Kayaking, once a niche water sport, has become a summer trend in China. It's also attracting more attention among Chinese netizens. Follow our reporter Zhang Zhenni to find out why. 

A century ago, kayaking entered the Olympics for the first time as a performance sport. Today, the niche water sport is more widely known. 

On one of China's most famous social platforms, kayaking-related videos have been played over 1-billion times and more than 160,000 people have taken part in the discussion. 

So why is the sport attracting more and more people looking to experience it? To find out, I decided to visit a kayaking club in Shanghai. 

ZHANG ZHENNI Shanghai "Can you imagine, after only ten minutes of training, I'm free to paddle my kayak right now. It's really a fun sport. I can exercise while enjoying nature. I now fully understand why this sport is so popular among young people."

SI MANNI Young Athlete, Shanghai Hangzhou-Bay Bilingual School "First I found out that kayaking so fun because the way we on the water and relax, wind blow on ourselves is very comfortable. And when we study very hard at school, we will have free time to play kayaking to make us more not like under press."

SUN YANLI Parent "Because kayaking is a way to soak up the sun on the water, it makes kids' personalities more outgoing. In addition to solo kayaking, there are also pairs and some collaborative events where kids can greatly improve their teamwork and communication skills."

Although kayaking came late to China, it's clearly begun to move beyond the Olympic Games into more schools and homes. 

ZHANG QINGLIN Co-founder of Direction Kayak Assn "We've trained more than two dozen schools in Shanghai in water sports programs. The good thing about this sport is there are almost no injuries, and it's very easy to get started. You just need to have some balance, and you can maneuver the kayak very easily."

The club I visited has attracted nearly 20,000 people so far this year, and the number is still rising. It's bringing people together. You can exercise, take photos and socialize. So come on, join me to bask in the sun and enjoy this rapidly emerging sport. 

Zhang Zhenni, CGTN, Shanghai.