Millions of Chinese are venturing to the beach for the first time

A man with a giant tattoo of a carp jumping over a dragon is making a video of himself standing in the water, a green inflatable ring around his waist. As he films, waves move up the shore and catch the black flip-flops he has left on the sand. He grabs at one, but the water pulls the other out of reach. It is 7am and the competition is on, selfie versus shoe. The sandal floats out into the South China Sea.

On the shoreline nearby, several of the man’s high-school classmates are smoking. Two of them sport matching flowery swimming trunks that they have just bought for 45 yuan ($6). Last week the 18-year-olds drove six hours south to Shenzhen in southern China, a stone’s throw from Hong Kong.