WorldPeople's Republic of China › Hainan › JinZonglu

JinZonglu 51.5

#3943 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇨🇳 People's Republic of China · Hainan · near Sanya

Very consistent, wind is the enemy here, no off season.

Works all yearWarm waterBeginner friendlyBeginner
JinZonglu, People's Republic of China
Photo: Maxim Nedashkovskiy · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Surf score51.5 /100
Surfable days86% of the year
Clean days1% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell2% period 11 s+
Typical size0.9 m 3.1 ft median
Water27°C boardshorts

Best time to surf JinZonglu

The best time to surf JinZonglu is October, November, December. It rarely works. In December the water sits around 25°C, so pack a rash vest or 2 mm, and the typical wave is 1.6 m. The nearest airport is SYX (26 km) and the nearest town is Sanya (15 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan100%1%1.2 m23°Cvest
Feb96%1%1.0 m24°Cvest
Mar89%0%0.9 m25°Cvest
Apr89%1%0.8 m27°Cboardies
May75%0%0.7 m29°Cboardies
Jun89%0%0.8 m30°Cboardies
Jul77%0%0.8 m29°Cboardies
Aug74%0%0.8 m29°Cboardies
Sep61%2%0.7 m29°Cboardies
Oct92%3%1.4 m28°Cboardies
Nov97%3%1.3 m26°Cboardies
Dec100%10%1.6 m25°Cvest

What is under JinZonglu

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is still shallow, 20 m.

Depth 8 km out20 m
Depth 4 km out20 m

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 51.5

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.

Wave quality 34.7%
11.3
Best days 22.4%
8.7
Clean days 18.4%
0.2
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
6.1
Access 4.1%
4.0

The detail

Faces 165° with 44% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 60% of days. Mean peak period 7.4 s. Days over 3 m: 1%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.8 m, with a peak period of 9 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 65%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 18.233, 109.646 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,200/ month
typically €1,060 – €1,340
Rent, one bedroom€632
Groceries€254
Eating out€146
Getting around€86
Phone + internet€92
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,340/ month
typically €2,060 – €2,620
Somewhere to stay€1,380
Eating out€491
Car, transfers, fuel€319
Data + extras€151
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Airport and town on the doorstep, so the local estimate is 8% above 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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