Qingyuan to host cross-river swimming this weekend

The floor plan of the main venue and launching point for the Beijiang River crossing event. Photos courtesy of the event organizers

A grand swimming event crossing the Beijiang River will take place in Qingyuan City this Sunday morning. A total of 4,500 swimming enthusiasts from 63 teams are expected to participate, completing a 1,600-meter route from Fengcheng Cultural Square to Jiangbin Park.

Registered participants must sign up between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m., followed by a launching ceremony at Fengcheng Cultural Square. The swimming session will commence at 8:20 a.m. Spectators can choose to watch the event from either the starting point or the finish line.

A schematic diagram of the Beijiang River crossing event.

The 4,500 swimmers will be divided into groups of 10, with one group entering the water at a time. Clear buoys will mark both sides of the 1,600-meter swimming lane, and multiple emergency rescue units, including the Maritime Affairs Office, Emergency Management Bureau, Fire Rescue Brigade of Qingcheng District, and the Winter Swimming Association Paddle Board Team of Guangdong Province, will be on hand to ensure the safety of all participants.

A view of last year’s Beijiang River crossing event.

This year marks the second edition of the event and, for the first time, it is open to individual participants. In preparation, the organizing committee established swimming ability test points in Qingyuan, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

To guarantee participant safety, all groups and individuals must pass a swimming ability test to comply with event regulations. This test requires them to swim 400 meters in under 12 minutes without any buoyancy aids to qualify for the Beijiang River crossing.

All participants who successfully register will receive free access to five scenic spots in Qingyuan, including Matou Mountain Scenic Area and JIANR Happy World. Each participant may enter each of the five scenic spots once for free by presenting their ID cards.