On the 16th, "China's No. 1 Channel Swimmer" Zhang Jian will lead a team in collaboration with Taiwanese swimmers to cross the Taiwan Strait from Hsinchu, Taiwan to Pingtan, Fujian by relay. If successful, this will be the first-ever human crossing of the Taiwan Strait in history.
"China's No. 1 Channel Swimmer" Zhang Jian
At the press conference held on the 13th, Zhang Jian said, "China has three major straits: the Qiongzhou Strait, the Bohai Strait, and the Taiwan Strait. The first two have already been successfully crossed. The Taiwan Strait lies between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan and is one of the world’s famous straits that has not yet been crossed by humans. Crossing the Taiwan Strait is a dream of the Chinese people."
Pingtan is the closest point on the Chinese mainland to Taiwan’s main island, only 68 nautical miles from Hsinchu, Taiwan. The starting point of this relay swim is the Nanhao Fishing Harbor beach in Hsinchu City, Taiwan, and the endpoint is the Longfengtou sea beach area in the Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone, Fujian Province. The straight-line distance is approximately 140 kilometers, while the actual swimming distance is around 250 kilometers.
This time, six swimmers from the Chinese mainland and one substitute from Taiwan, making a total of 14 participants, will take on the challenge, with 12 actually swimming. The first leg will be swum by a Taiwanese athlete, the second by a mainland athlete. The swim will follow an internationally recognized relay format of alternating legs by swimmers from both sides, continuing day and night without pause. The estimated crossing time is 72 to 80 hours.
Among the challengers, the oldest is Zhang Jian, who is 50 years old, and the youngest is Huang Junming from Taiwan, who is 16. There is also one female participant from both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.
Crossing the Taiwan Strait is extremely challenging. Over the years, swimmers from both sides have made multiple attempts, all of which have failed. One of the more well-known attempts was in 2007 when renowned Chinese swimmer Wang Han planned to cross the Taiwan Strait but was unsuccessful.
Zhang Jian, who has successfully swum across the Bohai Strait and the English Channel, described the Taiwan Strait crossing as a "test of life and death." He noted that there are three difficult factors in this swim: weather conditions—calm winds and waves make it easier; water currents—the Taiwan Strait has the so-called Kuroshio Current or undersea trenches, and even in good weather, the currents are stronger and faster than those in the Qiongzhou and Bohai Straits, requiring precise calculations of swimmer speed and current direction; additionally, there is the potential risk of encountering large marine animals, such as being stung by jellyfish or bitten by fish. Preparations have been made for all these scenarios.
Zhang Jian said preparations for this swim began at the end of last year. This "Hsinchu–Pingtan" relay swim across the Taiwan Strait by swimmers from both sides is organized by the Chinese Swimming Association and the Chinese Taipei Adult Swimming Association. Last month, swimmers from both sides conducted a joint trial swim of about four hours in Pingtan, Fujian. Currently, all security measures and event arrangements are largely in place.
Zhang Jian said that initial calculations had the swim coinciding with a minor neap tide on August 17, which would be favorable for swimmers crossing from Hsinchu to Pingtan. However, according to the latest forecast, the waves are expected to be quite strong on the 16th, so the swim may be adjusted depending on the weather. "Right now, what I look forward to most is getting in the water as scheduled."