Surfer, 33, who represented nation at ISA World Longboard Championship last year, has moved to the resort island permanently to pursue her passion for the sport. The province is now home to China’s national surfing team and academy.
China’s resort island province of Hainan may not be the most obvious choice for surfing enthusiasts, but professional surfers clearly knew that the wave was coming.
Among them was Monica Guo, one of China’s first – and now most popular – international surfers.
Ten years ago, Guo packed her bags in Yangshuo, in a mountainous area of the country, and headed to Hong Kong before she settled in the southernmost point of Hainan to pursue the sport full-time.
"The waters in Houhai Bay are shallow and the waves range from small and gentle to big and powerful … There are also no sharks or jellyfish [in the waters] to worry about."
Her inspiration was the 2002 Hollywood movie, Blue Crush, starring Kate Bosworth and Michelle Rodriguez, which tells the story of three young women who dream of being professional surfers.