The 14th Wenshang County Fitness Games and the 2024 Wenshang County Lianhua Lake Winter Swimming Open took place at Lianhua Lake in Wenshang county on Jan 13.

A Winter Swimming Open in Lianhua Lake, Wenshang county, Jining, East China's Shandong province attracts over 120 winter swimmers. [Photo/Qilu News]

Over 120 winter swimmers from 12 representative teams hailing from Anhui Linquan, Shandong Dongying, Zaozhuang, and other cities within and outside the province participated in the event.

The competition included an exciting 80-meter open water speed swimming event, which was divided into five categories based on gender and age. The categories included a young men's group, middle-aged men's group, elderly men's group, young women's group, and middle-aged and elderly women's group.

The enthusiasm of the participants could be felt throughout the event, as they heaped praise on the competition. One participant exclaimed excitedly, "This competition is well-organized, with good safety measures and an enthusiastic audience. We performed well in this beautiful park for winter swimming and had a great time. If Wenshang holds a similar competition in the future, I will definitely sign up again."