BEIJING – (dpa) – Dangling above a precipice with your nose against a wall of ice or leaping off a remote mountain, strung to a flimsy sheet of nylon, may not be every busy executive’s idea of fun.
But a growing number of affluent Chinese are willing to forego home comforts and spend a small fortune on a regular dose of danger, trying everything from skydiving to motor racing.Chu Bo, a 39-year-old interior decoration contractor, began paragliding in 1997. A year later, his left leg was almost severed above the ankle when he landed heavily on a boulder. He spent two months in hospital and underwent several operations to repair the multiple bone fractures.Like most of his fellow thrill-seekers, he is well aware of the risks in a country where dangerous sports are new and equipment and safety standards can sometimes lag behind those used in developed countries.“I like dangerous activities, but when you’re paragliding, sometimes the weather changes quickly and you can’t control what you’re doing,” Chu says. “When you can control the danger, that’s the most comfortable.”Paragliding at the Flying Man club in Beijing costs 1,500 yuan (180 dollars) for a basic course and 30,000 yuan (3,600 dollars) to buy a parachute and other equipment needed to become a full member – more than two years’ salary for the average worker.Not surprisingly for someone who drives an expensive car and owns two luxury apartments, fear of losing his livelihood rather than fear of another accident stops Chu returning to the air. He lost a major contract while he was hospitalised, costing him around 300,000 yuan (36,000 dollars), he says.“I’m someone who quite likes work, so I need something to do. Nearly everyone in my club has had an accident. Some people had worse injuries than me, and several died.”Still a Flying Man member, Chu now seeks his thrills in the less dangerous sport of rally driving, where he is sometimes joined by local pop stars and other celebrities.“They think life is a bit boring… Maybe they get fed up with playing ma jiang. And for some people it’s a bit like a drug. I’m a bit like that, I really miss rally driving if I don’t do it for a while.”Another man hooked on danger is former computer dealer Yang Xiao, 33. Yang spent some 30,000 yuan on tents, crampons, ice-axe, sleeping bags, rucksacks and other equipment for his climbing and mountaineering hobbies.“I like ice-climbing more than rock-climbing, because it’s a little more dangerous,” Yang says. He once fell four metres on an ice climb but was unhurt. “My ice-climbing technique is not so developed so I haven’t led a climb yet. That would be more dangerous… and more enjoyable,” he says.“Most Chinese people by nature don’t like danger,” Yang says, but he enjoys it so much that last year he gave up the lucrative indoor world of computers for a more modest income organising outdoor activities and distributing equipment.Other enthusiasts are mixing the risks of business and pleasure. “Sports combining courage, risk and fun have a good future in China,” says Huang Dajun, owner of the Aquascape Scuba Diving Club.Aquascape has more than 40 members paying up to 100,000 yuan (12,000 dollars) a year, with the highest level of membership including diving trips in southern China or abroad, Huang says.Club members are mostly white-collar workers, with a few foreigners. “The cost is too high for ordinary Chinese. Training alone costs at least 3,000 yuan,” he says.Despite the high costs, Chinese Mountaineering Association official and extreme games organiser Duan Dachneg believes dangerous and extreme sports will find a mass market in China.Only 60 to 70 people competed in China’s first extreme games in 1999, but more young people are gaining experience by renting equipment or joining larger clubs, Duan says.Aquascape predicts a market for 300,000 scuba divers in Beijing alone, although only around 1,000 scuba divers are registered in the city and 10,000 nationally, Huang says.But the popularity of such activities is bringing new problems. Last year several members of an inexperienced group of students died while attempting a 5,000-metre-plus climb on the Tibetan plateau.“Many of the people now going to wild areas don’t have much experience. They leave litter and light fires,” Yang complains.