Like Jiang, hordes of people equipped with sleeping bags, tents, medicine and food, went into the mountains seeking adventure and to enjoy the natural scenery during the week-long National Day holidays which ended on Monday.

Statistics released by the tourism administration of Shaanxi Province indicate that during this month's break tourist numbers on adventure tours to Mt Cuihua in Shaanxi were six times more than last year.

Jiang described her adventure as exciting and well-planned. Together with several others she started to climb Mt Taibai from the North Slope on Oct. 1. Three days later, they reached the snow-clad peak at 3,400 meters high and spent a sleepless but exhilarating night there.

As an experienced DIY (do-it-yourself) tourist, she prepared well for her adventure beforehand by buying necessities and renting climbing gear.

Kang Lifeng, deputy director of the local Tourism Bureau said more and more Chinese were trying the new tourism trend of seeking adventure in the wild. It was a dramatic change from a decade ago when people flocked to traditional tourist destinations mainly featuring Chinese history and culture.

(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2002)