Gulangyu, Xiamen - China, Scuba?

[Misterbashi]

Hi,

I'm going to travel to Gulangyu this weekend and would love to get some log book time in as I have recently achieved open water certification.

I can't find any information about Scuba diving here, and would like to know if anyone here can give me some assistance with finding support on the island?

Thanks,

 

[Hike]

Hi,

I'm going to travel to Gulangyu this weekend and would love to get some log book time in as I have recently achieved open water certification.

I can't find any information about Scuba diving here, and would like to know if anyone here can give me some assistance with finding support on the island?

Thanks,

There is no diving in China that could even be considered mediocre, but there are people out there that will tell you different, dont believe them. I did a dive in shenzhen where the operator advertised 25m depth with viz from 5 to 20 meters. Our max depth was 4.4m and that was when i hit the bottom as I couldnt see the bottom with the viz being less than 1 meter. Also the air tasted a little funny and several people in our group became ill later.
A few friends and I that are located in dongguan are considering buying a compressor and trying some random dives around souther china to see if there is anything out there worth diving. You can also dive the great wall outside beijing or go to 1000 island lake and dive the flooded city, but both poor viz, cold dives with no fishlife

 

[Misterbashi]

Thanks for the reply, and the honesty. I have heard similar feedback to be honest.
I met a guy while I was in Da Peng last weekend who organises dives at an island nearby, he claimed visibility was around 5 meters.

I am planning to join them for a dive as I really need to get some time in.

If you are planning on trying some random dives, and don't mind a pair of rookies tagging along, we would be keen to join you.
I am hoping to dive in the Philippines soon as this has relatively low travel costs. Really need to progress past open water though, as the interesting dive sites around Subic bay are all 20-40 meters.

 

[Centrals]

I am hoping to dive in the Philippines soon as this has relatively low travel costs. Really need to progress past open water though, as the interesting dive sites around Subic bay are all 20-40 meters.

Most of the interesting sites in Subic are well above 30m.
The vis is not very good especially in summer(rainly season). Best time is winter(Nov to Mar).
The bay is protected and current is never an issue. A good place for an AOW course and inexperienced diver.

 

[Hike]

Thanks for the reply, and the honesty. I have heard similar feedback to be honest.
I met a guy while I was in Da Peng last weekend who organises dives at an island nearby, he claimed visibility was around 5 meters.

I am planning to join them for a dive as I really need to get some time in.

If you are planning on trying some random dives, and don't mind a pair of rookies tagging along, we would be keen to join you.
I am hoping to dive in the Philippines soon as this has relatively low travel costs. Really need to progress past open water though, as the interesting dive sites around Subic bay are all 20-40 meters.

If you met with KK from Shenzhen Scuba World, I would recommend passing. We arranged a trip for 6 of us to go to Dapeng Bay, we checked with him at about midnight the night before and he assured us the conditions were ok to dive. So we made the two hour trip there and he informed us he did a dive the day before and the visibility was awful (would have been nice if he told us this before when we were checking on the conditions) We got on the two boats that smelled like fish and had captains that must of thought I worked for them because the attitude they gave to us was that we were lucky enough to enjoy the privilege of being on their crappy boats. As soon as we got out of the harbor, the seas were a little rougher (fine for any kind of sea worthy vessel, but not the ones we were on), so we were informed we could not make it dapeng bay and would have to dive at a different site (daya bay i believe). We got in the water, and vis was less than one meter, the 45 minute dive, we never got deeper than 4.4 meters, and that was because i smacked into the bottom as I couldnt see it, we also only saw one or two small (less than a few inches in length) fish . Most of our time was spent searching for our buddies, we had to service twice as we lost people. As the weather was getting worse and the diving sucked, we decided to go in, KK still demanded full payment even though we could not get to the dive site we agreed upon, and even the dive we did was not as advertised. I understand there are a lot of fixed costs, such as the boat captain, dive guide etc, but under the conditions, I dont think we should have been charged the whole rate (actually KK claimed it was 100rmb more than we had agreed on previously) At least we didnt have to use the second tank (actually only used about 80 bar on the one tank i used). On top of all of this, a few of my friends commented that the air tasted funny and 3 people in our group turned ill the next day. If you are really itching to dive, go to Hong Kong, I have never dove there, but from what friends have told me, it is as advertised, not great, but some things to see. If we find any decent dives around, I will let you know, there are some areas that advertise nice beaches in guangdong, but people here are known to show pictures of beaches from thailand or other destinations to bring people to there destinations.

 

[Misterbashi]

Guys, thanks for taking the time to reply and giving me some comprehensive feedback.

I light of the above, I think I will avoid diving in SZ. For me it seemed like a convenient way to get some time in, but after reading this I will be avoiding!
Think I will put the cash towards some gear, and get out to the philippines for a week.

Do you have any experience with diving in Zhuhai? As this was mentioned last time I was in HK

 

[Hike]

Guys, thanks for taking the time to reply and giving me some comprehensive feedback.

I light of the above, I think I will avoid diving in SZ. For me it seemed like a convenient way to get some time in, but after reading this I will be avoiding!
Think I will put the cash towards some gear, and get out to the philippines for a week.

Do you have any experience with diving in Zhuhai? As this was mentioned last time I was in HK

I have heard there is an island off Zhuhai that offers diving, Life of Guangzhou - Breathtaking Islands of Guangdong (Part 1)

I am just skeptical to try anywhere as it is a regular occurrence for Chinese beach's to advertise pictures of beaches from the Philippines or Thailand, claiming that they are beaches in China. I just have never heard of anybody saying anything good about a dive in China, usually its restricted to certain areas and there just isnt a lot of fish in the sea here as everybody ate them, thats why you see chinese fishing vessels everywhere in the world. If you are really itching for a dive, Hong Kong is it, or the Pedro Blanco dive in Shenzhen, its expensive, a 2 hour uncomfortable boat ride (small boat with 8 divers, two crew, and a couple of dive guides, to a pinnacle that stands out of the water, that probably used to have good sea life, but it has been fished, spear fished, dynamite fished, and more. But you can still see some smaller tuna and about 10 meter vis, from what i have heard who friends who tried it a few times, as they advertise it as an underwater miracle with all kinds of life, including whale sharks.
I think you got the idea, fly to manila or cebu and make it a long weekend. Malapascua (although a 3 hour drive and 30 minute boat from the airport) was fantastic. Thresher Sharks, Mantas, Devil Rays, Whitetips, Corals, Macro, all within close proximity to the island. Its more about the time than the cost, you can fly round trip from Hong Kong to cebu for like 200usd roundtrip with all taxes included on Cebu Pacific or AirPhilExpress, and the dives are a fraction of the cost they are in Shenzhen.