A man from North China's Hebei Province said Monday that he plans to apply for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for his ability to walk in heavy iron shoes.

Zhang Fuxing, 51, a resident of Fengnan district in Tangshan, practices daily exercises in a pair of iron shoes, which now weigh 405 kilograms, about seven times his own weight.

The shoes are each 30 centimeters long and 20 centimeters wide, while the sole is made of 40 centimeter-layer of welded iron chunks.

Zhang spends 20 minutes walking in the shoes every morning, usually getting about a dozen meters out. He keeps the shoes in his courtyard because: "They're so heavy that I don't worry about them being stolen."

The factory worker has done exercises in the shoes he made himself, which originally weighed just 70 kilograms, for the past seven years. He plans to add even more weight to the shoes early next year. 

Xinhua