Chinese elevate climbing to new heights

The sport is spawning a boom blending lifestyle with new consumption scenarios

On a Tuesday evening in Beijing's Chaoyang district, the air inside Bloc1 Climbing Gym is filled with the rhythmic "thwack" of rubber-soled shoes hitting textured fiberglass and the sharp exhales of exertion from urbanites trading their office stress for a gravity-defying puzzle.

Amid the neon-lit bouldering routes, 29-year-old marketing executive Chen Liting is clinging to a sequence of lime-green holds, her brow furrowed in concentration.