Surf's up, dude!

"For instance, Yun'ao Bay is a summer spot with relatively gentle waves, perfect for beginners. Qing'ao Bay, on the other hand, offers powerful winter waves ideal for competitions and advanced surfers," he explains.

Once a mechanical engineering graduate student at Shantou University, Luo discovered surfing during his university years and was quickly captivated.

"It embodies free spirit, and I don't have to be constrained by lots of equipment," he says.

"As an introvert, having just a board and heading into the sea allows me to be alone and brings me pure joy," adds the 28-year-old.

Lin Jianfeng, 35, who has been co-running a surf club near Yun'ao Bay with Luo since 2022, shares similar sentiments.

"Surfing has lowered my material desires and made it easier for me to feel happy," Lin reflects.

His interest in surfing was first sparked while swimming at Nansha Bay in Shantou, where he noticed good waves.

He ordered a surfboard online and contacted a surf club in Shenzhen, before embarking on a completely self-taught journey.

"In the beginning, even catching just one or two waves could make my whole day," Lin recalls.

To connect with fellow enthusiasts for shared growth and companionship, Lin founded an online local surf community in Shantou, which has seen steady growth in recent years.

This initiative later led him to meet Luo, and the two became close friends and business partners.

Lin observes that currently, most people learning to surf at the club are tourists who try surfing as an incidental activity during their visit to Nan'ao, unlike dedicated surf travel seen in destinations like Hainan and Huizhou in Guangdong.

Lin notes that selecting Nan'ao as the Games venue helps raise its profile as a surf destination.

"The event has also enhanced local understanding of the sport, gradually changing the stereotype that surfing is dangerous. As a result, we rarely face objections when surfing here," he adds.

Now, as the only island county in Guangdong, Nan'ao has hosted various water sports events over the past three years and has also attracted national teams for sports such as stand-up paddleboarding and motorboating, besides surfing, which have held local training sessions.

Leveraging these events to raise its profile, the county has been boosting local tourism. In 2024, the county received over 10 million visitor entries, generating comprehensive tourism revenue exceeding 4 billion yuan ($563 million). In the first half of this year, the island had a total of 6.48 million visitor entries, with tourism revenue reaching approximately 2.72 billion yuan ($383 million), according to the county's bureau of culture, radio, television, tourism and sports.

Contact the writer at xingwen@chinadaily.com.cn