news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

the high risks of the "aotai line" have once again become the focus of public opinion.

recently, outdoor blogger "mengshe guojiang" found a body in a tent while cycling through the "aotai line" of the qinling mountains in shaanxi province. he immediately went down the mountain to call the police, which attracted attention. it was later confirmed that the body was that of ma moumou, a hiker from henan who had been missing for a month while crossing the aotai line.

(photo of the tent where the body was found: blogger mengsheguojiang)

▌a 25-year-old hiker from henan was found dead in his tent after being missing for more than a month

a reporter from dahe daily and henan video "see" found out that on july 14 this year, some media reported that ma moumou had lost contact, and ma moumou's parents posted a missing person notice on the internet, hoping to get help from kind people.

it is reported that the 25-year-old ma moumou is from xinyang, henan province. he set out from tangkou, taibai county, baoji, shaanxi province, entered the mountains alone, and crossed the aotai line on foot. three days after entering the mountains, he lost contact in the bianziyuan area, 5 kilometers northwest of huangbaiyuan town.

ma's classmate said that ma went into the mountains on july 5, and was still posting on wechat moments on july 5 and 6, but lost contact on july 7. he had agreed with his friends before departure that he would call the police immediately if he lost contact. the local rescue team told the media that due to the recent continuous rain, ma might be at risk of falling or hypothermia.

(city report screenshot)

the blogger "猛蛇过江" who discovered ma moumou told the media that when he rode to the 2800 camp on the aotai line and retreated to the 4th kilometer of walnut ping on august 12, he found a roadside tent and the body, and then went down the mountain to call the police.

the reporter of "see" noticed that in the comment section of the video "fierce snake crossing the river", the netizen "小户小户夜不归宿" replied: "please forgive me for not opening the tent as i had a night journey to travel. i left life and death to fate. the tent was already crawling with flies." the video was accompanied by a photo of the tent with the zipper not yet opened.

(screenshot of a comment from a netizen named xiaohu xiaohu who did not return home at night in the comment section of blogger mengsheguojiang’s video)

the "see" reporter found out that on august 21, "xiao hu xiao hu ye bu gui xiao" posted a message on his social account, explaining why he found the tent but did not call the police.

"i saw this tent while i was descending. my first feeling was that it was not good. maybe it was because of my sixth sense or my outdoor experience (i normally don't camp in such a place), i felt it was not good. so i shouted a few times and knocked with my trekking pole, but there was no response."

"it was around 6 o'clock at that time. i still had about 3 kilometers to go. the road was not easy to walk on. i was also afraid that i would not reach the destination before dark. i did not dare to open the tent to take a look, after all, i had to camp in the mountains for one night according to the plan. so i continued to walk down. i arrived at the village around 2 o'clock the next day and told the locals about the tent problem. the locals said that many hikers would throw their belongings on the mountain and retreat lightly when they were exhausted. moreover, it was rumored that the person who had recently disappeared had been found. in addition, if it was an empty tent, i felt that it would be a waste of rescue resources for the rescuers to go up. don't let a mistake delay the precious time of other rescuers. i just prayed that it was an empty tent and ignored it until i saw another brother's video proving that there was someone in it. then i realized it belatedly."

"i feel deeply ashamed and guilty about this. if i had reported it in time, he could have returned home earlier. people value burial. it is really uncomfortable to lie in there for half a month. i am sorry, brother. rest in peace."

▌many people found the tent where the body was found, but no one called the police

a search by a "see" reporter found that on august 26, "猛蛇过江" posted a post on the well-known outdoor website 8264, describing his experience of crossing the aotai line by bicycle, as well as the circumstances and inner thoughts before and after the discovery of the body.

the following is his post description:

at 0:00 a.m. on august 11, i set out from the entrance of taibai county stadium. at this time, there were still many people eating barbecue and chatting on the street. they didn't understand why i rode out at this time. my goal was to go straight to the miaonu trail entrance. the last time i arrived at this trail entrance was at around 5:00 a.m. on july 1. more than a month has passed, and there is an additional cooperative investigation notice here.

(near the trailhead, a report on the missing hiker ma moumou. image source: blogger mengsheguojiang)

i had heard of this young man from henan before. he climbed the mountain on july 5th. then it rained for 20 consecutive days, during which time baoji city suffered severe floods. it was not until july 25th that the search and rescue team found a body suspected to be a victim on the retreat route of shuiwozi, but there was no further news after the dna test. rumor had it that the body was not his.

i was pushing the cart leisurely, and at an altitude of more than 2,400 meters, i suddenly saw a tent in the distance. it was not easy to meet fellow hikers on the road. i immediately turned on the sports camera and began to think about how to strike up a conversation with the hikers. as i slowly approached, i saw that the zipper of the tent was unzipped. i thought to myself, how surprised he would be to see me pushing the cart.

when i got closer, i smelled a strong odor of rotting protein and found the tent was covered with flies. i realized that something was wrong. it was impossible for anyone to stay in such an environment for a long time. i didn't shout to see if there was anyone here. i knew there couldn't be anyone here, just like you can't ask if there is anyone inside a steel furnace, because there can't be any living people in such an environment.

(photographs were taken of the tent where the bodies were found and marked. image source: blogger mengsheguojiang)

i stopped the car, picked up a stick and pried open a corner of the tent, and found a silver-yellow egg trough mat, a red backpack, and a black jacket. i hadn't seen them in the front left of the tent, and i didn't dare to look, but i couldn't help but pick it up one last time. it didn't matter if i took a look, my legs went weak and i almost fell. i immediately thought of the cooperation notice posted at the entrance of the mountain, and also thought of the missing henan guy. i only remember that his tent seemed to be exactly the same as this one, and i can conclude that this is him.

because i only saw his head when i opened the tent for the last time, i didn't know the cause of his death. i was terrified, not because of him, but because of this route. what kind of powerful force could kill him? murder? wild animals? unknown creatures? he was heavily equipped and had so much equipment, but he couldn't get out. how could i get out with a useless bicycle and no camping equipment? it turned out that no one had walked this road in recent months. it's not that no one had walked it, but that the people who walked it didn't get out. i was stunned for a few seconds, dropped the stick, and was about to run away, but then i thought, i have to mark the location of this place, so i stopped to take a photo, saved the location, and continued to go down the mountain.

i encountered a black bear on the road, just 20 meters in front of me, i immediately yelled, the bear may have never seen a bicycle, and had no chance to see the bicycle, so i was scared away by my sudden roar. i immediately accelerated and rode past, yelling while riding, and looked back from time to time to see if the bear caught up. after a while, i encountered a black shadow running across the road again, suspected to be a wild boar. i kept yelling to ensure that the wild animals found me in advance and ran away in advance, for fear that one would suddenly jump out from beside me.

(the cave we encountered while descending. photo credit: blogger mengsheguojiang)

the first obstacle i encountered on the descent was that the river had completely washed away the forest road. i had no idea which way to go next. the gps track showed a left turn, but there was a cave there. the cave was wet all the way down, and there was a row of wild boar footprints on the ground. i shouted at the cave a few times, but no wild boar came out, so i went into the cave. in the cave, i met a group of bats that hit me, and finally i realized that the cave was a dead end and i had to retreat from the cave.

i went down to the river, pushed the cart, waded through the water several times and came to the largest broken bridge. this place is impassable during the rainy season. when i passed through here, the water almost submerged my buttocks. the water flow was very fast and it was easy to be washed away. the cold river water made me shiver all over. if i stayed there for a few more seconds, i might have been frozen numb. there were many landslides on the road, and there were several wooden bridges along the way, which could collapse at any time.

arriving at the police station at 5pm, i saw a policeman and looked at the contact information on the joint investigation notice again. i said i wanted to find officer cheng and call the police. the policeman immediately asked me if i had found him. so he took me in. three or four policemen began to listen to my story. i told them everything that happened along the way. at first, they didn't believe that i had found the missing young man from henan. i assured them that it was definitely him, but this was all subjective judgment. i reorganized my words and sent the video and photo location to the police.

before leaving, the police criticized and educated me, told me the dangers of this route, and asked me not to take such risks in the future. however, they also expressed their admiration for me, saying that it was incredible that i came out alone and rode a mountain bike out of here. they also said that if i had not walked here this time, no one might have discovered the victims for a year or two. before leaving, the police took a photo of me as a souvenir.

(after "mengshe guojiang" reported the case to the police, the police took a photo of him at the entrance of the police station. image source: blogger mengshe guojiang)

the police told me that the family offered a reward of 100,000 yuan and might give it to me. i was happy at first but gradually felt heavy-hearted. his family had been looking for him for more than a month, and this time i came out with the news of their son's death. their last hope was about to be shattered. how desperate and painful they must be. after i came back, i formally notified the police officer in charge of the case that i voluntarily gave up the reward so that the family of the deceased boy could rest in peace.

after i posted the tiktok video, two groups of people contacted me. the first group was a person who found the victim's tent on august 7. the tent was closed at the time and he didn't smell any unusual odor, but he could see flies on the tent. he thought there was no one there, so he didn't call the police.

the second group was a team of eight people. they encountered the tent on the night of august 11 and found that the tent was already open. two of them opened the tent and saw that the young man was not wearing any clothes. they left the mountain at about 12 noon on august 12, four hours earlier than me. after leaving the mountain, they were afraid of being fined, so they did not call the police. they also did not recognize who the young man was. judging from the fact that he was not wearing any clothes, it can be judged that he died of hypothermia.

according to a popular science article on the national health commission's wechat public account healthy china, hypothermia is divided into three stages: mild, moderate and severe.

the body temperature drops to 32°c to 35°c. at this stage, the human body will tremble, the hands will be numb, and it will be unable to complete complex movements. the hypothermic person may feel fatigue and abdominal pain, have difficulty seeing, and have abnormal urination.

body temperature drops to 28-32°c. muscle incoordination becomes more pronounced, and the person's movements become slower and more difficult, with unsteady steps and disorientation. the person with hypothermia becomes pale, and the color of the lips, ears, fingers and toes may turn blue. abnormal undressing occurs, leading to a temporary illusion of "warming up".

the body temperature drops below 28°c. muscle coordination is almost completely lost, and the patient cannot walk or even falls into a coma. the pulse and breathing slow down significantly, and a tachycardia or atrial fibrillation may occur, eventually leading to cardiopulmonary failure.

▌who opened the tent remains a mystery

the reporter sorted out the timeline and found that who was the second person to discover the incident, who opened the tent, and why no one called the police are still mysteries.

the following is a timeline collected by reporters through public information:

on july 5, a hiker named ma from henan went into the mountains. his family said that he lost contact on the 7th (the joint investigation report said it was on the 8th).

on july 7, ma’s relatives and friends called the police.

on july 25, the search and rescue team found a body suspected to be a victim on the descent route from shuiwozi.

on august 7, a netizen named “小乎小乎夜不归宿” discovered the victim’s tent. the tent was closed at the time and he did not smell any unusual odor, but he could see flies on the tent. he thought there was no one there, so he did not call the police.

from august 7 to august 11, who discovered the tent and unzipped it?

on the night of august 11, the eight-man team discovered that the tent had been opened and saw that the deceased young man was not wearing any clothes.

at noon on august 12, the eight-member team left the mountain. they were worried about being fined, so they did not call the police, and they did not recognize who the deceased young man was.

at noon on august 12, "fierce snake crossing the river" discovered the tent and speculated that the body was that of ma, a hiker from henan.

at 5 pm on august 12, "the snake crossing the river" took about 4 hours and crossed about 20 kilometers of mountain roads to reach the police station to report the crime.

▌there is a saying in the circle that if you don’t leave aotai, you are not a “strong donkey”

(the highest and bare section in the qinling mountains is the aotai line. picture from the internet)

the "aotai line" is the main line of the qinling mountains, which runs through aoshan and taibai mountain. it is the highest section of the main ridge of the qinling mountains and is also known as the "chinese dragon ridge". the straight-line distance between the two mountains is 46 kilometers, and the actual hiking journey is at least about 140 kilometers. during the entire crossing, the average altitude between the two mountains is 3,566 meters.

80% of the route is uninhabited, with a terrain of ridge cuts + boulders + horse-racing ridges (alpine meadows + stones). the route has to cross 17 mountains over 3,000 meters high. it is one of the most primitive and most masochistic top crossing routes in the qinling mountains. the climate is also more complex and changeable than that of ordinary mountainous areas. there are four seasons in one day, and severe weather such as strong winds, heavy rains, hail, rainstorms, thick fog, ice and snow occur all year round.

hikers gave it place names and marks according to the landforms and weather, and the flat areas became regular camping spots, such as 2900, bonsai garden, yaowang temple, shuiwozi, 2800, xiyuan, dayehai, etc., providing guidance for the "segmented victory" of those who came later. it was not until the dayehai scenic area in taibai mountain forest park in mei county that people came to camp, which was the last stop of the journey.

the unique natural geographical conditions, the majestic momentum towering into the clouds, and the ever-changing climate have shrouded it in mystery since ancient times.

li bai, a poet in the tang dynasty, left a poem when he climbed mount taibai, "climbing taibai peak in the west, i climb to the end of the setting sun. taibai speaks to me and opens the gate of heaven for me. i wish to ride on the cool wind and go straight out of the clouds. i can reach the moon with my hand and walk forward as if there are no mountains. after leaving wugong, when will i return?" wugong refers to aoshan mountain. many hikers climb mount taibai to follow in li bai's footsteps.

(aotai line scenery pictures from the internet)

some hikers have said that they are proud of walking the aotai, and they use it as a benchmark to become strong hikers. in the circle, there is a saying that those who don't walk the aotai are not "strong hikers".

according to a 2017 report by red star news, chen zheng is the chairman of the shaanxi mountaineering association and one of the first people to cross the aotai line. in 2001, he brought this extreme crossing route to the public's attention for the first time. some people say that he opened the "pandora's box". chen zheng said frankly that he did not expect so many people would die here later.

on september 6, a reporter from "see" contacted "lao gai", a veteran outdoor player from henan. he had climbed to the summit of famous mountains such as queer mountain, kilimanjaro, muztagh ata, and manaslu. he is a "strong donkey" who has crossed many difficult routes.

between 2007 and 2008, "lao gai" crossed the aotai line twice. the first time he crossed, he and his teammates encountered heavy fog on the top of the mountain and got lost. they were trapped for three whole days. as the visibility was only 2 meters, they could not find an evacuation route. the whole team fell into deep despair, and "lao gai" once thought he would die on the mountain.

lao gai recalled that after they lost their way, they camped on the spot and explored the surroundings, but no matter which way they went, they were on cliffs. while looking for a way, they also rescued several college students at aoding, who were suffering from hypothermia. "they were poorly equipped and lacked common sense, so they were of no use. their clothes would freeze after they sweated."

after being trapped for several days, lao gai and his teammates fell into despair. if they were trapped for another two days, they would not have enough food to get out of the mountain alive. fortunately, god was kind and the weather cleared up, and they were finally able to escape.

lao gai said that during the may day holiday, the accident rate on the aotai line was very high. during this month, the temperature in shaanxi is generally close to 30 degrees celsius, but the temperature in the mountains drops by at least 20 degrees celsius, and the temperature difference is extremely large. there will also be freezing rain and even blizzards. not to mention the strong wind, which is the fastest thing to take away human body temperature. if the equipment is not good and the awareness is not enough, it is very likely to cause hypothermia and death.

when the weather changes, hikers want to rush to the camp, but rushing will lead to serious physical exhaustion. at this time, those who fall behind in the team are very likely to die. and for some "lone wolves" crossing alone, even if they just sprain their ankles or get stuck in the cracks of the rocks, it is fatal. "every year, people die. some hikers report it, but many others don't. it's too normal."

"lao gai" said that in the outdoors, knee-deep water can drown people, and many hikers don't care when crossing rivers. the water in the mountains is icy cold, and the current is fast. there are many accidents when carrying heavy equipment, and he has seen it with his own eyes.

even facing death, laogai is still active in the outdoor circle. "it's good to be born once by your parents and to be able to go a little further and see the world, but you have to pay attention to safety and be well prepared. you can't bring pain to your parents, wife and children just because you go out to play, and don't rely on others for your safety."

(picture of the monument to the victims of the aotai line from the internet)

due to frequent accidents, on september 16, 2017, the china mountaineering association and the shaanxi mountaineering association formed a joint 7-member expert research team to conduct a survey on the aotai crossing route, aiming to collect effective data on the aotai crossing route and analyze the specific reasons for the frequent mountain accidents. this is also the first time in my country that the national level has taken the lead and gathered professional mountaineering team members to conduct an investigation on the public crossing route. after the completion of this investigation, the china mountaineering association and the shaanxi mountaineering association jointly issued the "china aotai crossing accident investigation report".

in 2018, shaanxi issued a document explicitly prohibiting the crossing of the aotai river, and violators will face administrative penalties. however, many "strong donkeys" still cross the river every year, taking risks, and accidents still occur every year.

according to media statistics, the total number of missing and dead hikers crossing the aotai line has exceeded 50. according to the "china aotai line accident investigation report", a total of 46 hikers have gone missing or died in less than five years from 2012 to the summer of 2017.

according to a previous report by the beijing news, these figures do not include those who did not report the incident. according to statistics from the shaanxi shuguang emergency rescue association, the shuguang rescue team conducted 102 rescue operations in the qinling area from 2010 to the end of 2016. with such a high number of deaths and such frequent rescue operations, it can be seen that the risks lurking on the "aotai line" are very high.

▌will banning and regulation be safer?

"lao gai" believes that the current simple ban has not effectively solved the problem. although this measure is based on safety considerations, it will also cause more controversy, such as necessary rescue. "lao gai" said that the ban measure does not necessarily improve safety, but may lead to more people taking risks out of curiosity.

in recent years, there are many routes that are officially prohibited from entering or crossing, such as the aotai line, queer mountain, animaqing, nianbao yuze, etc.

but for the government, it is impossible to seal off the route. there will always be people who take advantage of loopholes to "climb up" or "climb up" secretly, and most of the accidents are caused by them. some netizens have suggested that we can refer to some outdoor hiking areas abroad to establish a protection system, set up some signboards at forks, set up some emergency shelters and post stations in areas with higher risk factors, and cooperate with local villagers, which may reduce the risk of hiking.

but some people have questioned that building a scenic road with signboards, steps, handrails and railings will cause greater damage to the mountains and vegetation. is that still the unknown world that hikers want to explore?

it is worth mentioning that in 2017, li fuqing, a member of the expert research team for the aotai line hiking tour and a coach of the chinese mountaineering team, told red star news that in order to prevent hikers from getting lost during the crossing, relevant departments set up signposts along the way. however, some signposts were maliciously painted over and the directions were modified. "this behavior is very bad. if hikers follow the modified route, they are likely to get lost and encounter accidents."

in june 2021, the magazine "outdoor adventure" published an article on zhihu to analyze the reasons why outdoor routes are becoming less and less popular. among them, environmental protection is an issue that almost all banned routes and hikers cannot avoid. a large number of hikers and tourists have poured in, with varying abilities and qualities. as long as there are corners of human activity, garbage will be generated. ecological damage is the most direct problem that leads to the banning of routes.

in addition, engineering reasons, such as deforestation and illegal mining of minerals, have caused devastating damage to the ecology. a typical example is animaqing. in 2020, after the media exposed the illegal coal mining in qilian mountains, all activities involving tourism, scientific research, climbing, and engineering around animaqing were completely stopped.

high risk is also one of the reasons for the ban. travelers are curious and competitive, and always want to explore and conquer some well-known and exciting routes, hoping to get praise from others after completing them. as a result, many people blindly go into battle, which eventually leads to problems, such as the xiate ancient road during the flood season and the aotai line during the may day holiday.

fire prevention and flood control are common in northern china, and the southern region at the turn of spring and summer is also a high-risk area for forest fires. usually, from november 1st to may 1st of the following year, forest areas and even grasslands are fire prevention areas, and entry is strictly prohibited. from may 1st to november 1st, it is the flood prevention period, and some areas will also be closed for management.