Hainan
China's surf island. Riyue Bay (Sun and Moon Bay) in Wanning is the country's best-known natural surf beach and national training base — and, as of late 2025, also home to a man-made PerfectSwell wave pool running consistent machine-made waves alongside it.
Surfing in Hainan, month by month
Why Hainan
Hainan is mainland China's surf island, and almost everything happens at one bay: Riyue Wan (Sun and Moon Bay), in Wanning on the east coast. It's a crescent split by a rocky headland into two coves, catches the northeast-monsoon swell from October to March, and is where China's national surf team trains.
Since late 2025 the bay has a second, very different wave next door: a PerfectSwell man-made wave pool, built by American Wave Machines for China Tourism Group and run under the first-party brand SurfWay Hainan. It's a wave pool, not a surf break — consistent, bookable sessions rather than swell-dependent surf, with on-site accommodation. Worth knowing about if you want guaranteed waves regardless of season; it is not a substitute for, or the same experience as, the natural bay next door.
When to go
- Oct–Mar: Riyue Bay's natural swell window, driven by the NE monsoon.
- Jul–Sep: typhoon season can produce surf but it's irregular and hazardous — not a dependable window.
- The wave pool runs on its own schedule year-round, independent of swell.
Getting around
Fly into Sanya (SYX) or Haikou (HAK); Wanning is roughly 1–2 hours from either by road.