Kick flips. Slides. Heel flips. One trick after another, Cheng Yufeng and his friends pull them off with an ease that turns heads — and draws bursts of applause from anyone nearby.
Whenever these teenagers roll into Binjiang Park in Huizhou, Guangdong province, a crowd tends to gather. There's something magnetic about watching them practice new moves: boards clattering, bodies in motion. Radiating youthful energy, they've become a regular sight in Huicheng district's green heart.
"I got into skateboarding by chance," said Cheng, a local high school student. "The moment I rolled off, it felt so cool that I just couldn't get enough of it."
He's far from alone. Huizhou, a city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, has quietly earned itself the nickname of China's skateboarding capital.
The numbers back it up. Around 200,000 people in Huizhou regularly take part in roller skating, while close to 20,000 residents are active skateboarders. Every day, enthusiasts and fans converge on parks, transforming public spaces into urban sports hubs.
However, Huizhou's connection with skateboarding runs much deeper than just parks and passion. Two of the world's four leading companies in the high-end skateboard market have their roots in Huizhou. Huizhou Excel Sporting Goods Co and Chop Chop Woodshop Co together account for 35 to 40 percent of the global high-end skateboard market.
"Skateboarding is undoubtedly a distinctive, advantageous product of Huizhou, with outstanding industrial scale advantages," said Du Yongbin, general manager of Huizhou Excel Sporting Goods. "Skateboarding originated in the United States, yet Huizhou manufacturers produce nearly 40 percent of the global high-end skateboards. That's primarily thanks to their superior quality — positioning the city as a core hub for the skateboard industry at home and abroad."
A national high-tech company with 20 years' experience, Excel Sporting has amassed more than 40 skateboard-related patents. Precision is baked into everything, providing a level of exactness that elite riders can feel under their feet.
"About one-third of the skateboards used at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were manufactured by Excel Sporting," said Du.
"The competition board ridden by young Chinese athlete Cui Chenxi at the 2024 Paris Olympics was also custom-made by us," added Du, the general manager.
Xu Yang, a core partner at the company, added that exports now account for up to 70 percent of total output. Excel Sporting is an authorized supplier of top domestic and international brands, including April, Real, Antihero, DGK and Justice — names that resonate deeply within the global skate scene.
The premium boards they produce carry overseas retail prices of between $100 and $200.
"(It's because of our) superior product quality and relentless craftsmanship," Xu said.
He notes that every international client has been gradually accumulated through word-of-mouth referrals from long-term partners.
Du said that the decks of mainstream professional skateboards are mostly laminated Canadian hard rock maple, adding that carbon fiber and fiberglass get added to premium models for extra pop and performance.
From raw material processing to a finished board, the production cycle spans 15 to 45 days, depending on configuration.
For Du, skateboarding offers young people something profound — far beyond the tricks. It improves physical fitness by developing core strength, balance and reflexes.
Skateboarding tempers mental resilience: Learning means repeated failed attempts; falling, getting up and doing it again and again, until you overcome your mistakes. That cultivates the ability to withstand pressure and the courage to take on challenges, and builds genuine self-confidence.
It also enriches social lives. Young skaters meet like-minded peers, expand their circles, develop teamwork awareness — and, just maybe, cut down screen time and build a healthy outdoor routine.
