The city of Zaozhuang, Shandong province, held its first International Winter Swimming Festival, on Jan 11, in the nearby town of Tai'erzhuang, which has a significant part of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal still in place, attracting nearly 200 competitors from near and far, for example, the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Finland, Turkey, Norway, Argentina, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Opening ceremony of Swimming Festival, Zaozhuang, Shandong, on Jan 11. [Photo by Gao Qimin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Maria Koskinen, president of the International Winter Swimming Association, on hand to address the opening ceremony.

Winter swimming competitors from different countries and regions. [Photo by Gao Qimin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Winter swimming combines cold water, fresh air bath, and sun and is considered conducive to physical well-being and improved blood circulation.

Swimmers competing at Swimming Festival, Zaozhuang, Shandong, on Jan 11. [Photo by Gao Qimin/chinadaily.com.cn]

The Grand Canal was added to the world heritage list, at the 38th World Heritage Convention, on June 22, 2014. It is 42 kilometers long, and the Tai'erzhuang section has some spectacular parts, with ancient sluice gates, wharves and revetments. In winter, it has a water temperature of around minus 5C, which makes it ideal for winter swimming.

Wang Qian contributed to the story