She became a longtime winter swimming enthusiast, and the extreme cold and strong wind on the river never dimmed her enthusiasm for a dip.

Before retirement, to avoid interfering with work, every day she would get up at about 5 am and go swimming after preparing breakfast for her son.

It became a habit that's lasted until today.

"It is not very easy to get up so early every day now, especially in the cold winter," she said. "The greatest victory is overcoming oneself."

Before diving into the icy river, she will do some warm-up exercises, such as jogging and yoga. And her jump into the Songhua River from a diving platform often draws a rousing ovation from the crowd.

"Winter swimming makes me feel healthy and I feel good," she said. "I will carry on doing it."

Contact the writers at zhouhuiying@chinadaily.com.cn