Bao Zhengbin, a 72-year-old man from Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, embarked on an extraordinary journey recently from Chongming Island in Shanghai, to Guangzhou, capital city of South China's Guangdong Province. Photo: web

Bao Zhengbin, a 72-year-old man from Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, embarked on an extraordinary journey recently from Chongming Island in Shanghai, to Guangzhou, capital city of South China's Guangdong Province. He aims to cover 1,200 kilometers along the coastline in 40 days to watch the sports tournament.

Bao had completed a particularly challenging third stage of his expedition. When low tide left behind vast mudflats and made swimming impossible, he waded through the mud and trekked across the Shanghai Yangtze River Bridge.

"Since I've come this far, I must cross the bridge," Bao said. He spent more than 20 minutes scrambling over 100 meters of rocky shore and another 20 minutes wading through river mud.

Bao told reporters that since retiring more than a decade ago, he has traversed China's major rivers, including swimming the entire 6,300-kilometer Yangtze River. "I swim when I can, cycle if I can't swim, and walk if I can't cycle. I only take a cross-county bus as a last resort," he said.

"Exploring China's vast coastline has been my long-cherished dream," Bao said, adding that he hopes to contribute his "silver-haired strength" to the Healthy China initiative, inspiring more people to "work healthily and live joyfully."

Drawing from his experiences, Bao wrote and self-published a book, which he distributed to the public. The book, along with other personal swimming items, is now exhibited at a local museum in Wuhan.