Photos of an unusual pair of mountain climbers attempting to scale to the summit of the 1132-meter-tall Mount Lao in Shandong province have inspired netizens across China.
Gao Zhiyi is 11 years old. A few years ago, he lost both of his legs following a car accident. While adjusting to his new life, Gao has been inspired by 33-year-old Chen Zhou.
Chen lost both of his legs when he was just 13 years old. However, he hasn’t let that tragic accident stop him from making his mark on the world. Chen is a singer, a public speaker, and a mountain climber. Currently, he has climbed more than 100 mountains, including both Huangshan and Mount Tai.
China News reports that for his ascent up Mount Lao, located outside of Qingdao, Chen invited Gao to come along. As anyone who has been to a Chinese mountain can attest, there are a whole lot of stone stairs. This was the first time that Gao had ever tried to climb a mountain using two sturdy wooden boxes to push himself upwards. He made it all the way up to one of the summits, 900 meters in height, not too shabby.