Liuyong Bang

China

My name is Liuyong Bang (aka, Abond). I'm 21 years old. Originally I'm from the Yunnan Province, and now I live in Yangshuo. I've been climbing for five years; most of my climbing has been in Yangshuo. I've also visited Tonsai, Thailand for sport climbing and deep water soloing. I was introduced to climbing by my cousin, and later on I got to climb with Neil Gresham, who I learned a lot from. When I started climbing I would go by the local bouldering wall, and would see this guy climbing (Rocky), he was very strong and I asked him if I could climb with him, he told me I wasn't strong enough to climb with him. So I went away and trained and climbed as much as I could, I would complete all the circuits at the China Climb wall, climb as much as I could outside, Rocky saw I got much stronger, then one day he came to my climbing wall and asked to climb with me, since then we have been very good friends. He inspired me to climb and push myself, and I've kept pushing myself to improve and climb harder.

When I'm not climbing I love to search for new lines and crags to develop as there is so much potential here in Yangshuo. Also there is much more potential in other areas of China. I established China's first 5.14b, China Climb, and have many second ascents. My most memorable ones are: Lightning 5.14a, and Thunder 5.14a. At the moment I'm training to climb harder routes, in Yangshuo there are many projects waiting to be sent. In the future I would like to have the opportunity to travel around Europe and America, to develop my climbing by experiencing different rock types and the many styles.

Birthday? 06/05/1988

Year you first started climbing? 2004

Three climbing/skiing achievements you are most proud of?

• Receiving BD sponsorship
• First ascent China Climb (first 5.14b in China)
• Men's champion in both Point Ranking and Hardest Route competitions in 2008’s Yangshuo Climbing Festival.

Memory/story of the first time you ever went climbing? First time I climbed at the Wine Bottle crag in Yangshuo, 5.11c, and I lead it with five-minute climbing introduction. Crazy!! The introduction went like this: my cousin shows me this is the quickdraw, this is the rope, clip this quickdraw into the bolt, and then clip the rope into the quickdraw. Easy. Okay, go! The first bolt was 6m high; I stopped at 4m and asked, "What if I fall before I get to the first bolt?" The answer was: "Don't fall." I was so scared, eventually I get to the sixth bolt, and that was enough. I couldn't do the next move. No one could finish the route. They told me when I get down I should unclip the quickdraw and jump. I was so scared that I fell and went hard into the rock. I had to do this for all the bolts all the way down. It nearly made me cry, and I thought when I get down how does everyone do this, just jump after cleaning every bolt?!?!? When I went climbing the second time I saw people being lowered down. I was 15 years old.

Favorite climbing area and why? Yangshuo. It’s my home.

Best climbing experience? Climbing in Tonsai, Thailand, waking up at 6am and finishing at 7pm.

Worst climbing experience? Hurting my foot by slamming into the wall.

What's your dream trip? Where? With who? Catalunia Spain, with my girlfriend and Chris and Daila.

BD gear you use every time you go climbing? Ozone harness and Livewire  quickdraws

Something that annoys you while climbing? Getting injured and not being able to climb.

What/who inspires you in climbing? My friend Rocky.

Favorite aprés-climb meal? Spicy noodle. It gets me warmed up.

Favorite climbing flick? Dosage Vol 5.

What's in your iPod? Bob Marley.

Three things you'd never roadtrip without? Rope, shoes and harness.

Superstitions? I always climb with one BD quickdraw on my harness, which never comes off.

What's your dream job? Getting to climb and travel around the world on a huge sponsorship.

How are you training when you are not climbing? Eating good food

If you could steal one thing and not get caught, what would it be? Power

If you could have dinner with three people (dead or alive) who would they be? My Grandfather, my girlfriend, and my dog Onsight.

Which would you prefer: power of flight or invisibility? Power of flight

Do you have any tattoos or piercings? None