Fact box

SURF'S UP IN THE SEA... AND ALSO A CHINESE RIVER

The Red Bull Qiantang Surfing Shootout is the first international river surfing competition.

Surfing in a river is quite different from surfing in the sea. The height and the speed of river waves are not as high but a tidal bore can run for more than 10 kilometers. It requires good jet ski driving skills for surfers to chase the tidal bore and find a wave to surf.

The Qiantang River has the world's largest tidal bore, which reaches its peak on Aug 18 of the lunar calendar and be up to nine meters in height. The final of the surfing shootout this year fell on Sept 12, the peak day for the tidal bore.

The tradition of riding waves on the Qiantang River dates back to the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), when literary works of that era described wave riders.

Modern surfing wasn't introduced to China until the 1980s and 1990s, when some Chinese studying in Hawaii and California returned to them other land having picked up the sport, according to Bao Xuping, CEO of Surfing China, the organizer of the Shootout.

There are quite a number of surfing clubs in Hainan and Shenzhen. The annual surfing shootout in the Qiantang River has intrigued other Chinese cities which are interested in developing surfing.

Bao reveals that the head of the Qingdao Sports Bureau from Shandong province was in Hangzhou during the shootout this year and was excited to take his experiences back to his port city after watching the event.

Bao says his company is compiling a map of surfing spots in China and will produce a documentary to showcase these places to surfing fans at home and abroad.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 10/10/2014 page24)