SHENZHEN resident Liang Qun, 37, made history in 2003 after becoming the first Han woman from the Chinese mainland to scale Mt. Qomolangma.

"You can never imagine the feeling of standing atop of Mt. Qomolangma," she said. "Once you are there, you will never forget what it feels like. To me, it's heaven."

Liang and her husband Li Weiwen, amateur climbers and teachers at Shenzhen University, became the first local couple to climb Mt. Qomolangma on May 21, 2003, marking the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of the 8,848-meter summit.

The couple's story and their passion for mountaineering have been inspiring students of the university ever since.

"Not every student has the resources and ability to do so, but they understand the words of 'passion' and 'goal,'" Li said.

The climb cost the couple seven fingertips and they have to stay in hospital for three months to be treated for snow-blindness and frostbite, but the two said nothing could stop them from continuing to climb mountains.

Liang is among four Shenzheners to have scaled the summit of Mt. Qomolangma successfully. Of the other three, 52-year-old local real estate tycoon Wang Shi is the oldest mainlander to ascend the mountain.

In 2000, the couple climbed the 6,178-meter Yuzhu Peak in western China's Qinghai Province. It was their first experience of climbing a mountain higher than 4,000 meters.

They later climbed Muztagata (7,546 meters) in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in July 2001 and the First Sister Peak in the Four Sisters Mountains in Southwest China's Sichuan Province in October 2001.

"Exploring with Li, I know I am not alone at every summit," Liang said.

Editor: Wing