An eight-year-old boy climbed Taiwan's highest mountain with a portrait of his late mother - honouring a promise he made on her death bed to take her there.

The youngster named Zhou Ze Gang was read a bedtime book by his mum, Chang Lan-qi, about the perilous peak named Jade, or Yu Shan, as locals call it, when he was just four.

Chang Lan-qi was terminally ill with cancer at the time and unable to take her son but asked him to one day scale the peak and take a photograph of her with him. Zhou Ze Gang promised her that he would.

The mother died last year and the determined boy vowed to fulfil his mother's dying wish.

Earlier this year Zhou Ze Gang and his father, Zhou Pin-wei, began endurance training before attempting the feat.

In emotional scenes, the young boy finally honoured the promise to his dying mother.

He had to battle through altitude sickness to scale the 3,952-metre mountain on August 19.

Zhou Ze Gang proudly posed at the peak with his mother's portrait before asking ''mummy I'm here now, nearer to you in heaven, how are you?''

The lad's father, Zhou Pin-wei, captured the emotional moment.

He said: ''When my son said he wanted to climb Yu Shan I was a little bit worried, because it is difficult for anyone, especially a young boy.

''But he wanted to keep the promise he made to his mother.

''He would ask me 'will mummy come to my dreams more often after I fulfill the promise? Yushan is so high, and if I go to the top of the mountain, maybe I’ll be closer to mummy in heaven'.

''It was a very proud moment for everybody when he reached the top.

''Even though his mother and my wife has gone, the love of our family is still strong. I hope that she is in heaven and can see what he has done.''

Zhou Pin-wei revealed how him and his son, who has a younger brother, started doing endurance training earlier this year by hiking on trails.

They set off from Yilan County on August 17, taking Lan-qi's photo with them.

During the hike to the summit, Zhou Ze Gang suffered from dizziness caused by altitude sickness and his father asked him to give up the trip and try another time.

But the boy insisted on continuing the hike, saying ''no, I have to do what I promised mummy''.

They spent two days hiking on the 21.8 km trail before finally reaching the summit on August 19.

Zhou Pin-wei said: ''My wife would read books to our children before bed time. There was one time when she read a book about Yu Shan. She told the children that in the future, they should Mommy to the top of the mountain and see the world together.

''When my son reached the peak he said 'mommy, here I am, closer to you in heaven. How are you?' ''

An eight-year-old boy climbed Taiwan's highest mountain with a portrait of his late mother - honouring a promise he made on her death bed to take her there.

The youngster named Zhou Ze Gang was read a bedtime book by his mum, Chang Lan-qi, about the perilous peak named Jade, or Yu Shan, as locals call it, when he was just four.

Chang Lan-qi was terminally ill with cancer at the time and unable to take her son - but asked him to one day scale the peak and take a photograph of her with him. Zhou Ze Gang promised her that he would.

The mother died last year and the determined boy vowed to fulfill his mother's dying wish. Earlier this year Zhou Ze Gang and his father, Zhou Pin-wei, began endurance training before the attempting the feat.

In emotional scenes, the young boy finally honoured the promise to his dying mother. He had to battle through altitude sickness to scale the 3,952 metre high mountain on August 19.

Zhou Ze Gang proudly posed at the peak with his mother's portrait before asking ''mummy I'm here now, nearer to you in heaven, how are you?''

The lad's father, Zhou Pin-wei, captured the emotional moment.

He said: ''When my son said he wanted to climb Yu Shan I was a little bit worried, because it is difficult for anyone, especially a young boy.

''But he wanted to keep the promise he made to his mother.

''He would ask me 'will mummy come to my dreams more often after I fulfill the promise? Yushan is so high, and if I go to the top of the mountain, maybe I’ll be closer to mummy in heaven'.

''It was a very proud moment for everybody when he reached the top.

''Even though his mother and my wife has gone, the love of our family is still strong. I hope that she is in heaven and can see what he has done.''

Zhou Pin-wei revealed how him and his son, who has a younger brother, started doing endurance training earlier this year by hiking on trails.

They set off from Yilan County on August 17, taking Lan-qi's photo with them.

During the hike to the summit, Zhou Ze Gang suffered from dizziness caused by altitude sickness and his father asked him to give up the trip and try another time.

But the boy insisted on continuing the hike, saying ''no, I have to do what I promised mummy''.

They spent two days hiking on the 21.8 km trail before finally reaching the summit on August 19.

Zhou Pin-wei said: ''My wife would read books to our children before bed time. There was one time when she read a book about Yu Shan. She told the children that in the future, they should Mommy to the top of the mountain and see the world together.

''When my son reached the peak he said 'mommy, here I am, closer to you in heaven. How are you?' ''