1964 Chinese Expedition to Shishapangma

China🏔️ 2 Peaks

Wang Fuzhou

Wang Fuzhou was born in January 1935 in Xihua County, Henan Province, China. He studied geology at the Beijing Institute of Geology, graduating in 1958 before being recruited into the newly formed national mountaineering team. Trained in the Soviet Caucasus and the Pamirs, Wang quickly demonstrated exceptional endurance, tactical discipline, and rock-climbing technique. In the spring of 1960, Wang was appointed party secretary and lead climber for the historic Chinese Mount Everest Expedition attempting the unclimbed North Ridge route from Tibet. On May 24, Wang, Qu Yinhua, Gonpo (Tibet), and Liu Lianman pushed beyond the infamous Second Step (8,600m), where Liu offered his shoulders as a human ladder to boost his companions over the sheer rock wall. Running out of supplemental oxygen during the night, Wang, Qu, and Gonpo pressed on through the pitch blackness in sub-zero frost, reaching the summit of Mount Everest at 4:20 AM on May 25, 1960. It was the first ascent of Everest from the north and the first nighttime summit of an eight-thousander. Four years later, in the spring of 1964, Wang joined the formidable Chinese expedition led by Xu Jing to attempt Shishapangma (8,027m) in southern Tibet—the only eight-thousander entirely within Chinese territory and the last unclimbed 8,000-meter giant on Earth. Operating as the technical backbone of the assault, Wang forged the route up the heavily crevassed northern slopes. On May 2, 1964, Wang Fuzhou, alongside expedition leader Xu Jing and eight other Chinese and Tibetan climbers, stood on the 8,027-meter summit of Shishapangma. The ascent completed the first ascents of all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks on Earth. Wang subsequently served for many years as President of the Chinese Mountaineering Association (CMA) and Vice President of the Chinese Olympic Committee. He passed away on July 18, 2015, in Beijing at age 80, immortalized as a foundational titan of Asian mountaineering.

China🏔️ 1 Peak

Xu Jing

Xu Jing was born in 1927 in Liaoning Province, China. A pioneer of modern Chinese high-altitude mountaineering, Xu underwent rigorous alpine training in the Soviet Caucasus and Pamir mountains during the mid-1950s, mastering extreme glaciology, expedition logistics, and severe ice navigation. In 1960, Xu served as deputy leader and chief field commander of the Chinese Mount Everest Expedition, orchestrating the complex logistical establishment of camps up the East Rongbuk Glacier and North Col, which culminated in the historic first summit of Everest via the North Ridge by Wang Fuzhou, Qu Yinhua, and Gonpo on May 25, 1960. In 1964, the Chinese Mountaineering Association appointed Xu as the leader of the national expedition to Shishapangma (8,027m, also known as Gosainthan) in south-central Tibet. Shishapangma was the only 8,000-meter peak situated entirely within Chinese territory and the fourteenth and final eight-thousander on Earth left unclimbed. Demonstrating superb organizational command, Xu established Base Camp on the northern approaches and established four high camps through massive crevasses and steep icefields. On the morning of May 2, 1964, leading from the front, Xu Jing and nine teammates—including Wang Fuzhou, Zhang Junyan, Wu Zongyue, and Tibetan climber Sodnam Doje—overcame deep avalanche-prone snow on the final summit crest. At 10:20 AM, Xu stepped onto the 8,027-meter summit of Shishapangma, writing the concluding chapter in the historic golden age of first ascents of the world's 14 eight-thousanders. Xu continued to serve as a revered elder statesman of Chinese mountaineering, mentoring generations of elite Himalayan climbers and organizing the landmark 1975 Chinese Everest expedition. He passed away on October 15, 2011, at age 84, remembered as the visionary commander who conquered Earth's last virgin eight-thousander.