Between 1956 and 1966 the late Chairman Mao Zedong swam across the Yangtze River 10 times and each time he called on the people to "challenge oneself in big winds and big waves".
So when I saw about 20 people swimming in the nation's mother river in Wuhan on Friday, I naturally believed they were merely following Mao's way of keeping fit and showing strength.
Even I was tempted to do so, but the river looked too wide with heavy traffic.
A few swimmers had donned lifejackets for the sake of safety.
I only realized the next day why they had ventured into the river.
On Saturday, the closing ceremony of the Olympic torch relay in Wuhan was held at noon and attended by thousands of people, all hoping to get a better view of the flame.
In spite of their efforts, most could see nothing. So some people decided to swim across the river to its northern bank were the closing ceremony was being held.
Dripping wet and clad only in their undergarments, they were applauded for their ingenuity.
"It is not as difficult as it looks to swim across the river. I used to do it several times with my roommates when I was in college," a man told a woman beside him.
Swimming across the Yangtze River was only one of the creative ways Hubei people employed to see the Olympic flame.
During the three-day torch relay I came to believe that Hubei people can be the most creative ones in China if they want to.
There is an old saying that describes their creativity: "In the sky live nine-headed birds, on the earth live Hubei people." People here have employed clever ways to watch the relay that I have not witnessed anywhere else in the country.
For example, some of them had climbed to the top of advertisement hordings and lamp posts to watch the relay. In previous cities people's imagination was limited to balconies and rooftops.
Source: China Daily
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