Extreme sports take off

A BMX rider struts his stuff at Shanghai SMP Skate Park. Photos provided to Shanghai star

Derring-do and pure passion are the hallmarks of the hair-raising hijinks performed by BMX and skateboard enthusiasts, whose numbers are rising. Yu Ran changes gears to find out more.

Extreme sports give participants a greater sense of excitement and freedom.

So it's hardly surprising that the number of young people in Shanghai who are participating in BMX (Bicycle Motocross) riding and skateboarding is swelling. These two extreme sports were introduced from Western countries.

Wang Changpeng, a 32-year-old BMX cyclist, is trying to spread his passion and to encourage others to participate in the sports he has loved for more than 17 years.

The gathering point for these young people is the Shanghai SMP Skate Park, the city's first skate park and also the world's largest, as certified by Guinness World Records.

It covers an area of about 13,700 square meters with the biggest and highest U stage, the most complete bowls and street blocks.

It took over a decade for Wang to marry his interest in extreme sports with his career, thus enabling him to ride his beloved BMX bike every day.

"BMX is one of the original extreme sports activities well known by people in the US and Europe, so we are keen to bring it to more people in China," says Wang, who currently works at the SMP Skate Park with a team of BMX cyclists and skateboarders.

As he recalls, very few people knew about BMX in China back when he first became acquainted with this exhilarating sport through a movie he saw in senior high. From that point on, he was hooked.