Swimming Etiquettes in Beijing

I enjoy swimming very much. This is one of the few sports that won't hurt your joints and muscles. I am not a good swimmer and I swim about 500-700 meters each time for about 30 minutes. I picked up lap swimming in the Scotch Plains YMCA 20 years ago. I have never truly completed my swimming lessons, as I just could not manage the 'breathing' technique. So I had been using a snorkeling tube until a year ago. Years ago during my college days, I yelled help after only two sessions when the coach took us beginners to the deep end to practice. I think that subconscious fear of deep water was the culprit in preventing any further progress.

[My Swimming Epiphany]
A snorkeling tube is a rare sight even in the U.S. I used it to breathe so that I can move all my limbs. I was simply too tense and too nervous. I could not sustain a regular breathing pattern without going into a vicious cycle of sinking in deeper and deeper.
A young child at Huaqing Garden swimming pool once asked me what sort of special technique I was learning with my snorkeling tube. I was embarrassed and told him that I needed it because I had not mastered the breathing technique yet and that he should be quite proud that he didn't use this apparatus.

I learned to breathe finally with encouragement from the lifeguard Mr. Chen. He showed me that a true beginner friend could start to do breast stroke in a few months on a once-a-week schedule. All I needed was to relax and not get in a panic when I did not breathe in enough or got some water into my mouth. Being able to stay calm and recover to normal breathing pattern was key to my epiphany ;-) I was so pleased with this breakthrough, because I never thought it would be possible in my lifetime. Here is a picture of me without the tube in Sanya, Hainan at the end of last year.









I have listed below my observations in and around Beijing swimming pools. Since my samples are limited, I would be cautious in generalizing these observations too much.

[Locker Rooms and Shower Stalls]
When you are done with swimming, drying off right after the shower is common in the U.S. since the locker room area is usually carpeted. Locker rooms are rarely carpeted in China. You are lucky if they do not use ceramic tiles for the floor. The pool I had frequented in the last two years finally changed to a material similar to artificial turf, and I don't have to be extra careful and apprehensive of slipping and falling.

Some facilities have a sauna installed. In one place, the management finally gave up on repairing the sauna unit. Too often I have witnessed abusive users pouring water directly over the hot rocks. It is dangerous and also likely to destroy the sauna unit. I understand why management just gave up on this endless repairing, and it is a shame not having that sauna to use after a good swim.

Shower stalls have good water, hot and cold. But normally that drainage system is not designed to match the usage volume. Standing water here and there is quite common. It is often quite slippery in the shower area. Here is a sign I like. Instead of "Slippery, please be careful," it says "Slip Carefully." I am not sure what the Korean translation says.






[Swimming Pool Access]
There is always a wading pool to wash off your feet between the locker rooms and the pool. They could easily install shower heads to cover the access pathway so that people can really clean themselves before entering the pool. Although "shower before swimming" signs are posted in clear view, there are still some people not observing them.

[Swimming Etiquettes]
It is a common practice to put fast swimmers in the middle lanes and slower pokes on the outside lanes. This is usually clearly marked in the U.S. It is natural to let good (and faster) swimmers avoid the slower folks by staying in the middle lanes, since slower ones like to hang on and be close to the side walls of the pool. When sharing a lane, it is common in the U.S. to see a sign reminding swimmers to "split lane with two and circle with three or more." Here, people just swim in all directions, which is similar to Beijing traffic. Parents and instructors do not teach their children common sense like "see and avoid" and "pool courtesy."

It would be a while before you feel a higher level of civility in the swimming pool. There is no incentive to formulate common-sense rules as far as I can tell. Everything is from the top down, possibly all the way from State General Administration of Sports. A centralized system naturally limits its innovations and improvements to the selected few elites. Scaling is a big challenge to China in many of its policies and regulations.

Although there are signs showing "no jumping/diving" in shallow water, many children are ignoring the rules. Safety consciousness is not big on the teaching agenda.

[Pool Usage Convention]
I am not aware of any ideas along the lines of family swim versus lap swim. All pool areas are either all divided into lanes or completely open. Poor lap swimmers usually have to avoid the beginners and those who are simply playing around for fun.

Swimming is still considered fun and entertainment for families and individuals. Pool schedules are tailored to this type of usage. No pools are open to meet the needs of work-out times such as early morning (before work), lunch time and early evening (after work). Most, if not all, pools operate at management's convenience, not at users' convenience. This reminds of my friend SX's one-liner: There are no rights, only obligations for the individuals in China. It is so true.

[Others]
No photos are allowed in most swimming pools. I don't know why.
Men and women all wear caps, a policy that is mandated by pool management.
A deep water certificate allows swimmers to be in deep water areas. To get a certificate, you must pay 10RMB to apply and must be able to swim 200 meters and tread water for 30 seconds.
There are often swimming lessons for children, especially in the summer time. There are many more bystanders (parents/friends) than students. A typical scene in China.