Weihai, a coastal city in eastern China, is experiencing a summer paddleboarding and surfing boom that has packed its beaches and fueled rising demand for water sports gear in domestic and overseas markets.
The city has built a complete industrial ecosystem covering raw material research and development, mold design, assembly manufacturing, and cross-border sales. In the first five months of this year, Weihai's exports of water sports gear reached 950 million yuan (about 140 million U.S. dollars), up 20.4 percent year on year. Among these, wakeboards and surfboards accounted for more than 70 percent of exports, with growth accelerating to 38.6 percent.
Local manufacturers, once focused on original equipment manufacturing (OEM) for foreign brands, are now racing to build their own labels, supported by the city's mature industrial supply chain.
Weihai's sea surface is dotted with colorful paddleboards as clubs organize training camps for young enthusiasts, with many summer camps fully booked by late June and daily participation topping 100.
"Most of my classmates know how to paddleboard, so I think it's quite a popular sport," said Xu Ziqing, a young paddleboarding trainee.
Behind the seaside bustle, Weihai's water sports equipment manufacturing sector is operating at full capacity. At a sportswear company, workers are racing to produce inflatable paddleboards bound for European and American markets. In the first half of this year, the company shipped more than 90,000 units, marking a 2.5-fold year-on-year increase.
"When we first entered the industry, we started doing OEM for others. After accumulating enough experience, we began developing our own clients and launching our own brands," said said Wang Yongfeng, general manager of Hetong (Weihai) Sports Goods Co.
Just a few kilometers apart, Weihai firms can source every production component, enabling new water sports products to move from blueprint to sample in only days thanks to the city's mature industrial ecosystem.
"So far, we have long-term partnerships with 40 to 50 supporting suppliers. Whatever accessories we need for new product development, we can source them from the supply chain very quickly," said Wang.
The consumer boom is quickly feeding into the supply chain, with demand rippling upstream to component makers. One firm that once specialized in parts for automobiles and trains has pivoted to water sports, now producing carbon fiber paddles, hydrofoils, and other key components for paddleboard manufacturers. "Our production capacity in 2026 has roughly tripled or quadrupled compared to before. Water sports products now account for 55 to 60 percent of our total carbon fiber sales," said Liu Zhiqing, deputy general manager of Weihai Heliyuan Carbon Fiber Technology Co.
Weihai sees water sports boom as paddleboarding demand lifts exports
