(N)ice way to keep in trim

By Lin Shujuan and Yang Shuhai (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-10 08:14

Wang Yunxiang, 64, of Jiagedaqi in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, cheers lustily as he runs out of the freezing waters of the Ganhe River on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

For a seasoned ice swimmer like Wang, there is no better way to start the New Year than by making a splash in the frozen river where he has been swimming every day since 1997.

Unsurprisingly, Wang founded the Polar Bear Ice Swimming Team in early 2004. He has been promoting ice swimming for years and couldn't have found a better place than his hometown.

Located in the northwest of China's northern-most Heilongjiang province and to the southeast of the Greater Xing'an Mountains, Jiagedaqi has an average temperature of 2.8 C degrees below zero through the year. In winter, its average temperature stands at -30 and dips to -52.3 at its coldest.

"In Jiagedaqi, you can enjoy ice swimming 365 days a year," Wang tells China Daily. "But ice swimming is certainly not for the faint hearted."

Ironically, Wang's first foray into icy waters came in 1997, soon after he underwent cardiac surgery.

"I was too weak," says Wang in his cheerful voice. "I hoped ice swimming would restore my health and it did."

With his home located just 20 m from the icy pool that he and his teammates swim in at least once a day, Wang jokes that ice swimming is his "full-time profession".

"I love the sport because I know how good it is," says Wang, adding that this is the reason he founded the team and been promoting it.

"Ice swimming can boost your immune system, prevent colds, lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, make your skin radiant, improve your circulation and your mood," he says in a rush of words.

However, Wang concedes he has mixed feelings before jumping into the water.

"While walking barefoot on the ice, I can even feel the pain of my skin," Wang says. "But once you are out of the water, it is exhilarating. But you cannot sense this without the experience in the icy water first."

His team has grown fast - from just three in the beginning to a dozen within one month, and more than 60 within half a year. At present, the club has more than 100 members, mostly aged between 40 and 55, with the oldest, 76.

"I am glad we have such a big team," Wang says. "At least I now don't have to cut a hole in the ice all by myself!"

Over the past few years, the team has won many prizes at various ice swimming contests and their swimming pool is now a tourist draw.

Besides, team members have saved the lives of more than 100 people from accidental drowning or suicide attempts.

The Ganhe River can be a very dangerous place in summer," says Lin Wei, deputy director of the team. "Sometimes, its currents are too strong for an average swimmer. At other times, the ice is too thin to hold the weight of even a toddler."

Liu recalls one instance where a middle-aged man was drowning. Liu went to help him but was almost pulled to the bottom of the river, till another team member came to the rescue just in time.

Thanks to his proximity to the river, Wang is almost always part of any rescue attempt.

"It is dangerous, we know, but then we are the Polar Bears."