Liu Dan is pictured here at the Swatch Girls Pro China surfing competition in Wanning, Hainan province, in 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

The idea of becoming a surfer never occurred to Liu before she met her husband, who is from the United States. She was not even good at swimming. She hails from landlocked Enshi, a mountainous city in Central China's Hubei province.

Having studied ballet since she was a young girl, Liu's dream was to be a dance teacher. It wasn't until she met her husband - a passionate surfer - that she learned to love riding the waves on a long board, which requires good balance. Years of learning ballet gave Liu a major advantage. Her surfing friends call her the "wave ballerina".

In 2007, Liu and her husband moved to Sanya in Hainan province, which boasts the best beaches in China and sunshine throughout the year. Back then, most of the surfers in Sanya were foreigners. When Liu opened a small shop on the beach to teach people how to surf and rent boards, she found that the number of Chinese surfers had increased.

"Many Chinese do not live close to the sea. They are afraid of the ocean just like I used to be," says Liu.

"Fear of the ocean will be replaced by joy after you successfully stand on a surfboard," Liu adds.

Liu's Chinese customers are mainly young people, aged between 18 and 40. Many of them also enjoy skiing because both sports use boards.

Liu is unusual among Chinese women in that she is proud of her tanned skin, and she happily posed for the camera when she was invited to attend La Mer's charity event to celebrate World's Oceans Day in June.

Surfers are ardent environmentalists and work to protect the ocean, as so much of their joy comes from clean oceans, says Liu. She is passionate about ocean conservation.