Take the Plunge: Everything You Need to Know about Scuba Diving in China

Take the Plunge: Everything You Need to Know about Scuba Diving in China
Feb 25, 2016 By Trey Archer , eChinacities.com

I’m hooked. After getting certified, scuba diving has quickly become one of my favorite hobbies: it’s fun, adventurous, educational and even very safe. While China may not be the first dive paradise that comes to your mind, believe it or not there are several places worth a few breaths out of the regulator. For anyone looking to get certified and/or scope out some sweet diving spots, look no further. This article is everything you need to know about scuba diving in China.

Get certified
It’s a very good idea to get certified. At most reputable places, you cannot dive unless you take and complete an open water PADI course. BISAC, SSI, NAUI, CMAS and other smaller organizations are expectable as well, but PADI is the world’s largest and most recognized. Being certified also teaches you many of the safety precautions that not only make you feel more comfortable underwater, but could also save your life.

The certificate is not always required in China, especially for people who don’t take diving as a serious sport/leisure activity and just want to try it. Usually the business running diving trips will offer some basic training beforehand, then lead the group to the dive destination accompanied by a few dive masters. If you only want to get your feet wet, take a dive at a place that doesn’t require a certification to see how you like it. If you’re ready for more, move on to get certified. (All listings in this article offer PADI certification classes in English and Mandarin).

China's Best Aquatic Adventures

1) Zhejiang: Qiandao Lake’s Ancient Ruins of Lion City

This one seems pretty cool and I can’t wait to check it out this summer! Qiandao Lake (千岛湖; or Thousand Island Lake) was created in 1959 when authorities flooded the valley for a hydroelectric plant. In the process, it created a gorgeous fresh-water lake with a plethora of mountain peaks penetrating the surface – inadvertently creating thousands of small islands. It also flooded Lion City (狮城; Shi Cheng), a 1,400 year-old Tang Dynasty village.

The village is still in tact (about 30 meters underwater, of course), and is complete with 265 arches, five city gates, and dozens of cool architectural structures. There is also another smaller village named He Cheng (河城) that has been drowned by the dam; some believe it dates back roughly 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty. The visibility isn’t perfect and you’ll need a flashlight, basically turning it into a night dive, but it’s still a grand adventure you can tick off your list. Plus it’s quite easy to get to from Hangzhou.

Getting there:
You need to get to the town of Dashuzhen (大叔真) on the southwest corner of Qiandao Lake, a 6-7 hour scenic drive from Shanghai, or three hours from Hangzhou. Since Dashuzhen is quite tiny, the number of buses running in and out of town is limited, so it may be best to contact Big Blue in Shanghai (see contact info below). They offer weekend getaway dive trips to this destination – it’s by far the easiest and most efficient way to tackle Lion City.

Big Blue Shanghai
Address: Bldg 10, 10 Jinbang Lu,
near Hami Lu

地址: 金浜路10弄10号, 近哈密路
Phone: +86 21 6291 2110

If you’d rather wing it without a tour, first get to Hangzhou. There are dozens of high-speed bullet trains departing to Hangzhou from all major cities in China daily, especially Shanghai. Once in Hangzhou, there are buses departing to Qiandao Lake every half hour from Hangzhou West Bus Station. Upon arrival in Qiandao, take a taxi to Dashuzhen. The journey takes about an hour and should cost less than 200 RMB.

2) Hainan: The Hawaii of China

While Hainan’s diving scene isn’t on par with the real Hawaii’s, there’s still a few decent spots around Sanya (三亚). There are various dive spots to choose from, but it must be mentioned that Yalong Bay (particularly the areas of Baifu Bay and Sun Bay) is regarded as the two best on the island. There are wonderful coral gardens, various species of fish and other marine life, and the visibility is pristine. All that coupled with near perfect weather year-round makes for a truly enjoyable experience for dive masters and beginners alike.

There are too many dive operators to count in Yalong Bay (亚龙湾). Once you get there, you’ll spot hundreds of operators’ advertisements. You can also ask your hotel or hostel for their recommendations. One hotel/dive operator based in the five-star Aegean Conifer Suites Resorts Sanya has gotten decent reviews from divers.

Aegean Conifer Suites Resorts Sanya
Address: Yalong Bay National Resort District
地址: 亚龙湾国家旅游度假区
Phone:+86 898 8898 8898

Getting there:

At least one flight departs to Sanya from every major city in China daily, but there are much more flights during peak season. Once you get to Sanya International Airport, simply tell the driver you want to arrive in Yalong Bay and 45 minutes later you’ll arrive in town.

3) Beijing: Dive at the Great Wall

Believe it or not, there is a submerged section of the Great Wall of China where divers can take the plunge! It’s even made international headlines, with the Wall Street Journal, Men’s Journal, and other well-known publications covering articles on the dive. In 1976, in a similar story to Lion City, the Chinese government created the Panjiakou (潘家口) Reservoir, flooding several villages and a kilometer section of the Great Wall. With a dry suit (the water is freezing!), flashlight (visibility is limited), and proper equipment, you too can see the Wall from an entirely different angle.

Unlike the other spots mentioned on this list, there’s no real accommodation or diving facilities set up in Panjiakou. Contact Sino Scuba and talk to the American owner Mr. Shwankert. He’s the one to set you up with a dive – if you’re qualified enough.

SinoScuba
Address: Workers’ Stadium South Gate Chaoyang District
地址: 朝阳区工人体育场南门
Phone: 186 1113 3629
Email: steven@sinoscuba.com

Note: Sino Scuba not only offers PADI certification classes, but also dives at the Blue Zoo. Due to Beijing’s landlocked/limited-diving geography, divers can scuba dive in a giant aquarium with sharks, fish and other marine life.

Getting there:

As mentioned, if you want to set up a dive in the Panjiakou Reservoir, you better contact Sino Scuba to set something up. They will provide transportation to the lake nearly 250 kilometers northeast of Beijing, in Hebei Province. There are no direct busses to Panjiakou, so if you have your own equipment and want to check it out, it’s best to take a long and expensive taxi from Beijing.

 

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Keywords: Hainan dive Scuba dive China

13 Comments

All comments are subject to moderation by eChinacities.com staff. Because we wish to encourage healthy and productive dialogue we ask that all comments remain polite, free of profanity or name calling, and relevant to the original post and subsequent discussion. Comments will not be deleted because of the viewpoints they express, only if the mode of expression itself is inappropriate.

Blake.Gebhart

I am in the process of getting AOW Padi certified in Beijing at the Chenyuen scuba school including dry suit and will then be diving the Great Wall sept 14-15 this year

Jul 21, 2019 18:31 Report Abuse

evestraw

Great that copying is disabled on this page, i don't want to steal the article i just want to copy an phone number and adress. cmon man

Jul 04, 2017 19:24 Report Abuse

scericksonchina

I want to dive on the Great Wall!

May 20, 2016 09:56 Report Abuse

musicjunkiealex

Diving in Hainan starts at around 600RMB per dive and goes upto around 1000RMB depending on dive site/logistics etc. Also, some of the better spots have an "Island landing fee" tax added on, which I believe is around the 140RMB mark. I was paying $75 for two dives in Bali last year, so you can see what a rip-off it is.

Feb 28, 2016 22:24 Report Abuse

Sinobear

Some other places to get lessons? As silverbutton1 mentioned, prices? A nice concept for an article but missing the whole "Everything you need to know..." part.

Feb 27, 2016 13:58 Report Abuse

musicjunkiealex

Like most things worth doing in China, diving is ridiculously expensive by world standards and although I'm sure there are a few spots worth checking out I highly doubt it has anything close to what Indonesia and Philippines have to offer and those places are only a few hours and a cheap flight away. I have been diving in East Africa, Australia and several places in Asia (Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia) so China doesn't really hold much interest with its sewage filled sea.

Feb 27, 2016 01:25 Report Abuse

silverbutton1

Ah, I didnt know that. How much more expensive is it? Can you give an example of the typical cost of a two tank ocean dive? Just curious. thx.

Feb 27, 2016 04:42 Report Abuse

Spiderboenz

I don't know about the cost per dive, but I know this.... I calculated it out, it costs LESS money for a round trip ticket to the Philippines, 5 days in a hotel, and an Open Water certification course than it costs for just the course at Big Blue Shanghai.

Mar 02, 2016 10:27 Report Abuse

silverbutton1

ahh. yeah that is way too much. oh well, plenty of other interesting places to dive in the world other than China. Thanks for the heads-up.

Mar 10, 2016 08:46 Report Abuse

silverbutton1

Is it me, or does the eel look like it is happy to be meeting up with a beautiful denizen of the deep. Maybe he is mistaking her for an eel...she is wearing a similar color, and has a similar shape too.

Feb 26, 2016 15:23 Report Abuse

bill8899

Intact. "The village is still intact." sorry, had to do it.

Feb 25, 2016 22:35 Report Abuse

nzteacher80

Hey look! A turdfish!

Feb 25, 2016 20:20 Report Abuse

Spiderboenz

Don't dive in China, you will probably die.

Feb 25, 2016 15:26 Report Abuse