( CNN ) -- It 's 10pm when the young men dressed in wetsuits rock up at Munich 's hippest hangout . There 's already a line of people waiting to get in . But it 's not a cutting-edge bar or restaurant drawing the huge crowds -- it 's a river . Welcome to the surreal world of urban surfing , where innovative thrill-seekers ride the waves of inner-city rivers . Munich 's Eisbach River -- located in the heart of the German city -- is one of a growing number of urban surfing spots around the world . From China 's industrial ports to land-locked Switzerland 's stunning waterways , CNN takes a look at this mesmerizing -- and often dangerous -- extreme sport . German ingenuity . Munich may be 500 kilometers from the coast , but that has n't stopped a thriving surfing community springing up around its legendary Eisbach River . For more than four decades , surfers have been riding the one-meter waves gushing beneath a six-lane highway rumbling with traffic . Even late at night , surfers can be found queuing up to jump in , with onlookers lining the bridge to catch a glimpse of the action below . The river , which runs through the city 's picturesque English Gardens , is just 12-meters wide . But despite the small space , Eisbach is no easy ride , with only experienced surfers allowed to dive in . `` I 'd surfed the ocean for five years , but river surfing is a totally different sport with a different movement , '' said Quirin Stamminger , editor of Eisbach River surfing zine . `` It 's flowing so fast -- around 25 square meters of water per second . The wave is formed by fast water crashing into slow water . This creates the undercurrent which forms the tube . '' Taming the Silver Dragon . Think `` surfing hotspot '' and it 's unlikely China 's Qiantang River springs to mind . But not only is the 460-kilometer river home to an annual festival attracting the best surfers from around the world , it 's also the site of a rare wave phenomenon that has been mesmerizing tourists for centuries . Each autumn , a massive tidal bore -- a wave that travels against the current -- surges up the river . At nine-meters high and traveling at 40 kilometers per hour , the `` Silver Dragon , '' as it is known , is the largest tidal bore in the world and so powerful that only a small number of hefty commercial boats are allowed on the river at the same time . Watch : Aussie champ -- 'Surfing can be feminine ' Now a group of American surfers has launched an annual festival on the river , using jet skis to reach the bore which pounds through the city of Hangzhou . Towering skyscrapers can be seen looming behind the daring surfers as they ride the murky Silver Dragon . `` Hundreds of thousands of people flock to Hangzhou during the Fall Equinox -- known as the Moon Festival -- every year to stand on the banks and watch this natural phenomenon barrel past , '' said Glenn Brumage , business director Wabsono International , a company promoting boardsports in China . `` The cityscape , the hundreds of thousands of people lining the banks , the exclusivity and just the fact that it 's China all adds to the drama , excitement and allure of surfing the Qiantang . '' No ocean ? No problem . A small European country with no coastline hardly sounds like the destination of choice for surfing enthusiasts . But landlocked Switzerland -- with its snow-capped Alps -- is proving to be the ideal training ground for a new generation of surfers . `` We do n't have any beaches , but we do have a culture of board riding , '' said Tino StÃ¤heli , president of the Swiss Surfing Association . `` We have snowboarding in winter , with many riders wanting to do a similar sport in summer . '' Many villages in the country sit by a river flowing with icy water from the dramatic mountain range . An increasing number of surfers are now taking the plunge , with festivals held on the Reuss River flowing through the picturesque village of Bremgarten in the north of the country . Waves reach around one-meter in the pretty river . But be prepared to wait your turn -- on a nice day up to 40 people can be seen queuing for more than 30 minutes to ride the deep blue water .
No ocean ? No problem . Innovative boarders are surfing city rivers . Munich 's Eisbach River attracts young thrill-seekers late into night . China 's `` Silver Dragon '' is world 's largest tidal bore . Land-locked Switzerland is home of snowboarders-turned-surfers .