I moved to Hainan in September 2006 to see what surf these shores have to offer. I had been working in Philadelphia for the past four years, and learned how to surf over the last few years at the New Jersey shore. Having lived in China before, I had become increasingly curious as to whether there was anywhere along China’s massive coastline that got decent waves. After a bit of research, it became clear that Hainan was the best spot.
Hainan is a tropical island province in the south of China, WSW of Hong Kong and east of Vietnam. Hainan’s east coast, approximately 200 km long, is well positioned to receive typhoon swells, as well as the northeast swells that wrap around China’s coast and bring their energy to the local shores. The surf season lasts from fall into early spring. While this isn’t Hawaii or Indonesia, it is easily the best and most consistent surf in China proper.
According to some sources, Hainan was first surfed in 1986 by a group of visiting surfers from Hawaii and California. The past few years have seen an increasing number of visiting surfers from Japan and Hong Kong. Monran Surf, a Japanese surf company has operated out of Haikou, the provincial capital, for the last few years. Yet Hainan’s surf remains largely untapped. As most surfers would agree, standing on the sand of a tropical island, staring out at completely empty waves, is one of the most beautiful sights to behold. And while people are increasingly growing wise to what Hainan has to offer, I don’t doubt that there will be plenty of empty surf to be had for many years to come.
I look forward to surfing here for quite a long time. I fell in love with surfing in New Jersey, but wanted to find a place where I had easier access to emptier surf. And where I didn’t have to wear a hooded wetsuit with booties and gloves in 5°C water during the winter months. Even without the surf, I still enjoy living in China, and speak pretty decent Mandarin. Thus the decision to move here wasn’t that hard to make.
Through this site, I hope to be a reliable source of information about Hainan surf. I look to offer surf trips for interested parties shortly, possibly by December of this year. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions you might have. I look forward to sharing with you the incredible experience of surfing in Hainan.
Brendan