At the age of 60, an old man from Hangzhou once again completed the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal by manpower, nearly 40 years later
On September 9th, Jiang Weimin, a water sports enthusiast from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, returned from Beijing. He rowed his oars and completed the entire journey of the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal in 63 days. Along the way, some residents living on both sides of the Grand Canal did not recognize paddleboards and asked him, "Are you using this to catch fish?" Some praised his adventurous spirit, while others questioned his purpose.
Jiang Weimin had a clear idea in his mind. In fact, in 1986, he had already completed the challenge of rowing along the Grand Canal with the same manpower. Recently, 60 year old Jiang Weimin just completed his retirement procedures. This year is the year of the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Once again, Jiang Weimin wants to participate in the Asian Games in another way as a citizen of Hangzhou.
Jiang Weimin arrived in Hangzhou and was welcomed by local "board friends".
Promote the Hangzhou Asian Games
Among the citizens of Hangzhou, the Asian Games has become the most frequently discussed topic, as they exchange plans for watching competitions, the process of buying tickets, and even practice language expression when receiving foreign friends. "This is the first time my hometown Hangzhou has hosted such a large-scale sports event, and I want to do my best to promote it," said Jiang Weimin. Due to the epidemic, the Hangzhou Asian Games have been postponed from 2022 to 2023, and Jiang Weimin's plan has also been postponed to this year. He planned to complete it before the opening of the Asian Games on September 23rd, so in early July, Jiang Weimin went underwater in Beijing. Completing the entire process of the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal by manpower is an extremely risky task, and Jiang Weimin has already experienced it once. In August 1986, Jiang Weimin and his partner Xu Shuiqiang set off towards Beijing. Along the way north along the Grand Canal of Beijing and Hangzhou, they camped and slept in tents. When encountering sections of water gates or river channels that are dry, one cannot row and can only go ashore to seek help from nearby villagers, using carriages to carry kayaks; In a remote area, two people carry their hands and shoulders, dragging a kayak through.
In the 1980s, it was difficult to obtain information about the canal, so Jiang Weimin studied it repeatedly based on the water and road traffic maps of the provinces he passed through. Nevertheless, "we have no idea what we will encounter on the road." They decided to row whenever there was water. It's easy to make mistakes when you get to a place with a dense water network. Looking at the compass, you should have been heading south, but after a while, the pointer showed that it was heading east. "Yaw, go back to the fork position, find the direction again, and turn back many times."
The journey nearly 40 years later is equally arduous. Jiang Weimin prepared 2 years in advance, and the entire length of the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal is about 1800 kilometers, which will be completed in about 60 days. He has to row 30 kilometers every day, which is a great challenge for his physical strength. During the journey, Jiang Weimin encountered rainstorm for many times. Once, the weather was bad with thunder and lightning, and he hesitated whether to go into the water. It was difficult to go into the water, but he missed another 30 kilometers. Finally, after preparing for rain and lightning protection, he set off in a sitting position while paddling his oars. Raincoats can only be waterproof for more than ten minutes, and all the rainwater seeps in from behind, soaking the whole body.
However, the logistics support was relatively stable this time, with a friend driving a vehicle to provide support. The GPS one click positioning device made it convenient for two people to meet, and the improved waterway signage and navigation technology greatly reduced the possibility of getting lost. Along the way, as long as conditions permit, Jiang Weimin would go ashore by car, rest at the hotel, and the security vehicles would also help him inspect the terrain of the riverbank, providing supplies every 10 kilometers.
Along the way, many people were interested in Jiang Weimin's paddles and experiences. He would say to everyone, "The 19th Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou this year, and I will be returning from Beijing to Hangzhou to welcome the Asian Games."
Jiang Weimin encountered rainstorm on the way of rowing.
The development of water sports is not the same as before
In 1983, Jiang Weimin wanted to try water sports but couldn't even find any enthusiasts, so he had to look for professional competition organizations. He went directly to the Hangzhou Navigation Club and came up with an idea to manually row the Grand Canal. Fortunately, the person in charge was very supportive and allowed him to train with professional athletes. It was only then that Jiang Weimin began to get in touch with kayaking.
Canoes are specialized equipment for competitions, with a narrow hull that is conducive to racing, but requires high balance. Jiang Weimin learned to sit on the hull of the boat without flipping over, so it took him a week. "At that time, only professional athletes could kayak, and kayak production institutions did not consider the demand for sports popularization," said Jiang Weimin.
Starting again this time, the situation is clearly different. Jiang Weimin's most direct feeling is that water sports have become more popular and highly popular.
Jiang Weimin chose to paddle the entire journey. "Paddleboard is very popular now, with strong fun, simple and easy to learn, basically just playing in the water." Jiang Weimin is a member of the Canoe Club. In the past two years, when he participated in activities, he found that more and more people are playing with paddleboards. Paddleboard is like a large floating board, standing on it won't roll over, even if you haven't received professional training, you can still feel the fun of water sports, and many elderly and children have joined the team of water sports enthusiasts.
In addition, the club teams in the cities along the way are growing stronger and stronger. When participating in national competitions, Jiang Weimin met "board friends" from all over the country. They heard about this challenge and expressed their desire to "accompany the paddles". In Beijing, when paddleboards are launched, many "board friends" come to bid him farewell and accompany him to row to Tongzhou; After entering Zhejiang, enthusiasts of several water clubs in Jiaxing traveled along the north side of the Universiade to welcome Jiang Weimin; As he approached the finish line, he crossed the Gongchen Bridge and the canal channel next to the ancient bridge of Xiaohezhi Street. Over a dozen enthusiasts from different clubs in Hangzhou waited for him on the water, cheering and using paddleboars to lift the river water and splash it at him, congratulating him on the successful rowing.
Attitudes towards water sports have also changed in various regions, and related management has become more standardized. Entering Tongzhou, the local public security called Jiang Weimin. At first, he was unwilling to specify the specific location, but the attitude of the other side was very good, instructing him to pay attention to safety and seek help in case of any difficulties; Upon entering Tianjin, local water, maritime, and water police departments also contacted him and dispatched specialized vessels to escort him; In some northern cities, water gates are used to allocate irrigation water, and the water conservancy department provides convenience. When Jiang Weimin paddles through, he lifts the gates, so he doesn't have to go to great lengths to climb over the shore; After entering the waters of Hangzhou, the water public security and maritime departments approached Jiang Weimin and discussed for several days before finally determining the waters that could be rowed.
"This summer, the water surface of the Hangzhou River was particularly lively, and the situation was comparable to that of the Chinese New Year," said Jiang Weimin. In early June of this year, the urban management department of Hangzhou City released 10 urban water sports waterways, selecting certain sections of the waterways to be "designated" for citizens to engage in water sports. The water sports that can be applied for include kayaking, paddleboarding, rowing, dragon boat, etc. Jiang Weimin revealed that in terms of practical operation, the open river does not have navigation functions, and there are basically water sports clubs in the surrounding areas. Previously, the water area also tacitly allowed the clubs to use it. "This official document at least indicates Hangzhou's attitude, supporting the development of local water sports under the premise of orderly and standardized conditions." Jiang Weimin said, "Friends in the north envy us, and we can row boats in the river in a proper manner."
Jiang Weimin hopes that taking advantage of the opportunity of the Hangzhou Asian Games, the enthusiast community will grow even stronger, and the development process of water sports will take another big step forward.
Jiang Weimin, accompanied by his friends, set off from Tonghui River in Beijing.
