| Surfing in China | |
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| Jul 20, 2008 00:05 |   |
 | My husband and I love to surf and while our family have always enjoyed our regular visits to Hong Kong and China we both go through "withdraw" during the few weeks there. There area few places in Hong Kong where we're able to shred a few (mostly him) we've never heard of surfing during our mainland trips. Recently there was an article in surfer magazine about surfing near Shanghai. We see miles of coast and assume with the huge Pacific right there waves should be a plenty. Anyone surfed in China? Anywhere in particular that is accessible to motivated travellers (with kids) ? Assume that Hainan Island may have resorts and spots. Thanks and we promise not to drop in on your wave. PS for all those people who like to stereotype races in the oter threads, there are lots of Chinese surfers in the US and they shred with the best. Plus to some beach blonds like me they're red hot sexy!!! |
| Jul 20, 2008 04:38 | #1 |
| I get hung out to dry while I am in China too. I live inland so getting to the beach is a rare occurrence anyway. I body surf myself on the East Coast of Australia and we get some pretty good conditions and some pretty wild conditions too. Yes there are surfing beaches in China, Hainan would have to be the pick of them but the season is short and so are the waves most of the time. I also got some waves, powerful with loads of sweep just south of Zhuhai one summer. The locals had some plastic boards but they weren't really doing anything inside the safety netted swimming area. I scraped my legs on the shell encrusted ropes a couple of times because it was about half tide and the best take-off zone was right in the corner away from the other swimmers and right where the ropes/floats got sucked around by the swell. You may even find something along the coast running north from Guangzhou to Xiamen and Shanghai but finding a wave and packing surfboards around China would not be much fun. The words 'fragile handle with care' do not exist on public transport. I've only seen a very small swell of Xiamen in the summer but it has relatively nice beaches. No chance of dropping in on anyone. If you find something, you are more than likely have the place all to yourself anyway. the reason you'll find Chinese surfing in other countries is because it is popular in other countries. There are many sports that have still to be introduced to China and even when they are there will only be a small number of elite and well-off athletes who will get a chance to take it up. Take cycling for instance. In the 'Land of Bicycles' it is only recently that recreational cycling and road touring have become just a little popular with the young or retired, who have both time and a littleextra money to spare on the luxury of 'recreational sport' I love sailboarding and I've only ever seen a handful on the water in Xiamen and one on Hainan, even though one of the Olympic Champions is a Chinese lass. It is not a popular sport outside of one or two centres on the Chinese Coast that actually have beaches and waterways that are accessible. But it is mostly unaffordable to the average Chinese. I'd love to do it here but I doubt I will find a chance. |
| Jul 21, 2008 10:13 | #2 |
| Aloha and Thanks, we'll be researching our next China trip to include some wave sliding. We hope that surfing will catch on in China given the fact that China has taken over the world as the source for foam blanks and entry level surfboards. Not to mention the manufacturing source of surf fashion, which is still the rage in the West (including my beloved flip flops). With cheaper but quality boards coming out it is the people's sport. All you need is a board, a wet suit, the waves are free and endless. Forever stoked!!!! |
| Sep 4, 2008 08:59 | #3 |
| GUEST20144 | HAINAN IS THE BOMB!!!!! CHECK IT OUT |
| Sep 4, 2008 22:15 | #4 |
| Jabs has touched on an important point when she illustrates how few participants there are in sport cycling, surfing and swimming. Beyond table tennis, basketball and badminton, China is not a participant sport nation. Even in those sports, if you have not been selected by the system to be an elite athlete, there are few opportunities for you. You would be hard put to find clubs and teams and competitions like we have in Aus. China might have had the greatest number of gold medals in the Olympics, but it had nothing to do with depth of involvement by the mass Crazy4 mentioned that China is the source of various sports equipment. But that does not mean you can buy it there. In the same way, I have great trouble buying size 45 (Euro) shoes, even tho in Aus just about all shoes come from China. Likewise, you cannot buy a fan heater in China. Very frustrating. |
| Oct 10, 2008 02:34 | #5 |
| GUESTOLGA | I also live in Mainland China, Shanghai and love surfing. Does anybody can suggest any surf spot near Shanghai? I checked http://windguru.com/ |
| Mar 2, 2009 00:43 | #6 |
| GUESTSURFING... | Hainan gets the best surf (besides Taiwan) in China. Check out www.surfinghainan.com for more information. |
| Apr 13, 2009 06:50 | #7 |
| GUESTBEN | I know a place in Hainan great for surfing, but very rough and wild. |
| Apr 27, 2009 10:46 | #8 |
| GUESTGUESTNASH | Hey... I've been to China quite a few times and have been intrigued to surf the unsurfed. Anyone know if Qingdao has waves? |
| Sep 16, 2009 04:18 | #9 |
| 2009 Hangzhou International Silver Dragon Surfing Championship will open on October 5th in Xiaoshan sector, Qiangtang River. So far 11 invited top surfers from USA and Brazil have been confirmed to take part in the Surfing Championship. They will beat Guinness World Records in the longest surfing distance of tidal bore surfing. |
| Nov 19, 2009 09:37 | #10 |
| GUEST31131 | I live in Shanghai. Looking for people to go surfing in Hainan with me or snowboarding/skiing in Harbin. Email me dillonrchen at gmail dot com |
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