Surf skating rides the wave of popularity

With extended arms and bended knees, young people on surf skateboards slid back and forth across the gaming center at the second China International Consumer Products Expo.

The expo held in Haikou, capital of South China's Hainan province, has attracted 1,107 overseas companies and 1,643 brands from 61 countries and regions, as well as more than 1,200 domestic brands.

Dai Juan was among the visitors who learned how to surf skate at the expo. "I had skateboarding experience, and surf skating is much easier to learn than that. I think it's good for a novice to try," she says.

As China fulfilled its commitment to engage 300 million people in winter sports, and successfully held the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, lots of youngsters who ski in winter have now turned to surf skating, making it one of the most popular sports this summer.

A surf skateboard is a type of skateboard which can be used for surf training on land. Compared to a traditional skateboard, a surf skateboard has more flexible stents, so that users can weave and twist their body on the board and move forward as if they were on a surf board.

To some extent, it can imitate the experience of snowboarding or surfing, says Lin Jian, a surf skating coach.