A teen hiker lost in mountains of China for 10 days and with a broken arm survived by eating toothpaste!
18-year-old hiker, Sun Liang, was miraculously rescued after surviving ten days in the freezing mountains of northwestern China.
Sun had set out on a solo trek along the Ao-Tai Pass in the Qinling range, hoping to challenge himself. But two days into his journey, his electronic devices died, and he lost contact with his family, leaving him stranded at an altitude of 2,500 meters.
With no food and facing extreme conditions, Sun relied on river water, melted snow, and even toothpaste to stay alive.
As he attempted to follow a stream in search of help, he suffered multiple falls, breaking his right arm. To protect himself from the freezing temperatures and biting wind, he took shelter behind a large rock, using dry leaves as bedding.
The Ao-Tai trail, known for its steep terrain and dangerous conditions, has claimed over 50 lives or left climbers missing in the past two decades.
Though authorities closed the trail to travelers in 2018, adventurers like Sun continue to risk it for the challenge. Sun later admitted he wasn’t aware the trail was banned but had set out simply to test his limits.
Against the odds, Sun survived the ordeal, and his rescue marked the first known successful retrieval from this treacherous path.