The event is sanctioned by the Chinese Swimming Association (CSA) and the city's municipal government, and is organized by the municipal sports bureau.

Mao Zedong, the late chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, had swum over the river several times in Wuhan during the 1950s and 60s.

Participants of the Wuhan International Yangtze River Crossing Challenge on May 1 will start from Hanyangmen at the river's southern bank for the destination some 2,000 meters away in Nan'anzui at the northern bank.

And all the swimmers should be healthy and younger than 50 years at age, the organizers said.

The organizers will adopt the open water swimming rules set by the sport's world governing body, the International Amateur Swimming Federation (FINA), and CSA's supplementary regulations.

The first 25 finishers each in the men's and women's events will be awarded with prize money ranging from US$200 to 3,000 and certificates for their results.

And the top three men's and women's swimmers will even be awarded with trophies.

The deadline for the final entry is March 31st, 2003.

The weather and hydrological conditions in Wuhan on May 1 in the past ten years had been favorable for such an event, organizers said.

Historical statistics show such average figures for the day: air temperature of 20.4 degrees centigrade, water temperature of 21.1 degrees and river flow speed of 1.08 meters per second.

(Xinhua News Agency March 25, 2003)