Wang Jing () is a Chinese climber, author, entrepreneur and member of

The Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904 and has served as a meeting point for ex ...

in the United States. Wang is best known for her feat in becoming the fastest woman in the world to complete the

Explorers Grand Slam The Explorer's Grand Slam is an adventurer goal to reach the North Pole and South Pole, as well as climb the Seven Summits ( Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Vinson, and Puncak Jaya or Kosciuszko). History The original ...

(Last Degree) in 143 days (4 months and 23 days) and the fastest woman to climb Seven Summits with an assist from helicopters (combined

Mount Kosciuszko Mount Kosciuszko ( ; ; Ngarigo: ) is the highest mountain of the mainland Australia, at above sea level. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park, a part of the Australian Alps National Parks and ...

and Carstensz lists in 138 days, which is 4 months and 18 days). The

involves reaching the highest peak on every continent plus at a minimum of skiing the last degree (111 km) to the North and South poles. Wang recorded this adventure in her book ''Silence of the Summit'', which was published in English in December 2018.

Toread

Wang is the chairwoman, CEO, and co-founder of Toread Holdings Group Co., Ltd. In China. The company offers outdoor products including clothing, shoes, and equipment, and went public on Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2009. It was named Forbes Asia's 200 Best Under A Billion in 2014.

Mountaineering

On January 15, 2014, Wang reached the South Pole, marking the start of her Explorers Grand Slam journey. The

Seven Summits The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven. In January 2023, ''Climbing (magazine), Climbing'' said "Today, t ...

Jing climbed included

Vinson Massif Vinson Massif () is a large mountain massif in Antarctica that is long and wide and lies within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. It overlooks the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is located ab ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in both the Western Hemisphere and the ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, at above sea level and above its plateau base. It is also the highest volcano i ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Carstensz Pyramid Puncak Jaya (; literally "Victorious Peak", Amungme: ''Nemangkawi Ninggok'') or Carstensz Pyramid (, , ) on the island of New Guinea, with an elevation of , is the highest mountain peak of an island on Earth, and the highest peak in Indones ...

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

Elbrus Mount Elbrus; ; is the highest mountain in Russia and Europe. It is a dormant volcano, dormant stratovolcano rising above sea level, and is the highest volcano in Eurasia, as well as the List of mountain peaks by prominence, tenth-most promi ...

Summit of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Denali Denali (), federally designated as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring . On p. 20 of Helm ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

– covering both the Messner and Bass lists of the

. Wang and a team of Sherpas caused controversy as the only team to reach the summit of

after the 2014 avalanche that killed 16 Sherpas, by using a helicopter to get from Base Camp to Camp 2.

Elizabeth Hawley Elizabeth Hawley (9 November 1923 – 26 January 2018) was an American journalist, author, and chronicler of Himalayan mountaineering expeditions. Hawley's ''The Himalayan Database'' became the unofficial record for climbs in the Nepalese Himal ...

put an asterisk next to Wang's ascent, marking it aviation-assisted. The Nepalese government provided her with a summit certificate for "her successful ascent in a time of crisis and uncertainty." As of 2016, helicopters now carry loads for Sherpa to Camp 1 as a matter of standard practice. Wang received the title "International-Mountaineer 2014" and also "Nepal-China goodwill ambassador-2015" from the Nepalese government.

Everest Future Foundation

Wang established the Everest Future Foundation to improve the standards of living of the Sherpa community, building schools, monasteries, and hospitals, and contributing to other welfare activities. One example is the Khumjung Gompa, a monastery located in the Khumjung village at the foot of the sacred peak of

Khumbila Khumbila or Khumbu Yül-Lha, roughly translated as "God of Khumbu village" is one of the high Himalayan peaks in the Khumbu region of eastern Nepal within the Sagarmatha National Park. Considered too sacred to be climbed by most local Sherpa pe ...

at an altitude of 3,790m. This monastery is an important source of spiritual guidance to the local communities. On the 25th of April 2015 when an earthquake struck, leaving the monastery severely damaged, locals did not dare enter the monastery with the fear of sudden collapse. The Foundation donated 13,000,000 Rupees to support the reconstruction of

Khumjung Khumjung () is a village in Khumbu Pasanglhamu rural municipality of Solukhumbu District in Province No. 1 of north-eastern Nepal. It is located in the Khumbu sub-region inside Sagarmatha National Park, a world heritage site. The village lies ...

Gumba in 2017. Jing has also donated to the Nepalese health and educational sectors in order to raise their standards. Along with this, she participated in activities cleaning up garbage in the Qomolungma high-altitude named "Clean The Mountain".

Books

Wang has authored two books based on her mountaineering experiences, ''Life at Altitude'' and ''Silence of the Summit''. The first book was first published in Chinese in 2013, telling Wang's story from a sportswear businessperson to a mountaineer. The second book, ''Silence of the Summit'', was published in Chinese in 2016, focusing on her expedition in 2014. The English edition of ''Silence of the Summit'' was published in 2018.

Expeditions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Jing Living people Chinese summiters of Mount Everest Summiters of the Seven Summits Explorers of Antarctica Explorers of the Arctic Female polar explorers Polar explorers Chinese female climbers 1975 births