▲A woman practices surfing in a wave pool at Atlantis Sanya resort water park in Hainan province. [Photo provided to China Daily]
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."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.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.Now with new inventions like electric surfboards and wave-making boats, people have more choices to pursue the oceanic pastime of surfing.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.Sanya, a popular resort city in Hainan, has more than 40 surf clubs. In March, it held the 2023 China National Surfing Championships U Series Sanya Station competition. A total of 92 athletes from around the country and 22 surfing teams participated.As a year-round surfing spot, the bay has held international competitions for 11 consecutive years."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.
▲Lin Chirui performs jet surfing maneuvers in Sanya. [Photo provided to China Daily]
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.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 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.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.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)."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."
▲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.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
