Liming (黎明) Rock Climbing

The main developer, Mike Dobie, has meticulously documented Liming development in his guidebook Liming Rock. Don't expect these MP pages to ever compare - more than 450 pitches are featured in the guidebook, with beautiful photographs and clear directions to access Li Ming and all the crags. The most recent, and continuously updated, Li Ming Rock guide book is now available as a mobile app and can be purchased at rakkup.com. As of February 2022 there are around 315 trad and sport climbs covered by the rakkup guide. 

Bring a minimum of doubles from small (00s and/or ballnuts) to fists. There is a lot of wide here, so a #5 is basically mandatory and #6 is also a good idea. If you bring Bigbros, you'll have plenty of opportunity to use them, they generally can seat well in the parallel cracks. A double rack will keep most routes safe and fun, though occasionally, more are needed, rarely more than quads; bring extras of your favorite sizes. A set of nuts, especially offsets, come in handy. Five to ten shoulder-length slings should suffice. Most of the routes were equipped to get up and down with a single 60m line, but a 70m will work better on a handful (including the must-do P2 of The Firewall and many routes in the new Yangshao Sport Climber's Crag).

Bring athletic tape, especially if you are new to crack climbing, to protect your precious skin since you won't be able to buy it in Liming. The rock is very coarse; handjams can grind finger tips thin, making a skin salve highly recommended.

If you are looking to do first ascents, bring some long 12mm (1/2 inch) bolts. Stainless steel would be ideal, but as the climate is mostly dry, plated-steel should have a long life. A hand-drill works very well - 8 minutes or so for a 12mm hole 10cm deep. Low quality hammers, brushes, and gloves can be purchased for cheap in Li Ming. Pins and beaks aren't necessary from my experience. Wide gear (Big Bros, Valley Giant) is nice to have, there are lots of unclimbed offwidths. Tat is not necessary - climbers have left a large pile of old ropes upstairs at the Faraway - a valuable community resource. Be sure to bring fatty rap rings and old biners. Nut tools are very useful for cleaning out cracks; other useful tools like little hoes and saws can be purchased in Li Ming.

For international access, flying into Kunming is best. Otherwise cheap trains link up all major Chinese cities; and now with air-travel prices falling, cheap flights can be found. From Kunming take plane, train or bus to Lijiang; round trip flights can be found super cheap and trains run for $15-25 one way. In Kuming, if going from the airport to the train station or vice-versa, bus 919-C connects them for $2, it takes less than an hour early morning and late at night but over an hour during daytime traffic.

Lijiang has three buses stations. You need the one on Changshui Rd (长水路) just west of Minzhu Rd (民主路) for the minivan-buses to Li Ming.

From the Lijiang train station, bus #18 can be taken to the second to last stop, leaving a 100 meter walk west to the bus station.

Regular buses run from Lijiang to Li Ming for 40 yuan. Oftentimes you have to switch buses in Zhongxing (种兴). Shigu (石鼓), a recently unearthed limestone crag with large multipitch potential is along the road to Zhongxing. From Zhongxing, regular buses run the 25 kilometers to Liming.

If you're looking for a good adventure and traveling light, hitchhiking in China is extremely effective and fascinating.

Be sure to bring all the Chinese Yuan you think you will need to Li Ming, as the closest ATM and currency exchange is in Lijiang. Most climbers can budget 80 - 100¥ per day ($12-16 US$); 60 RMB would be an absolute minimum. Here's the average cost of the necessities per person: accommodation 20-30¥, breakfast 10¥, fruit and snacks for a day 5-15¥, dinner 15-30¥.

In short, the climbing season is October through June with ideal conditions mid-October through November then again late February until mid-May.

Liming has a semi-arid climate characterized by summer monsoons. The rainy season generally runs from June through early October. By mid-October, blue-skies and stable dry weather dominate. Fall rain events typically consist of a period of 2 to 5 days of cloudy weather with occasional light rain, which doesn't interfere with climbing too much. Fall tempertures generally fluctuate between 0 - 5 °C at night and 15 - 25 °C during the day. Evaporative cooling makes dawn exceptionally cold, but the high elevation sun quickly warms the valley. In winter, climbing is limited to south facing cliffs, making mid-December through January a less-than-ideal yet managable time for climbing. By the Chinese New Year, the higher angle of the sun increases direct sunlight and warms the valley. I've heard March described as the best month for climbing with warmer nighttime temperatures and more clouds than in fall, making it easier to climb any aspect, though periodic rains may necessitate rest days. By late May, humidity and precipitation ramp up and by mid-June, monsoons end the climbing season.

Li Ming can provide all the food needed to fuel an army of climbers. A vegan diet is simple in Li Ming as long as you don't mind occasional animal-based broth. For meat-eaters, pork is the main option. Breakfasts of noodle, rice or mungbean curd with optional egg cost a dollar or two; yoghurt is also available, but no oats. Snacks, drinks and fruits in wide variety is simple for the crag. Dinners are most often eaten communally sharing many different plates of food - lots of fresh produce and un-refrigerated meats available with rice. Non-severe food poisoning can happen but frequency seems to be falling.

Bring a water bottle that you feel comfortable pouring boiling water into. That's the cheapest easiest way to get drinking water. Otherwise treat it or buy bottles at the shops. Tea and hot water are widely available. You can hunt down Yunnan grown coffee in Lijiang but are better off bringing it along if you drink coffee. Nescafe, however, is sold at all the shops in Li Ming. Protein drink powders mix very well with the walnut milk and date-flavored milk, making for great energy for the crag.

The main two places climbers stay at is the Faraway Hotel and Tourist Services dorm rooms. Faraway charges 20-30 RMB for dorm beds and 60-100 RMB for rooms. The youth hostel beds are 20 RMB. Fancier pricier options are also available.

Faraway Inn can help organize rides to the distant crags like Centered Crags, Guardian, El Dorado and Rainbow Cove. It's also possible to rent a motorcycle, contact Mike at mdobie012@yahoo.com for details.

The rock of Li Ming consists of the Danxia formation, a sandstone and conglomerate rock with a striking red color. For a sandstone, the rock is generally quite hard (slightly stronger than Wingate sandstone of Indian Creek), consisting of a fine grained quartz and feldspar sand. A discerning eye will notice the yellow and orange strips that color the cliffs, these are likely clay inclusions and generally have little effect of the integrity of the rock, however, the worst rock of Li Ming is generally pale in color. As I understand, the rocks of Li Ming are lacustrine deposits from the Cretaceous age. A recent (geologically speaking) uplift and jointing event, resulting from the Himalayan mountain building, exposed the beautiful cliffs that define the Li Ming area and further glacial activity carved the deep narrow valleys. At the higher elevations there is a more compact type of sandstone that appears to have Some calcium carbonate in it. It tends to be more pocketed and stratified than the Danxia layer. There are small portions of granite and limestone in the area as well, a recent interest of new development.

Li Ming has a charming crag dog population. They are great company, just make sure they behave.