Riyue Bay becomes beacon of success for Chinese surf scene

For 37-year-old Huang Wenyu, a professional surfer who grew up in Guting village near Riyue Bay of Wanning in Hainan province, surfing and life are inseparable.

After achieving good results in international surfing tournaments and winning many national surfing championships over the past five years, Huang took over a surf club in Riyue Bay last summer.

"Our club hosts up to 70 trainees a day. After two hours with a coach, they can stand up on a surfboard in the water," Huang said.

He added that the club mainly hires local surfers. If the coaches worked full-time, they would earn around 50,000 yuan ($7,000) annually or more.

Su Xiaoming, deputy director of the Wanning Bureau of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports, said the increasing popularity of Riyue Bay as an international surfing paradise and a niche tourism destination means more job opportunities for residents.

As a year-round surfing spot, Riyue Bay has held international competitions for 11 consecutive years. The bay is home to 23 surf clubs, as well as China's national surfing team academy. Seven professional provincial-level surfing teams undergo training here.

"Wanning's waves are stable — probably the best surfing in the country," said Lin Qiaowen, head coach of the Hainan provincial surf team. "In Riyue Bay, you have accommodations close to the sea. You literally can start training when you walk out of your room. It saves commuting time."

The Hainan surf team won two gold medals at the 2021 national games, and members continue to aim for national glory but also hope to make a name for themselves in Asia and even the world, Lin said.

As the province's surfing industry develops rapidly and Riyue Bay draws global attention, Wanning is striving to create a development model that combines sports, tourism, consumption and culture.

In April, the Wangfujing Group opened its first offshore duty-free flagship store in Wanning.

"The duty-free store will feature sports goods and equipment. This is a typical example of bringing sports together with consumption," Su said.

Hu Chenkai, 27, is the owner-principal of GROM, a youth sports apparel brand that has a shop at the bay. It sells and rents surfboards, as it's not convenient for many international surfers to travel with their own boards, Hu said.

More than 300 employees work at the bay for three hotels and 47 shops, including restaurants, bars, cultural and creative stands and surfing goods shops.

"Wanning is the surfing capital of China, and Riyue Bay holds many competitions and events, which brings a lot of nice business to us," said Jay T, general manager of Kaya Kitchen & Bar. The restaurant caters to surfers with healthy food and drinks.

"Riyue Bay's business area has a diverse culture," said Li Jing, a surfing event planner working at the bay. "Each shop has its own specialty. Some have a foreign vibe, music, or food; others specialize in skateboarding, art or photography."

Li came to Wanning in 2013 from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and has witnessed the surfing industry's rapid development.

"Although China's surfing started late compared with some countries like the United States and Australia, it boomed quickly," she said.

As China leads the world in digital media, it has become easier for people across the country to understand what surfing is, as well as when and where to surf, she said.

"Surfing competitions and events are taking to social media platforms, which often receive millions of views. Also, trending surf bloggers on Xiaohongshu, a lifestyle-sharing platform, help promote surfing culture among youth," Li added.