A huge crowd gathered at the seaside in Qinghuangdao, Hebei Province, to watch an 18-month-old girl stay afloat in the water after her grandfather pushed her into the sea.

Wang Tiemin, the girl's grandfather, said he had been training Wang Xingwa to stay afloat in a small swimming pool at their home since April.

Even as the girl managed to stay afloat she was crying.

Wang Tiemin said his intention was to make the girl "as comfortable in water as she is on land".

(China Daily September 21, 2009)