(XINHUA)

Pan Duo, 75, the first woman to ascend the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth, from its more dangerous northern face, passed away in Wuxi, east China's Jiangsu Province, on March 31.

Born in Tibet Autonomous Region in 1939, Pan lost her father when she was 8 years old, and her mother raised the family alone. She said her hard life nurtured her strong body and will. At the age of 20, she joined the China Female Mountaineering Expedition.

In January 1974, Pan was elected as deputy captain of the China Mountaineering Expedition. On May 27, 1975, Pan, a mother of three children, reached the top of Mount Everest along with eight male expedition members.