American rock climber Alex Honnold begins his ascent of the Taipei 101 skyscraper

American rock climber Alex Honnold began his ascent of the Taipei 101 skyscraper on Sunday without any ropes.

Cheers erupted from a gathered crowd as he started climbing the tower, using the horizontal metal beams to pull himself up with his bare hands.

The onlookers cheered again when he paused at one point and turned around to face them, in a red short-sleeve shirt that stood out as he made the climb.

Honnold's free solo climb of the iconic building in Taiwan's capital city was being broadcast live on Netflix. The ascent, originally scheduled for the previous day, was delayed for 24 hours due to rain.