculously survived, and the oxygen he desperately saved became the key for everyone to evacuate the dangerous place.

Five days later, they finally retreated to the Everest base camp. Soon, the news that the Chinese had conquered Everest spread throughout the land of China, inspiring countless Chinese people in difficult times.

What everyone didn't know at the time was that Wang Fuzhou and the assault team members were all frostbitten and injured. Qu Yinhua, who had taken off his shoes and socks to climb the "human ladder", had all ten toes amputated, resulting in a lifelong disability.

Without image evidence, Wang Fuzhou's heroic deed was questioned

However, they have no regrets. As Wang Fuzhou said later, "When I joined the mountaineering team, it was to complete the task given by the country. At that time, I had to reach the summit, to set ambitious goals, to be determined, and to never give up until Everest was under my feet!"

Wang continued to participate in mountaineering activities later, and once served as the chairman of the China Mountaineering Association and other positions until he retired in 1995. In July 2015, Wang Fuzhou passed away at the age of 80.

The story of Wang Fuzhou, Qu Yinhua, and Gongbu has been widely reported. In the movie "The Climbers", which was released in Mainland China in 2019, the team leader Fang Wuzhou (方五洲), played by Wu Jing, is based on Wang Fuzhou.

The movie mentions that after the team members successfully reached the summit, because of the lack of photography evidence, the heroic act was once not recognised internationally, which is indeed true.

Because it was dark when they reached the summit, Wang Fuzhou and his teammates were unable to shoot "evidence" in the dark.

Until the Chinese side released the mountaineering report, giving a detailed description of the details of the north slope route, the relevant data were confirmed by other mountaineers who later challenged the north slope, and the West gradually accepted this record.