A swimming relay between Pingtan and Taiwan’s Hinschu county will be held in August, Pingtan authorities announced on July 4.

The relay is jointly held by the China Swimming Association and the Master Swimming Association of Taiwan.

Pingtan, only 68 nautical miles from Hsinchu, is the mainland’s closest place to Taiwan.

The relay will start from Nanliao fishing port in Hsinchu, and end at Longfengtou beach in Pingtan, with an estimated itinerary of between 200 and 250 kilometers.

Twelve athletes, 6 from the mainland and the remainder from Taiwan, will try to finish the event within 72 hours.

The mainland’s athletes will be selected from a swimming team dedicated to ocean/strait crossing selected from Beijing Sport University and led by Zhang Jiang, a well-known marathon swimmer and coach.