Yangshuo, a scenic town in southern China’s Guangxi province, is more than a world-famous climbing destination — it has become a gathering point for a unique community of creators and climbing lovers. In a place where karst cliffs (vertical or near-vertical rock faces) dominate the skyline, a daring question arises: What’s the most extreme, creative challenge you could throw at these extreme artists?
Since 2023, Wildass Yangshuo (阳朔野崽) — a collective of climbers, musicians, engineers, and artists — has been preparing for a performance inside Zhulian Cave. The hanging performance was a great success, which led the team to come up with a more challenging project: performing on top of a cliff. They chose Watchtower Mountain, an emotionally significant place for some (it’s where Andrew, the safety lead, met his wife), as their next stage. But as the elevation increased, so did the complexity.
Putting a rock band on top of a cliff is not just about elevating music. It takes climbers, engineers, riggers, sound designers, safety professionals, local guides, and — more importantly — trust and shared vision. Luckily, in Yangshuo, there are people who have all that and then some, and who are more than willing to move when an idea feels right. It’s like the Chinese idiom “扫地僧” (“the monk who sweeps the floor”) — a seemingly ordinary figure who turns out to be a master. That’s what it’s like in Yangshuo — everyone might be a silent expert, living their chill life in the villages with breathtaking views, until the moment calls (think Kung Fu Hustle!).
This time, the team wasn’t content with just reaching the summit. They wanted the performance to fully integrate with the mountain itself — to make the cliff not just a backdrop, but a medium. This meant mapping the mountain’s peak using 3D scanning software, carefully designing a structure that could sit atop a space no bigger than a bunk bed, all while respecting nature. No new anchors were drilled; instead, they relied on the existing bolts from the established climbing route, in line with Leave No Trace (LNT) principles.
Every material in this project carried a story and a tie to the local town, too. In the first edition, when the team couldn’t find thick enough plywood for a drum platform, they glued together two thinner boards by hand. The massive soundboard turned out to overshadow the music. They solved it with damping rubber and local ingenuity. When they needed sandpaper to increase grip for a suspended drummer, they didn’t order skate supplies — they sourced industrial-grade poultry sandpaper from a local farm supply store. Even the 3D-printed jigs used to assist with metalwork were produced by a neighborhood workshop.
As rock climbing continues to trend in China—now entering the “5.15 era,” with elite routes gaining mainstream attention—the deeper significance is that nature isn’t just a site for sport. In Yangshuo, it’s a platform for artistic residency, experimental performance, and radical collaboration. With a mountain as your medium, anything is possible.
Cover image via Team Sustainable Yangshuo.
