Try Your Hand at Stand-Up Paddleboarding at These Locations

Katie Coy | Jun 27, 2022 4:39 pm | Add a comment | 285 reads

Back in 2019 we reported on the emergence of stand-up paddleboarding in Beijing when it had only just begun to make waves in the outdoor sporting community. In the three years since then, the sport has been steadily growing in popularity and now there are numerous lakes, sports clubs and tour groups offering up this fun activity to try. Here is all the info on them you need!

Whale Sports

This water sports club now has three locations in Beijing and offers not only paddleboard rental but also lessons. You can book a three-hour beginners course for RMB 598 per person, and need at least three people for the course to go ahead. Along with this they have a couple of other courses available. You can follow their official WeChat account (WhaleSport) for more information.

Chaoyang Park Location

Whale Sport’s Chaoyang Park location is a relatively small lake compared to some of the others on this list, however this makes it the perfect spot for beginners. Be warned, though, that on weekends it can get pretty busy!

Opening times: 8.30am-6.30pm
Park entrance fee: Free
Price: RMB 258/90 minutes
Contact: 133 7012 5818
Closest subway stop: Zaoying (Line 14)

Chaoyang Park 朝阳公园
Chaoyang Park Lotus Lake, Chaoyang District (enter Chaoyang Park West Gate, opposite the Blue Harbor)
朝阳区朝阳公园荷花湖（朝阳公园西四门进入，蓝色港湾对岸）

Longtan Park Location

This is a larger lake than the one at Chaoyang, so if you want more space to paddleboard and avoid any crowds this is a pretty good spot.

Opening times: 9am-4.30pm
Park entrance fee: Free
Price: RMB 258/90 minutes
Contact: 156 0036 5592, 133 2118 6877
Closest subway stop: Temple of Heaven East Gate (Line 5)

Longtan Park 龙潭公园
8 Longtan Road, Dongcheng District
东城区龙潭路8号

Jinhai Lake

This is the biggest lake of all three of Whale Sports’ locations, and if you’re interested in checking out some other water sports besides paddleboarding while you are there, they have plenty of other activities available too.

Opening times: 9am-5pm
Park entrance fee: RMB 40
Price: RMB 258/90 minutes
Contact: 156 0036 5592, 176 0055 4661
Closest subway stop: N/A

Jinhai Lake 金海湖
Jinhai Lake Scenic Area Boat Dock, Jinhaihuzhen Pingji Road, Pinggu District
平谷区平蓟路金海湖镇金海湖景区小船码头

Beijing Wake Park – Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park

Built for the rowing, canoeing and 10km open-water swimming events for the 2008 Summer Olympics, the water surface area of this location covers a whopping 635,000 square meters. Although more of a hotspot for wake boarding, they also have paddleboarding available, and its massive space makes it a great spot.

Opening times: 10am-5pm
Park entrance fee: RMB 20
Price: RMB 260/an hour on weekdays, RMB 330/an hour on weekends (plus an RMB 200 deposit for the board)
Contact: 010 6940 2662
WeChat: playboard, or you can search 爱上水索道滑水俱乐部 to find their official WeChat account
Closest subway stop: Shunyi (Line 15)

Beijing Wake Park 爱上水索道滑水俱乐部
South Gate of Olympic Water Park, 19 Baima Road, Shunyi District
顺义区白马路19号奥林匹克水上公园南门

Bayi Lake Lehang Water Sports Base (by Yuyuantan Park)

At this relatively large lake located right by Yuyuantan Park, you can enjoy paddleboarding while enjoying views of the Central Radio and TV Tower.

Opening times: 9am-6pm
Park entrance fee: N/A
Price: RMB 260/an hour
Contact: 158 1150 6140
WeChat: 八一湖乐航皮划艇运动基地
Closest subway stop: Military Museum (Lines 1,9), Gongzhufen (Lines 1, 10)

Bayi Lake Lehang Water Sports Base 八一湖乐航水上项目运动基地
Yuyuantan South Road, 300 meters west of Yuyuantan Park South Gate, Haidian District (do not enter the park)
海淀区玉渊潭南路玉渊潭公园南门左侧小路向西直行300米（不进公园）

Huanghuacheng Great Wall

If you’re looking to go paddleboarding in the most scenic and unique location then you can’t do better than Huanghuacheng Great Wall. Also known as the Water Side Great Wall, it’s the only part of the wall in Beijing that is lakeside. You’ll need to either catch a bus to this section or organise booking a car. Alternatively, both CETtrip (WeChat: CETtrip北京) and FCN Laowai (WeChat: Laowai在华) run regular weekend trips for paddleboarding to this section of the Great Wall.

Opening times: 8.30am-5pm
Park entrance fee: RMB 60
Price: RMB 160/an hour
Contact: 010 6165 1818, 010 6165 1111
WeChat: N/A
Closest subway stop: N/A