Xue Wei, who became the first ever person from Fujian province to climb the world's highest peak, Mount Qomolangma in May, discussed his extraordinary journey at a special talk held in Pingtan on Oct 14.

His speech luredclimbing enthusiasts from across the province to fill the cultural locale AlanJeo, near Wanbaoshan Park in Xue’s hometown of Pingtan.

Xue shared that his decision to climb Mount Qomolangma, often referred to as Mount Everest in Western countries, was not a carefully thought out plan. Rather, he was spurred on by the fact that no one from his home province Fujian had ever completed the feat before.

The track leading to the top of Qomolangma is well developed, Xue said, but there are still many unpredictable risks as snow mountains are always dangerous to climb.

"In the end, it really comes down to what your sense of worth is, how you value your own life and your family, and that is something explicable," he said, according to local news website Ptnet.cn.

Xue attributed his success to the fact that his body is well-suited to climbing in plateau environments, allowing him to scale peaks with increasingly higher elevations.

Conquering Qomolangma brought Xue one step closer to his goal of standing atop the highest peaks in every continent and the North and South Poles. His recent success means that he is now halfway there, having previously climbed the Elbrus in Europe, Aconcagua in South America and Kilimanjaro in Africa.

The mountaineer's elder sister also appeared at the scene to show her support. She told the media that their parents did not agree with Xue's adventurous deeds when he first started mountaineering in 2004, but over the years they have realized that there is no point trying to dissuade him.

Xue's talk was aimed at conveying the importance of having a dream and being persistent to young people in Pingtan, said Cai Zhicheng, head of AlanJeo, the host of the event. Cai said they plan to organize more such sharing events to benefit the general public.

Xue Wei shares his experience of climbing the highest peak on earth, Mount Qomolangma, with an audience in Pingtan on Oct 14. [Photo/Ptnet.cn]