Dong Sha 29.7
#5333 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇨🇳 People's Republic of China · Zhejiang · near Ningbo
Very consistent, wind is the enemy here, no off season.
Best time to surf Dong Sha
The best time to surf Dong Sha is August, September, October. It rarely works. In September the water sits around 28°C, so pack boardshorts, and the typical wave is 0.8 m. The nearest airport is NGB (92 km) and the nearest town is Ningbo (84 km).
| Month | Surfable | Clean | Size | Water | Suit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 78% | 0% | 0.8 m | 12°C | 5/4 |
| Feb | 83% | 0% | 0.9 m | 10°C | 5/4 |
| Mar | 69% | 0% | 0.7 m | 12°C | 5/4 |
| Apr | 65% | 0% | 0.7 m | 15°C | 4/3 |
| May | 52% | 0% | 0.6 m | 19°C | 2mm |
| Jun | 52% | 0% | 0.6 m | 23°C | vest |
| Jul | 72% | 0% | 0.8 m | 26°C | boardies |
| Aug | 74% | 1% | 0.8 m | 28°C | boardies |
| Sep | 67% | 3% | 0.8 m | 28°C | boardies |
| Oct | 82% | 1% | 0.8 m | 26°C | boardies |
| Nov | 81% | 0% | 0.8 m | 20°C | 2mm |
| Dec | 82% | 0% | 0.9 m | 16°C | 4/3 |
What is under Dong Sha
Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor falls away into open ocean, 1,356 m, deep right up to the door, so swell arrives with its energy intact. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 1991 m against 1356 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.
Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.
Why 29.7
Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.
The detail
Faces 129° with 58% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 36% of days. Mean peak period 5.8 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.3 m, with a peak period of 8 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 79%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 29.882, 122.415 (OpenStreetMap).
What it costs to be here
Remote spot, so the local estimate is 15% below the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for People's Republic of China (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.
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