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Following an extreme dream
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Wu Tong
HANGING upside down from the end of a bunjee cord over a ravine that is hundreds of feet deep; clambering up a rock face hundreds of metres in the air; or jumping out of a plane, thousands of feet above the earth, and turning somersaults in the sky: all these are what have become known collectively as "extreme sports". Perhaps they can best be described by an attempt to push the limits of human strength, endurance and willpower. They have become popular the world over, and China is no exception.
But for most of us, whose fear stops us from even entering such situations much less overcoming them, at least we can feast our eyes on an extreme sports performance long offered in Happy Valley, Overseas Chinese Town.
Mainly featuring skateboarding, rollerblading and bicycling, the show has afforded millions of visitors with death-defying stunts since 1998. In fact, the show has been updated since it was first offered.
The construction of a 6,000-sqm extreme sports ground with an investment of one million yuan was completed before the Spring Festival. The semicircular stand can accommodate over 2,000 viewers at one time. Equipped with a five-metre-high platform, a U-shaped track called a half-pipe, a pyramid and other obstacles which have become standard fittings at other extreme sports shows in places like Las Vegas, the ground is the largest one in China. It will host the International Extreme Sports Competition in May, the highest level competition of the kind ever held in China.
Invited to perform in the Happy Valley are three famous professional extreme sports teams -- the Tieqibingtuan Team from Beijing, the sole professional extreme sports team in China which stands at the highest level of domestic extreme sports, Hong Kong-based Ever Green Team and Canada's GWB Extreme Sports Team, whose four members have all won awards in competitions back home.
Protected with helmets, gloves and knee and elbow pads, the athletes dive from the top of the stands one after another. The great ramp speed enables them to spread or twist their body in an inconceivable but graceful manner high in the air. It's hard for an outsider to make sense of the names of their poses. But their harmonious display of strength, skill and daring earns them tides of thunderous applauses and whistles. The audience is completely won over by these young fellows, who range in age from a 20-year-old man to a pair of 13-year-old girls. Even when they fall on occasion -- no one, after all, is perfect -- the audience still spares no effort in expressing their admiration for the courage of the young athletes.
If simply watching is not enough for you and you're itching for a chance to give it a try yourself, the Happy Valley Extreme Sports Camp (HESC) offers just that. After paying membership dues of 360 yuan, HESC's members are entitled to not only all the facilities of Happy Valley free of charge for one year, but training advice from professional tutors and the chance to take part in the extreme sports contests and other activities held by the park. If you think you're up to putting your life on the line and testing the limits of your body and will, then head over and give it a shot. Just be careful!
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