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‘Strictly forbidden’: China warns hikers off Aotai Line after 3 die on infamous trail

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2026年1月11日
2 min read
Aotai Aotai Line CCTV China China Adventure Association Chinese authorities Chinese Mountaineering Association Chongqing-based Shangyou News die forbidden General Administration of Sport hikers infamous Line Mount Everest Mount Taibai Qinling Shaanxi province Strictly Taibai county Tang Xinlong trail warns Yang Yang

‘Strictly forbidden’: China warns hikers off Aotai Line after 3 die on infamous trail插图

Chinese authorities have again stressed that hiking on the deadly Aotai Line in northwestern China is illegal after three more people died on what Chinese media has described as the country’s “most dangerous hiking route”.

“It is strictly forbidden to conduct unauthorised hiking traverses and similar activities [on the Aotai trail],” the General Administration of Sport’s mountaineering management centre said in a notice on Friday.

“Recently, five individuals undertook an unauthorised crossing of the Qinling’s Aotai Line, resulting in three fatalities and attracting public attention.”

The Aotai Line in Shaanxi province connects the Qinling mountain range’s highest peak, Mount Taibai, at an altitude of 3,767 metres (12,359 feet), with Mount Ao (3,476 metres).

The warning came four days after the Taibai county government said five hikers had “illegally entered the Aotai Line” in the early hours of January 2.

It said one hiker descended the following day, while the other four were missing. A government-organised rescue team later found three hikers had died, the youngest of whom was 19 years old, and one survivor, according to the county government.

China’s national emergency broadcasting centre, which is affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV, interviewed rescuer Tang Xinlong on Saturday who said the hikers had switched their phones to flight mode “at their guide’s request” to avoid being tracked within the restricted zone.

This prevented them from sending timely emergency signals and hindered police efforts to swiftly pinpoint their location, Tang said, adding that the hikers had encountered heavy fog and snow, leading to hypothermia. One victim died after falling from a cliff, according to Tang.

Shaanxi province, Tang Xinlong, Mount Everest, Mount Taibai, Qinling, Chinese authorities, CCTV, Taibai county, Aotai Line, Chinese Mountaineering Association, China Adventure Association, Chongqing-based Shangyou News, General Administration of Sport, Yang Yang#Strictly #forbidden #China #warns #hikers #Aotai #Line #die #infamous #trail1768132522