Surfing makes a splash

2023-07-26 16:22

Although relatively new to the country, surfing and related water sports have found a fan base.

▲A woman practices surfing in a wave pool at Atlantis Sanya resort water park in Hainan province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Once a niche sport in China, surfing has become more popular among young sport lovers in recent years.

As a part of the country's post-COVID outdoor sports boom, surfing and the beach lifestyle have become synonymous with a freer, more inspiring way of life.

Videos of the trending water sport often gain hundreds of thousands of views on social media. Let's Sacalaca, the first surfing-themed TV show in China, aired in 2020. It invites celebrities like Huang Xuan, Han Dongjun and Wang Yibo to learn surfing skills and help run a surf shop in Wanning in South China's Hainan province.

"We are too often occupied by our smartphones and work, but surfing gives us a sense of freedom. When you stand on a surfboard, you focus just on riding the waves and forget everything," said Liu Yue, a surfing enthusiast who works in Beijing and comes to Riyue Bay, Wanning, from time to time.

Like Liu, many young people work and live in big cities but seize weekends and holidays as their opportunity to relax in the sea. They call themselves "city surfers" and consider surfing and the beach lifestyle a way to escape from stressful urban life.

The most attractive part of surfing is its uncertainty, according to Li Jing, a surfing event planner working at the Riyue Bay.

"It is a test of patience and tenacity. Most of the time, surfers are paddling in the sea, and they can only catch the waves and stand up occasionally. Some may give up because of the waiting required," said Li.

"But if you think of it in another way, the process of waiting for waves is very relaxing and refreshing. You just need to keep an eye on the waves. All that you can see are the blue sky and serene waters," she added. "You can leave all other distractions on the shore."

Now with new inventions like electric surfboards and wave-making boats, people have more choices to pursue the oceanic pastime of surfing.

"Surfing is all about thrill, freedom and fun — that is what the younger generation today is looking for," said Huang Wenyu, a professional surfer, and an owner of a surf shop at the Riyue Bay.

He believes that the water sport has seen a rising trend in China partly because of the efforts surfers and surf clubs have been putting into the scene for the past decade.

"Surfing is an amazing sport that connects us and unites a tribe of people across the country and even the world," Huang said.

Riyue Bay is home to 23 surf clubs as well as China's national surfing team academy. And seven professional provincial-level surfing teams undergo training here.

As a year-round surfing spot, the bay has held international competitions for 11 consecutive years.

To celebrate International Surfing Day on June 17, the bay's surfing community organized more than 30 themed activities, bringing together surfing competitions, surf culture exhibitions, music parties and outdoor sports experiences.

"For people like me who don't surf or seek thrills, I come here just for the relaxing seaside atmosphere, calming views, athletic vibe and vibrant nightlife," said Ye Tong, a college student from Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. She stayed in Sanya for a week during her summer vacation.

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▲Lin Chirui performs jet surfing maneuvers in Sanya. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Excitement in their wake

"Riding the waves, looking at the sea melting into the sky and listening to the music played by the wave-making boat — this is the beauty of wakesurfing," said Chen Kuixi, better known as Jack on social media.

Chen, 38, is a surfer, an owner of a wakesurfing club in Sanya and the first person to livestream wakesurfing on the Chinese video-sharing platform Douyin.

He came to Sanya in 2006 and worked as a purser for China Southern Airlines. For the first time, he learned about surfing in Sanya.

Since 2008, he taught himself how to surf by watching videos online and hired a professional coach to help himself improve. At that time there were only a few surfers in Hainan, so he quickly got to know almost everyone who fell in love with riding waves.

"Surfing can bring joy and inspiration," he said. "I think surfers all have a love for nature and are usually optimistic and resilient toward life."

Although surfing looks fun and cool, Chen said, it is also tough and challenging.

"Many times surfers will fall in the water, sometimes quite painfully, but they have to try again and again. Surfing requires the spirit of never giving up," he added.

In 2008, Chen tried wakesurfing — a water sport in which a rider trails behind a boat and rides the boat's wake without being directly pulled by the boat — for the first time on a lake in his hometown of Chengdu, Sichuan province.

In October of the same year, Chen — likely due to his surfer's bravery and persistence — started the Frontside Wakesurf Club in Sanya, the first wakesurfing club in the city.

In the beginning, few people knew about wakesurfing. His club had to spend years promoting the new sport and persuading people to give it a try. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chen posted short videos of wakesurfing on social media and began livestreaming the sport in Sanya. Unexpectedly, his account soon attracted more than 1 million followers. "Surfing has become a popular sport among young people. Traditionally it requires time to wait for the right waves, but here comes a new, efficient way of surfing: wakesurfing," he said.

Celebrities like Yang Ying (better known by her stage name Angelababy), Jia Nailiang and Huang Bo also shared videos of wakesurfing on social media and have drawn wide attention.

"The thrill can transcend screens. Frequently watching surfing videos of stunning surfers and incredible waves is as exciting as taking the adventure yourself," said Chen.

Now wakesurfing has become a trendy sport, and Chen's club has more than 100 employees and owns six Nautique wave-making boats, each worth about 2 million yuan ($279,900).

Even if our customers can't swim, they can still catch the waves easily and experience the thrill of surfing as long as they wear the required safety gear.

"The wave-making boats can help control the waves — big or small — so the process of surfing can be smoother and more stable," Chen explained. "At the same time, the customers can still have deep contact with nature at sea."

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▲Chen Kuixi wakesurfs in Sanya. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Jetting ahead for jet surfing

"I used to have fair skin, but I got tanned after I fell for surfing," said Lin Chirui.

Lin, 38, used to work as a hairdresser in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. However, having grown up by the sea in Sanya, he has always loved water sports. Now he has become a national first-class jet surfer and the general manager of a sports company.

In 2016, Lin saw an exhibition on jet surfing in Sanya and found the new sport interesting. He immediately bought a secondhand electric surfboard and watched online instructional videos to figure out how to ride it. Due to his talent in water sports, Lin soon mastered the skills of jet surfing and the techniques required for electric surfboard maintenance.

"Every time after I jet surfed, many people on the beach would come up and ask me what I was using and how to ride it. So I thought it might be a good idea to start a jet surf club," he said.

In 2019, Lin opened a jet surfing club in his hometown of Tianya town, Sanya, and established the Hainan Jianjie Sports Company last year.

"Unlike regular surfing, jet surfing is a one-of-a-kind adventure. As a cool and adrenaline-fueled water sport, it's a new way of exploring the ocean and waves, despite flat water conditions," he said. "Even better, surfers can jet surf with several friends."

Jet surfing requires an electric surfboard — an amalgamation of a motor powered by lithium-ion batteries with a regular surfboard — capable of riding waves at a speed of up to about 56.3 kilometers per hour.

Lin surfs two to three hours each day. Sometimes he and his friends will jet surf 5 to 6 kilometers from the beach by the town to Sanya's West Island.

Due to electric surfboards' high speed and good mobility, Lin's club also set up a rescue volunteer team in the town in 2020.

"We are often on the beach or in the sea. So if an accident occurs, we can quickly ride on an electric surfboard to rescue people who are drowning and hopefully save lives," he said.

Thanks to Lin and his club's persistent efforts, jet surfing has become a tourism specialty in Tianya town. Now it has more than a dozen employees and 13 electric surfboards.

"We aim to provide tourists with brand-new water sports experiences and contribute to the development of the cultural and tourism industries of Tianya town," said Lin. "And we also hope to cultivate more topnotch local jet surfers."

This year his club was recognized as a national jet surfing training base by the General Administration of Sport of China.

To give back to his hometown and better promote the sport of jet surfing, Lin made his own personal investment by training professional athletes from 2021. So far, three of his students have become national first-class athletes.

His criteria for selecting young pros include their talent in swimming, physical fitness, a spirit of hard work and perseverance, and a willingness to learn. As teenagers need to be in school from Monday to Friday, Lin requires his trainees to keep a habit of doing daily physical training during their spare time, such as running more than 5 kilometers every day.

Lin's goal is to help his trainees win this year's national jet surfing championship.

"I want to get them well-prepared. When it comes to national or even international competitions, athletes will bend their electric surfboards and surf around various obstacles, all of which require excellent physical strength and strong willpower," he said.

Although surfing started late in China, Lin believes it has developed rapidly, especially among young people.

"As far as I know, at least in the category of jet surfing, we are close to the world's top level," he said.

Reporter: Chen Bowen