One Minute in Harbin's Frozen River — Epoche B1
A minute in the river: winter swimming in Harbin Old Zhao, 66, a retired railway electrician, has swum with a winter-swimming club on the Songhua River in Harbin for nine years. We spoke on the bank in January. Q: What is there to swim in? The river is frozen. Zhao: The club keeps a pool cut in the ice. Kept, because the river starts sealing it again the same night: the first job each morning is skimming off the new ice. The water sits just above zero all winter — it cannot go lower without becoming ice. The air is the changeable part; this morning, minus twenty-two. Q: How long is a swim? Zhao: A minute, maybe two. Beginners think the cold is a wall you hit going in; it is a clock that runs while you are in. The first seconds are the loud part — the body shouts, then goes quiet — and the quiet is when you get out. Members count strokes, not lengths, and anyone showing off is called back to the bank. Q: Could a healthy person start now, in January? Zhao: No — the club would not allow it. You start in September and swim every day as the river cools, so autumn does the training: the water drops a little each week and the body keeps pace. Miss two weeks in November and you wait for next year. There is no jumping into winter, only following autumn down. Q: Who swims? Zhao: Mostly retired people; mornings belong to us. The club requires medical checks, and anyone with heart trouble or high blood pressure is told plainly to stay on the bank. In ice-festival season tourists come to watch, and we pretend not to enjoy that. References Traditional Chinese Medicine principles on sleep and health, commonly cited in various ancient texts such as the Huangdi Neijing (The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine).