Homegrown Chinese Tech

Lead image: World Underwater Discovery (WUD) explorer Chen Qian, “Charlie” (middle) and his support team on an über-deep cave dive. WUD co-founder and president Yuan Wang (far right). Photo courtesy of Chen Qian.

In the west, we generally have limited visibility into diving in China, especially when it comes to technical diving, and public data on the number of divers, certifications and diving incidents is rarely available or nonexistent. Even so, excluding the Pandemic, China and the Asia market have been long regarded as a growth area for sport diving, and practically all of the Western training agencies have scrambled to establish a base there to compete for market share. 

However, few divers in the US and Europe are likely aware that China has had its own homegrown technical training agency, for more than a decade. The fact that the agency’s website and course materials are all in Chinese, has undoubtedly, served to obscure it. Accordingly, in this issue of INDEPTH, we make a deep dive into World Underwater Discovery (WUD) in an exclusive interview with co-founder and president Yuan Wang. We also hear from one of its prolific young explorer/instructors, Chen Qian who talks about his experiences conducting sub-200 meter cave dives. 

In addition, we offer up some unique China content from the InDEPTH archives—from cave diving in Southern China and sizing up the China business market, to some fintastic Chinese mermaiding and breath taking images. Are you ready for the exposure? 潛入水中，水剛好!

While we’re at it, let me please call your attention to our two premier Chinese advertising partners OceanPlan, and OrcaTorch, which is celebrating its 10^th Anniversary! Check them out people!—M2

Introducing World Underwater Discovery — China’s Homegrown Tech Agency

InDEPTH chief Michael Menduno sits down with WUD co-founder and president Yuan Wang to explore WUD’s philosophy, training programs, safety record and Wang’s vision for the future.

DIVE IN

My Personal Experiences with HPNS on Five Sub-200 meter Dives

WUD explorer and tech instructor Chen Qian discusses his experience with High Pressure nervous Syndrome (HPNS) on five Sub-200 m dives in Da Xing Springs.

DIVE IN

More CHINA from the InDEPTH archive:

Cave Diving, Du’an China Edition (2021)

Finnish tech instructor and explorer Jani Niskanen takes us for a plunge into the underwater world of South China Karst, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. Break out the NAV kits.

DIVE IN

Sizing Up The China Diving Market (2019)

Ask any training agency executive about the growth of diving, and he or she will likely mention the phenomenal growth of diving in China. We asked Edmund Yiu, owner of RAID China, and tech distributor Xtreme Deep Asia Limited, for a perspective on the Chinese diving culture and market. How’s your Kung Fu?

DIVE IN

Underwater Galaxy (2021)

Award winning Chinese filmmaker and photographer Fan Ping takes us on a magical journey through watery worlds less traveled.

DIVE IN

One Way the World Learns to Mermaid: The Mer-spective from PADI’s Karl Shreeves (2021)

InDEPTH chief Michael Menduno reached out to PADI veteran Karl Shreeves to explore the trending global phenomena of mermaiding, which may well surpass tech diving in terms of sheer numbers in the not so distant future! 

DIVE IN

DIVE DEEPER

Speaking Sidemount: E073 Edmund Yiu-“The Business of Diving”