XINING, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- More than 100 winter swimming enthusiasts strived to cross the Yellow River in the Qinghai Invitational Extreme Race this weekend in Guide county in northwest China's Qinghai province.

The annual race is usually an international event but was restricted to domestic competitors this year due to COVID-19 pandemic control. The participants from 10 provinces and regions joined the race with negative nucleic acid test results.

The total distance of the race is about 500 meters. In the final held on Sunday, 55 of the 62 participants managed to swim across the Yellow River.

Ji Zheng of the Wuhan Shuixian Swimming Team finished fastest in two minutes and 23.75 seconds.

With an average altitude of 2,200 meters, Guide is characterized by high altitude, thin oxygen and low temperature, which challenge the swimmers to push themselves to the extreme. Enditem