Mighty river no obstacle to ingenious people of Hubei

JINGZHOU, Hubei: Between 1956 and 1966 the late Chairman Mao Zedong swam across the Yangtze River 10 times and each time he called on the people to "challenge oneself in big winds and big waves".

So when I saw about 20 people swimming in the nation's mother river in Wuhan on Friday, I naturally believed they were merely following Mao's way of keeping fit and showing strength.

Even I was tempted to do so, but the river looked too wide with heavy traffic.