International University Rowing Regatta Xinjin, China July 2017

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY // STEVE McARTHUR

An Otago University student performs the Haka prior to racing in Xinjin, China.

China’s first steps into Olympic class rowing began with a team of just nine competing at the 1984 Olympics. The first medals came at the 1988 Olympic Games, with silver in the women’s four and bronze in the women’s eight.

It was at their home Olympics, Beijing 2008, on the purpose-built Shunyi course, that the Chinese women’s quadruple sculls crew of Tang Bin, Jin Ziwei, Xi Aihua and Zhang Yangyang beat Great Britain and Germany to deliver China’s first Olympic rowing gold and in the process elevated the team to fifth overall on the medal table.

The newfound success in Beijing sparked a revitalisation of the sport in China. The Chinese, it seems, are drawn to the physical and technical challenges of the sport as well as its rich history and heritage.

Amid the growing popularity of the sport, China now hosts hundreds of the world’s elite university rowers at competitive regattas around the country every July. It is part of a concentrated effort by Chinese rowing officials to increase the sport’s profile and attract more Chinese participants. The headline event is the International University Rowing Regatta (IURR), a spectacular event comprising a series of sprint races organised by Chengdu Administration of Sports on the South River of Xinjin.