Surfing China: From Blue Crush to Olympic Dreams

Surfing in China may have started as a dream for Monica Guo inspired by the movie Blue Crush, but it is now a growing sport that has captured the attention of the Chinese government and the world. With over 9,000 miles of coastline and a population of nearly 1.4 billion, it was only a matter of time before surfing caught on in China. Now, with the sport included in the Olympics, officials in Beijing are pouring funds into coaching and training facilities, and China is quickly becoming a destination for surfers around the world.

However, the capital of organic surf culture in China is the island of Hainan, where Monica Guo, one of China’s best longboarders, currently resides. Guo picked up and moved from her hometown of Yangshuo to Hong Kong to pursue her dream of becoming a surfer after watching Blue Crush at the age of 21. She later relocated to the island of Hainan, where she has represented her country at the ISA World Longboard Championship.

Guo's success has not gone unnoticed, and with increased funding and acceptance from the government, she is more focused than ever on ensuring young women get their turn on the board. Her female-only summer surf camp encourages young girls from all across China to ride the waves and to dream big. Guo and other members of the first wave of Chinese surfers, such as pro surfer-turned-environmentalist Darci Liu, caught the bug after the sport was introduced to Hainan around 15 years ago, largely by US and Japanese surfers visiting the island. "There weren't even any Chinese versions of many surfing terms, so my friend and I had to make our own Chinese surfing dictionary," says Liu.