bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

My belly will buoy me, says university lecturer hoping to make the 35km swim this week

Wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and sporting a beer belly, Zhang Jian looks more like a  businessman than  a swimmer hoping to be the first person to swim from Hong Kong and Macau.

But the chubby 41-year-old - a Beijing Sport  University teacher who earned fame by conquering many of the mainland's most challenging waterways and was the first Chinese to swim the 33.8km English Channel - is determined to soon tackle the 35km feat.

Rough weather scuppered his first attempt, which had been scheduled for today, but organisers insisted last night that  Zhang will make the trip as soon as the weather clears.

Zhang, who will start swimming from the west side of Tai O Dock and hopes to land at Macau's Hac Sa beach on Coloane Island, sees the promotion of endurance swimming in China as his lifelong goal.

As far as his size goes - he is 1.76 metres tall and weighs 90kg - he makes no apologies for his belly and says it can actually help.

'When it comes to long swims, it's better to be plump as the fat provides insulation against the cold sea water, which is lower than normal air temperatures.'

Today's swim will be  Zhang's second-longest venture after his 50-hour Bohai Gulf crossing in 2000. The journey is expected to take 16 hours.

'As a sportsman, I pick a time that is best for the swim. But of course it's a special thing to  swim from Hong Kong to Macau on the Mid-Autumn Festival,' he said.

Aspiring to become the first person to swim across Lingding Yang, the bay at the mouth of the Pearl River that sees ferries shuttling between Hong Kong and Macau every 15 minutes,  Zhang had some  bureaucracy  to tie up  apart from training and testing the water current.

'It's a little complicated  as it involves two immigration authorities. In the words of the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, I am the first  person to leave Hong Kong for Macau by swimming. But thanks to the Macau Marine Department the issue is now settled,' he said.

The ferry companies have been informed about  Zhang's swim. Three support boats, representing the Macau Polytechnic Institute,  the Marine Department and volunteers, will accompany him.

Hailed as a hero in China for his  swims,  Zhang's  first long-distance crown  was the 29.5km crossing of the Qiongzhou Strait  in 1988.

'Long-distance swimming was introduced to China around 1987. As a swimming teacher, I just wanted to try this sport and promote it,' said  Zhang.  The beauty of nature has kept him swimming despite side effects, such as serious sunburn, chafing skin  and the extreme physical pain of  endurance sport.

'When preparing for the Bohai crossing, I went swimming in the ocean at night by myself for the first time. I was at first freaked out by the darkness. But two hours later, as I swum further from the coast, I lay in the water and looked at the stars. It was captivating, and I realised how wonderful it was to be embraced by Mother Nature,' he said, adding that he hoped endurance swimming would help raise public awareness in protecting China's waterways from pollution.

Having conquered  the 109km Bohai Gulf and the Qiongzhou Strait,   Zhang said he had his eye on the Taiwan Strait.

'It has nothing to do with politics. I just want to cross the largest waterway in China.'

Preparations were under way. 'The mainland government has been supportive, and we are waiting for the Taiwan authority.'



HK to Macau? Fat's the way to do it