On this Day in Chinese History; 16 July

This day, 16 July, in 1966, Chairman Mao Zedong took the last of his 17 swims in the Yangtze River as he particpated in the 11^th annual cross-river event that attracted as many as 5,000 swimmers. Mao was an avid swimmer and would do so wherever he could, to show both that he was a suitable leader and that regular exercise and swimming could make the Chinese people physically strong.