Shenzhen teenager, 15, becomes youngest male to climb Mount Everest from south side

Li Zixuan, a 15-year-old ninth-grade student from Shenzhen's Futian district, successfully summited Mount Everest from the south side at 9.20am local time on May 20, becoming China's youngest male to reach the peak and breaking the world record for the youngest male to climb Everest from the south side, mainland media reported.

The summit push began at 9pm on May 19. In the early hours, between 8,400 and 8,500 metres, Li faced extreme cold of around minus 20 degrees Celsius. Despite freezing winds and near-exhaustion, he pushed through to reach the summit.

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Remarkably, Li's father, Li Chunsheng, had summited Everest on the same day and at the same time ten years earlier, on May 20, 2016.

Li began mountaineering two years ago when he joined his father in a clean-up activity at Tanglang Mountain. He later promised to accompany his father on climbs in exchange for a bicycle as a reward, completing the "Ten Peaks of Shenzhen" in just over a month.

To prepare for Everest, Li trained in rock climbing for four months and ran 10 kilometres daily. In the summer of 2025, at age 14, he consecutively summited two peaks over 5,000 metres in seven days. He followed up with another summit during the National Day holiday.

Li is currently descending from the peak to base camp.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓