Rice terrace wakeboarding makes waves

At first glance, it seems impossible.

On a sheet of water barely 10 centimeters deep, Jin Taiyang glides across a flooded rice terrace nearly 800 meters above sea level. Instead of being pulled by a boat, the 33-year-old wakeboarding coach is pulled by an electric winch.

He gathers speed before launching off a ramp at the edge of one terrace. He twists into a backflip and lands smoothly on the tier below, sending water spraying into the air and prompting applause from the onlookers.

For Jin, it is unlike riding anywhere else.

"When you're surfing in the ocean, the only sound you hear is that of the waves," he said. "Here, you're surrounded by birds and insects. You can hear the water beneath your board, the sound of the winch pulling you forward and, if you land the trick, the cheers from visitors."

The performances take place at the Yunhe Rice Terraces Scenic Area in Yunhe county of Lishui in East China's Zhejiang province. Designated as a national 5A tourist attraction, the site is home to the largest complex of terraced rice fields in East China.

Each spring, before rice transplanting begins, the terraces are flooded with mountain spring water, creating mirror-like surfaces that create ideal conditions for wakeboarding. The unusual combination of an ancient farming landscape and a modern extreme sport has attracted increasing interest from visitors.

However, for Jin, a native of Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, it is the setting that leaves the deepest impression. "My favorite scene is seeing local farmers in bamboo hats working the fields with water buffalo," he said. "That's something you don't get to see very often anymore. It feels very Chinese."

He also vividly remembers the first time he arrived at the terrace after a heavy rain. "The fog covered the mountains and visibility was very low," he recalled. "It felt as if we were riding through the clouds."

The idea of wakeboarding on the terraces initially emerged in 2021, when Jin and Zhang Wei, a former member of the Chinese national wakeboard team, were invited to film a promotional video.

"In skateboarding and snowboarding, people often ride in unusual places to create different visual effects," said Jin. "We wanted to see if wakeboarding could do the same."

Unlike conventional wakeboarding, which is usually done behind a boat on a lake or in the sea, the team used an electric winch to pull riders across the shallow terraces.

"With a winch, as long as there's water, we can ride," Jin said. "What makes Yunhe special is not just the water, but the terraces themselves. The layered landscape creates a backdrop that you simply can't find anywhere else."

Following the success of the first shoot in May 2021, Jin and Zhang returned this spring with four riders from the Hong Kong, China Waterski Association to stage another series of performances.

"The audience was much larger this time," Zhang said. "People were really engaged. We could hear the applause and cheers throughout the performance."

Although the tricks may appear effortless, each one requires careful preparation.

Recognized by the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation, wakeboarding remains a relatively niche sport. Even experienced riders cannot expect every attempt to succeed. Before each performance, the team carefully studies the terraces and plans every jump between the different levels.

"Sometimes we have to try several times before getting a trick right," Jin said with a laugh. "That also means falling into the mud more than once."

Zhang emphasized that the terraces are never used as a training ground. "We only perform tricks that we've fully mastered," he said. "Everything we do here has been practiced countless times on lakes, behind boats or at cable parks. We don't come here to experiment."

The performances have also sparked visitors' interest in the sport. Xiong Jianbing, deputy general manager of Yunhe Rice Terraces Investment Development Co, said that the scenic area plans to invite the athletes back to perform regularly after the farming season, and it is also considering offering wakeboarding experiences for enthusiasts under professional guidance.

"We would like more visitors to experience the terraces from a different perspective. By combining sports with tourism, they can gain a deeper appreciation of this unique landscape," Xiong said.