Skydiving refers to a sport where parachutists jump from aircraft such as airplanes or balloons—or from steep mountain peaks or highlands—and perform various prescribed maneuvers with the help of aerodynamics and a parachute both before and after opening the chute, then use the parachute to slow their descent and land safely in a designated area. Known for its thrill and challenge, it is hailed by the world as the "sport of the brave."
Skydiving can be categorized into formation skydiving, accuracy landing, freestyle skydiving, canopy formation, high-altitude skydiving, night skydiving, wingsuit flying, water skydiving, and demonstration skydiving, fully showcasing the beauty of extreme sports.
The civilian skydiving movement in China began in the 1940s. In 1942, the first skydiving tower was built in Chongqing. After 1949, the sport developed rapidly, and Chinese athletes have broken multiple world records in skydiving. In September 1958, at the first Gliding and Skydiving Sports Meet held in Beijing, three athletes including He Jianhua set a world record for women's 1,000-meter group accuracy landing with a score of 9.817 meters. In 1978, after China joined the International Aeronautical Federation, it began participating in global competitions. By 1978, 70 individuals had broken 21 world records 41 times. To date, China’s skydiving remains at the forefront of the world.
Today, skydiving has become one of the most popular aerial sports globally and one of the trendiest extreme sports among young people, even evolving into a highly skilled athletic activity. Since the reform and opening-up, as people have pursued higher-quality and more meaningful life experiences, skydiving has gradually regained popularity.
There are many methods of ascending for skydiving. The earliest involved jumping from hot air balloons, which later evolved into airplane skydiving, parachute tower jumps, and towed ascents. Today, adventure enthusiasts have even invented jumps from cliffs and skyscrapers. In addition to traditional disciplines like freestyle, accuracy landing, canopy formations, and canopy relative work, new additions include freestyle aerial skydiving and skysurfing, shifting from purely competitive events to recreational, entertainment, and extreme sports.
Currently, skydiving has become one of the most widespread aerial sports globally. The skydive from Shanghai's Jinmao Tower is known abroad as a BASE jump, derived from the initials of Building, Antenna, Span (or bridge), and Earth—the four types of fixed objects suitable for this activity. As an extreme sport, jumping from towering, vertical urban structures densely packed with buildings offers truly unique thrills. The parachute packing, deployment procedures, and equipment differ from traditional airplane skydiving, summarized as "precision, alignment, and stability."
In the well-known airplane skydiving, parachutists carry both a main parachute and a reserve parachute, whereas in BASE jumping, there is only one parachute with no backup option—success must be achieved on the first deployment. Due to the lower altitude from the ground, jumpers have no time to adjust direction using a pilot chute, so they must be perfectly aligned with the target object the moment the parachute opens. Another challenge in BASE jumping is safely separating from the structure and avoiding surrounding buildings while descending swiftly and landing securely amid uneven terrain.
Three Methods of Skydiving
For first-time skydivers, there are several ways to learn how to skydive safely.
One method is using a static line system. In this system, the parachute is attached to the aircraft’s fuselage. When you jump, the static line opens the container and deploys the parachute. Because the parachute only exits the container once the lines are fully extended, this system helps prevent the lines from tangling with the canopy. The static line system is less expensive than other methods but may require more time to learn the same skills.
Another method is Accelerated Freefall (AFF). With AFF, you actually jump from the airplane at around 12,000 feet (3,658 meters), freefall for about 40 seconds, and then pull the ripcord to deploy the parachute. During freefall, you must maintain a stable, streamlined body position.
The third method is tandem skydiving. The advantage of this method is that almost anyone can enjoy the experience without taking a training course. In tandem skydiving, you are essentially a passenger flying alongside an instructor. The instructor handles the entire flight process from takeoff to landing.
As an extreme sport, jumping from tall, vertical urban structures densely packed with buildings offers truly unique thrills.