“Paragliding is like flying like a bird. One can cast away all earthly worries and go beyond the bustling urban life while overlooking the mountains, rivers and blue sea on a paraglider.”

— Sheng Guangqiang, a veteran paraglider pilot who was among the first members of the national paragliding team

    Anna Zhao

    anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    SHENG GUANGQIANG has been living his dream of flying for 15 years as a veteran paraglider pilot. The Shenzhen resident was among the first members of the national paragliding team, which he helped win China’s first gold medal in an international powered paragliding competition. He said the sport takes him away from daily trivialities.

    “Paragliding is like flying like a bird. One can cast away all earthly worries and go beyond the bustling urban life while overlooking the mountains, rivers and blue sea on a paraglider,” Sheng said recently, recalling his first flight on a paraglider, when he soared at 300 meters. “All one has is quiet solitude and pleasant feelings.”

    First flights

    Sheng, a native of Xuzhou City in Jiangsu Province, learned about paragliding in 1998, when it was a less popular sport than it is now. When he saw people flying high in the sky on paragliders, without any machines to generate power, aspirations to fly stirred inside of him.

    To pursue his dream, he went to Beijing to learn at a professional paragliding club in 1998. He started by learning the basic theories of flying, meteorology, terrain and air sports, then studied flying skills by watching videos and other pilots’ flights. Eventually, with a coach, he began practicing gliding on small mountain slopes.

    “Paragliding is not as difficult or mysterious as many people think,” Sheng said. “All adults can be taught to paraglide and people who have good physical coordination can grasp the basic skills in a week.”

    Sheng said the sport is affordable for many people, with the largest cost being a one-time investment of 20,000 yuan (US$3,240) to 30,000 yuan for a paraglider kit that can be used for about eight years.

    He and a friend often drive to the seaside at Kuichong, Dapeng New Area, when the weather is good and air speeds and currents are suitable for flying.

    Airborne adventures

    Sheng said paragliding is a sport that can be easily mastered.

    Using a model paraglider in his home along with a canopy, suspension lines, harness and rudder, Sheng demonstrated that a paraglider can be easily manipulated.

    “People who don’t know about paragliding guess it to be very dangerous. It’s not completely without danger, but being adventurous is young people’s nature,” Sheng said. “It is natural to have fears, but you’ll be overwhelmed by the pleasure of flying. You’ll get addicted to it like opium smokers, who are reluctant to stop. That’s why it is fascinating.”

    Paragliding is a fashionable, leisurely sport for Sheng. But he said one must undergo systematic training before practicing it. He said trying to fly without learning the basic skills can lead to injuries.

    One should be coached with professional guidance, he said, especially regarding knowledge of different terrains, distances and air currents. Sheng added that veteran pilots can be good teachers.

    Sheng said a paraglider can be easily controlled and has speeds that are generally faster than a bicycle but slower than a motorcycle. Risks are rare, he said, unless the pilot tries dangerous stunts or takes unnecessary chances. But most people do the sport for relaxation and to have fun, rather than seeking thrills, he said.

    Sheng has won prizes in many paragliding competitions, at home and abroad. He won the fixed-distance category at a national paragliding competition in 2008, for example, and the next year, he was recruited to be among the first members of the national paragliding team.

    Sheng was the individual runner-up at the third FAI World Air Games, held in Italy in June 2009. That award was a breakthrough for paragliders representing Asian countries in international competitions. In the same month, Sheng and his teammates won a gold medal and two silver medals at the 5th World Paragliding Championships, in Croatia. In 2012, he was granted a medal of honor for sports by the National Sports Bureau.

    Training others

    Sheng began coaching paragliding in the city of Huizhou, Guangdong Province, in 2000. He came to Shenzhen in 2004 and founded a training club in the city. After initially drawing only a few local enthusiasts, the club gradually attracted paragliding lovers from across the country.

    Beyond coaching and competing, paragliding also is very personal for Sheng — he and his wife took a 45-minute flight to celebrate their wedding.

    Paragliding lovers hold Sheng in great respect, and admire his professional techniques, training tactics and personality.

    He often paraglides in Hong Kong, Taiwan and even overseas. Sometimes he sees eagles and hovers under them. Sheng said watching eagles is the best way to learn how to take advantage of air currents, and that being eye-to-eye with an eagle is a wonderful experience.

    Sheng said he often glides with friends over local coastal areas, equipped with altimeters, GPS devices and walkie-talkies.

    Sheng said about 100 people in Shenzhen have learned paragliding but only a few dozen people fly consistently. Paragliding is a popular sport in the West but has few fans in China. He said a major reason is that the government gives little support for it, since it is not a competitive program in the Olympics. Also, many low-flying areas are not open to the public. Sheng and his friends only paraglide on coasts that are far from residents.

    He said even places for forward launches of a paraglider wing are not available in Shenzhen. Sheng said he hopes the city will decide to support the sport and make it an attraction for tourists.

    Once they tried to practice it in Shenzhen Mangrove Nature Reserve in Futian District but were stopped by its administrators who afraid that birds there would be disturbed. Sports parks also forbid the practice.

    Sheng and another paragliding enthusiast said they’re envious of how foreign governments invest in paragliding venues, and said Shenzhen is the most suitable city for paragliding on the southern coast, but there’s not a single patch of ground dedicated to the sport.

    Paragliding lovers used to gather in the city during the winter, Sheng said, but were often driven out of gliding locations.