They serve as material evidence of China's contribution to the human efforts to scale and study Mt. Qomolangma, observes Zhou Zheng, a noted Chinese scholar dedicated to mountaineering education and researches since 1955, in an article marking the 50th anniversary of the humankind's first successful assault to the top of the mountain popularly known in the West as Mt. Everest.

Published in the latest issue of the China's Tibet, a bimonthly publication in both Chinese and English languages, Zhou's article, titled "Because It Is There," notes that the red beacon has not only enabled Chinese scientists to measure the height of the world's summit, at 8,848.13 meters above sea level, but also been used by climbers from various countries to prove they had reached the top.

"They would have pictures taken beside the red beacon until the surveying tool was covered by snow," says Zhou.

The metallic ladder, called by mountain climbers from overseas "the Chinese ladder," is even more prestigious, according to Zhou. "It makes climbing the cliff at the most risky section on the northern route to the top of Qomolangma, commonly known as the 'Second Flight', much easier and safer, Zhou says.

Qu Yinhua, a veteran mountaineer who was among the first three Chinese to ascend the top of Qomolangma in May 1960, recalled that it had taken the trio more than five hours to overcome the 30-meter tall icy cliff at 8,700 meters above sea level.

But thanks to the 25-meter, five-section ladder, nine members of the Chinese expedition in 1975, including one woman, cleared the cliff in a matter of 20 minutes and reached the top of the world.

Everyone who makes it to the 8,700-meter level on the northern route to the top feels a sense of excitement at the sight of the ladder, according to Luo Zhisheng, who masterminded its installation in 1975.

"From 1975 to 2000, more than 270 mountaineers of 47 Chinese and foreign expeditions made their way to the top of Qomolangma via the ladder," said Luo.

The 1975 expedition was China's second successful ascent to the summit. The woman member who scaled to the top was Pando, a Tibetan then 39 years old and mother of three children.

Rather incidentally, says Zhou Zheng in his article, China's 1975 expedition also dispelled the cloud of suspicion over the country's first successful ascent to the top of Qomolangma in 1960.

What's more, it also signified the humankind's first attempt to scale the summit from its northern side, much steeper and more trying than the conventional southern route on a relatively slow slope.

The mountaineers of the second Chinese Qomolangma expedition found the sheet of paper marking the time and date the three Chinese reached the top in 1960 and a Chinese national flag and a statue of late Chairman Mao Zedong under a heap of rocks on the peak, all left by the first Chinese expedition.

Also noteworthy is China's contribution to research on the world summit, Zhou Zheng says. Besides measuring the height of Mt.Qomolangma, the country's 1975 expedition also conducted a number of experiments, including physiological and meteorological experiments on the peak, for which they spent 90 minutes on the top of the mountain without using oxygen bags.

"The data collected in these experiments are useful in the research of prevention and treatment of mountain sicknesses," Zhou says.

Another eminent contribution made by Chinese mountaineers is the feasibility study and final realization of oxygen-free climbing, according to Zhou.

As early as in 1960, four members of the Chinese expedition managed to survive when they exhausted their oxygen and food at the height of 8,700 meters and sustained this trying effort for more than 20 hours before they finally returned to the base camp at 8,100 meters.

"This laid down a major basis for the theory of oxygen-free climbing and served as an inspiration for those latecomers who tried oxygen-free climbing," Zhou says.

Since China opened its high mountain ranges to foreign mountaineers in the late 1970s, Zhou says, China has received many climbers from around the world who wish to realize their dream to top Qomolangma from the Chinese side. Chinese mountaineers, especially local Tibetan climbers, have become their trustworthy partners.

Zhou's article also deals with valuable contributions made by mountaineers of other countries.

(Xinhua News Agency May 24, 2003)