The second season of the “Qixing Mountain Cup jungle survival challenge” kicked off on October 8 at the Qixing Mountain campsite in Zhangjiajie, where 10 finalists are now battling to survive at least 40 days in the wild.
The last contestant standing will take home a 200,000-yuan (US$28,080) cash prize and a championship certificate.
This year’s event has become one of China’s hottest reality survival shows, earning comparisons to Survivor and Alone. Participants are allowed to bring only a knife and a jar of salt. With wild food scarce after the first season and cold autumn weather setting in, conditions are brutally tough.
Pharmacy graduate Zhang Bolin earns fame for his calm and humorous approach.
Among the standout contestants is Zhang Bolin, a pharmacy graduate dubbed “the chill drifter” for his calm and humorous approach. Using his scientific know-how, he identifies edible plants, stores kiwis until they ferment slightly, and imitates monkeys in the rain — antics that viewers say “cured their burnout.”
Zhang Bolin imitates monkeys in the rain.
Another fan favorite, nicknamed “Cold Beauty,” became the first female contestant to start a fire in record time after mastering fire-drilling techniques.
She entered the competition with full makeup but, after 14 days of foraging for wild fruit and greens, emerged “sunken-cheeked and cracked-lipped” — a stark symbol of resilience.
Cold Beauty enters the competition with full makeup, but emerges sunken-cheeked and cracked-lipped after 14 days.
Local contestant Yao Yao, leveraging his knowledge of the terrain, has achieved what fans call “fine dining in the wilderness.” He extracts salt from plants, cooks fish mint with crab and Codonopsis stew, and even ends meals with nuts — earning the title of “gourmet of the wild.”
Yao Yao eats crab and Codonopsis stew in the show.
As of October 24, 25 challengers remain in the running.
Last year’s inaugural challenge lasted 70 days and 69 nights, ending with Yang Dongdong, a contestant from Hunan, winning 100,000 yuan. Living off smoked rat meat, fish mint, and mountain yams, Yang lost 15kg but said afterward, “I could’ve gone another month.”
Yang Dongdong's dramatic body transformation before and after the competition.
Organizers say this season will be “tougher, colder, and truer to raw survival” — and with social media flooding with clips of contestants foraging, shivering, and joking their way through hardship, the show has already become one of China’s most talked-about real-life adventures.