It’s July again, and I have gone to Beidaihe for summer vacation in previous years. I can’t help but recall the past of swimming in the sea with General Sun Yong, the former deputy director of the Central Guard Bureau and the former head of the Central Guard Corps.

It’s July again, and during summer vacations in Beidaihe, I can’t help but recall the past of swimming in the sea with General Sun Yong, former executive deputy director of the Central Guard Bureau and former head of the Central Guard Corps.

The author once served as General Sun Yong’s secretary and accompanied General Sun Yong to Beidaihe many times during the summer break. While in Beidaihe, I swam with the chief almost every day.

During this process, Chief Sun Yong always recalled the past when he was swimming with Chairman Mao Zedong when he was a bodyguard, especially swimming with the Chairman in the Yangtze River. The following is his account -

In early May 1956, Chairman Mao took a special train to Guangzhou and presided over the Central Work Conference here. During the break between the meetings, Chairman Mao took a swim in the Pearl River and proposed to swim in the Yangtze River.

For safety reasons, the leading comrades of the central government advised him not to swim in the Yangtze River. Minister Luo Ruiqing, Director Yang Shangkun, Secretary Wang Renzhong, and Director Wang Dongxing all said: The Yangtze River is too dangerous and it is best not to swim.

Chairman Mao had his own ideas. He said to me and Li Yinqiao : I successfully swam in the Pearl River, let’s show them! It's not safe or too dangerous. It's just because I'm afraid that I'll take risks and get into trouble when I swim on the Yangtze River. They neither know my watery nature nor my mood! I'm not afraid! I know it well. Is it possible to achieve success if you don't dare to take risks?

html On the morning of May 17, after breakfast, I returned to the guard duty room and asked Feng Yaosong, the guard on duty: Did the chairman take a rest?

Xiao Feng said: Section Chief Sun, the chairman is calling you. He was sitting on the lobby couch having a tantrum.

I asked: With whom to lose your temper?

Xiaofeng replied: Follow Minister Luo and Director Wang.

I asked again: Why?

Xiao Feng said: It’s not just for swimming in the Yangtze River. Just now, the chairman asked me to call Captain Han Qingyu. The chairman asked Captain Han whether he could swim in the Yangtze River. Captain Han saw that Minister Luo and Director Wang were standing in the hall. He couldn't answer that he could swim, so he said that the water in the Yangtze River was deep, the waves were big, and the boats were difficult to swim. Too much, can't swim. Chairman Mao asked angrily: Have you ever swum the Yangtze River? Captain Han said: I have never swum before. Chairman Mao said: You have never swum the Yangtze River, how do you know you can't swim in the Yangtze River? Go and call Sun Yong!

After learning the above situation, I walked quickly to the hall. In the corridor, I heard Chairman Mao say loudly: If you don't know how to swim, you won't let others swim. How can this be true in the world? Minister Luo responded: I am responsible for the safety of the chairman. If something happens, I will not be able to explain it to the party and the people of the country.

I cautiously opened the door and walked into the hall. I saw Chairman Mao sitting angrily on the sofa in pajamas and slippers. Minister Luo and Director Wang were both standing. I stepped forward and said to Chairman Mao: It's already past eight o'clock in the morning, why are you still not sleeping?

Chairman Mao said angrily: I can't sleep. Sun Yong, let me ask you, can you swim in the Yangtze River?

I answered carefully: The Yangtze River is deep and fast, with many large waves and boats, making it difficult to swim.

Chairman Mao asked: Do you think it is possible to swim in the Yangtze River?

I said to Chairman Mao: I have never heard of anyone who dares to swim in the Yangtze River. If you want to swim, you can only swim in the shallow water of the river.

Chairman Mao said angrily: Don't talk so much nonsense! Let me ask you whether it is possible to swim in the Yangtze River?

I said: Chairman, do you definitely want to swim the Yangtze River?

Chairman Mao said: You are right, I am determined to swim the Yangtze River.

I said to Chairman Mao: Well, I will go to Wuhan for a trial tour first and then report to Chairman Mao.

At this time, Chairman Mao was happy and said to me: Come on, sit down. Let me tell you, you go to Wuhan to find Wang Renzhong and tell them that I want to swim the Yangtze River and ask them to prepare. Choose a larger ship as our base camp, where we can go sightseeing, hold meetings, rest, and eat; prepare four public security boats to guard the front, rear, and left sides of the big ship; and prepare two small wooden boats to follow us for swimming. If an accident occurs, we will Get on the small wooden boat first.

I said: Chairman, you have thought carefully and carefully, and I will definitely follow your instructions.

Chairman Mao asked Wang Dongxing again: Is the plane delivering documents in the morning?

Wang Dongxing said: Yes.

Chairman Mao said: Get the plane ready. Sun Yong, you choose a member of the guard who can swim to fly with you to Wuhan.

I stood up and said to Chairman Mao: Let's have lunch early and the plane will take off on time. Chairman, please go to bed early!

Chairman Mao stood up from the sofa and said: OK! It's time for me to have a good sleep.

Five team members and I flew directly to Wuhan. After seeing Secretary Wang Renzhong explain the situation, Secretary Wang said: We do not approve of Chairman Mao's swimming in the Yangtze River. It is indeed dangerous. Chairman Mao made up his mind to swim the Yangtze River, and we were already prepared. Well, you are here. You have experience swimming with Chairman Mao in the sea, the Qiantang River, and the Pearl River. You will be the commander-in-chief. We have decided that Director Zhu of the Provincial Public Security Department will assist you in researching and organizing safety preparations for Chairman Mao’s Yangtze River tour.

Director Zhu told me that before we arrived, they had carefully selected hundreds of good swimmers and several boats to conduct many simulation drills of accompanying and rescuing Chairman Mao while swimming in the Yangtze River. I said to Director Zhu: Find a larger swimming pool and test the skills and water skills of the swimmers you choose. After treading water diving, side swimming, speed rescue, etc., we determined that more than 30 of them were following Chairman Mao on the Yangtze River swim. At the same time, a large ship, four police speedboats, and two small wooden boats were prepared. I proposed that the safety and security work for Chairman Mao when he swam in the Yangtze River could be based on what was done when he was swimming in Beidaihe and the Pearl River - the main ship on which Chairman Mao was riding kept a distance of about 25 meters from the four public security speedboats in the east, west, south and north; the small wooden boat followed the guard closely. After Chairman Mao swam the inner circle, the swimmers I led were in the inner circle. More than 30 swimmers from Hubei formed the outer circle. The inner and outer circles kept a distance of about four meters to form an oval-shaped protective circle to prevent other ships from colliding and intruding. Enter, it is safe and not messy.

According to the above arrangements, we conducted three security guard trial tours. The first drill will be at 9 a.m. on May 28. Secretary Wang Renzhong observed in person. At nine o'clock in the morning, we launched the water at the first bridge pier in Wuchang. According to the drill formation, I imitated Chairman Mao and swam to the other side of the Yangtze River. I swam fast for a while, swam slowly for a while, and rested on the water for a while. I shouted to Director Zhu who was on the main boat and asked: How is the swimming formation maintained?

Director Zhu said loudly: It’s okay, just swim like this.

The water temperature at that time was 22 degrees Celsius. When I entered the water, I felt very cold and shivered a little. I swam hard and got used to it after a while. Some comrades were so cold that their faces turned purple and couldn't hold on any longer, so they had to get on a small wooden boat to rest for a while before going into the water for a swim. There were also a few comrades who sat on the boat and did not dare to go into the water again. Because of the fast current, it is inconvenient for people to swim across the river and rush straight down. We swam for more than 20 miles and it took 1 hour and 40 minutes. After a brave struggle, we finally swam to the other side.

Everyone standing on the shore jumped up and shouted: We have successfully crossed the Yangtze River!

Secretary Wang happily invited everyone to get on the main ship. He invited us to lunch. Everyone ate, drank and laughed happily.

At noon, I went to the Provincial Party Committee and used a secure machine to talk on the phone with Director Ye Zilong of and reported on my first trial tour of the Yangtze River. Director Ye said: Chairman, you will be happy to hear that you successfully swam the Yangtze River.

In the afternoon, Director Ye called me and told me: Chairman, I am very happy to learn that you have swam across the Yangtze River. Let you continue to test the water, launch the water from the upstream of the Yangtze River Bridge , and swim through the middle bridge hole.

According to Chairman Mao’s instructions, at 9 a.m. on May 29, Director Zhu and I organized everyone to start the second water test exercise. We launched into the water from 2,000 meters upstream of the Yangtze River Bridge and headed downstream. When you swim more than 200 meters away from the middle hole of the bridge, the current is very fast and the waves are large. If you accidentally hit the bridge pier, you will either be injured or die. I shouted loudly: Everyone must be careful and swim towards the middle of the bridge hole.

Everyone was very nervous, carefully looking after each other, and swimming across the bridge hole in formation. Then we swam a few miles further without any problems.

swam for about an hour and 30 minutes, and the exercise ended successfully.

I promptly called and reported the situation to Director Ye Zilong. Director Ye called me in the afternoon and told me: The chairman was very happy after hearing the report and asked you to launch the water from the Han River Bridge , swim to the confluence of the Han River Estuary and the Yangtze River ( Hankou ), and then swim to the Yangtze River.

I reported Chairman Mao’s instructions to Secretary Wang Renzhong. Secretary Wang said that we should follow Chairman Mao's instructions. He also warned us: The confluence of the Han River and the Yangtze River is not easy to swim. The boats on the Han River rotate here. If you don't master it well, problems will occur. You must take measures, be careful, and organize a good trial tour carefully.

Director Zhu and I took a public security speedboat to see the water conditions at the mouth of the Han River. Subsequently, we held a plenary meeting with relevant leaders and participating swimming staff. At the meeting, I said: Chairman Mao proposed that we swim from the Han River Bridge to the Yangtze River. The Han River is relatively wide and stable and easy to swim. The key is the confluence of the Han River and the Yangtze River. The two waters collide, causing pressure, rotation and circles. The diameter of a whirlpool is 40 centimeters, and the largest one is up to 80 centimeters. According to my experience of swimming in the Yellow River, don't be nervous when encountering a whirlpool. Just swim in a circle and push outwards to get out; never swim against the current. Otherwise, it will swirl down, which is very dangerous. The small wooden boat should follow. Prepare a swimming ring on the boat and tie it with a rope. When a swimmer is in danger, quickly throw the swimming ring to him and pull him out onto the boat.

At 9 a.m. on May 30, 1956, we organized all the swimming team members and boats and sailed to the Han River Bridge to launch the water. When we swam along the river to the confluence of the Han River and the Yangtze River, I shouted loudly: Don't panic, get closer to each other. If there is danger or you can't hold on any longer, just shout to circle!

The water flow at the confluence was fast and there were whirlpools. Everyone was spinning around and the formation was messed up. A team member was accidentally sucked into the whirlpool. He was anxious and scared, shouting: Help! The people on the boat threw the swimming ring to him. He grabbed the ring and was pulled out and onto the wooden boat. He was so frightened that his face turned purple and he shed tears. At this time, everyone became a little nervous. I shouted: Don't panic, hold on!

After a thrilling and courageous struggle, we finally swam through the dangerous pass to the main channel of the Yangtze River and restored our formation. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

We swam for 1 hour and 20 minutes, and the exercise was over. I still feel scared when I think about this trial. Returning to the Provincial Party Committee, I called Director Ye Zilong and truthfully reported the dangerous situation of swimming from the Han River Bridge to the Yangtze River.

Because we traveled the Yangtze River for a few days to train people. The large number, large number of ships, and large scale have aroused the attention and discussion of the people of Wuhan. Some people speculated that it might be training the navy in preparation for attacking Taiwan. Some people also said: Treasures may have been discovered in the Yangtze River and they are looking for them to salvage them. They did not expect that this was a drill preparation for Chairman Mao's trip to the Yangtze River.

On the same day, Chairman Mao flew from Guangzhou to Changsha, Hunan Province and moved into Building No. 1 of Meiyuan. Chairman Mao listened to the work report of Zhou Xiaozhou, secretary of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee, and gave instructions. He also happily visited the Xiangjiang River again.

htmlOn the morning of May 31, Chairman Mao flew to Wuchang . Secretary Wang Renzhong and Hubei Province Governor Zhang Ti went to the airport to greet him. Chairman Mao took a bus directly from the airport to a cruise ship on the Yangtze River.

Before breakfast that day, Secretary Wang called Director Zhu and me and arranged: Chairman Mao took off from Changsha at six o'clock this morning and arrived at Wuhan Nanhu Airport at 7:20. After arriving, we listened to our work report and took a tour of the Yangtze River in the afternoon. You must continue to make preparations for Chairman Mao's trip to the Yangtze River. Arrange a meeting place on the main ship and prepare more lunches for the chief executive and staff.

At around 9 a.m., we met Chairman Mao on the boat. He smiled happily, shook hands with me, and said: Sun Yong, thank you for your hard work trying to swim the Yangtze River! You truthfully reported on the Yangtze River trial tour, which is very good.

In the lobby of the ship, Chairman Mao met with the leading comrades of Hubei Province, Wuhan City, and Wuhan Military Region, shook hands one by one, and then listened to the work reports of Secretary Wang and Governor Zhang. The venue burst into laughter from time to time.

At around 12 noon, Secretary Wang, Governor Zhang, Director Yang, Minister Luo and others accompanied Chairman Mao to lunch. Chairman Mao said: Please eat your fill. Only when you are full can you feel energetic. Come swim with me on the Yangtze River later!

After dinner, Chairman Mao went to a small room to rest. At about one o'clock in the afternoon, Chairman Mao, Secretary Wang, Governor Zhang, Director Yang, Minister Luo, Director Wang and others were all sitting on the front deck of the ship.

Chairman Mao said: Sun Yong, could you briefly talk about the trial tour? How will you tour today?

I said: We fully followed the spirit of the Chairman’s instructions and tried to swim the Yangtze River. Secretary Wang took charge and asked Director Zhu and I to carefully study the collective implementation of various preparations for Chairman Yu Changjiang. We selected 30 comrades with good swimming skills and drew a situation map of swimming in the Yangtze River. Subsequently, we organized three trial tours of the Yangtze River.

After listening to my brief report on the three trial swims on the Yangtze River, Chairman Mao said: Didn’t it say that you can’t swim on the Yangtze River? Sun Yong led thirty people across the Yangtze River! The confluence of the Han River and the Yangtze River is very special. Only one person was in danger. Didn't everyone else swim there? If you don’t investigate, study, or practice anything, you have no right to speak! Can you succeed if you always do things safely without taking some risks? I have loved swimming since I was a child. After I entered the city, I swam more, mastered some water skills, and learned some swimming skills, so I dared to propose swimming the Yangtze River.

I told Chairman Mao: The Yangtze River is easier to swim than Beidaihe in strong winds and waves. You said that deep water has great buoyancy and fast currents make it easier to swim. I experienced this when I tried swimming the Yangtze River this time. I just measured the flow rate of the Yangtze River water at 60 meters per minute and the water temperature at 22 degrees, which is a bit cold.

Chairman Mao said: I am not afraid of the cold! If you are afraid of the cold, don't swim.

At 2 pm, we launched into the water from the pier on the north side of Snake Mountain .

I was helping Chairman Mao into the water at the bottom of the boat ladder. After entering the water, I saw him lying back and being swept away by the river. I followed closely behind, and the guards formed two protective circles. Secretary Wang Renzhong and Director Yang Shangkun also went into the water to swim with Chairman Mao.

Chairman Mao asked Yang Shangkun: Is the water cold?

Director Yang said: It’s a bit cold.

Chairman Mao said: Why don’t I feel cold? If you can't bear it anymore, get on the boat and rest for a while.

Chairman Mao asked Wang Renzhong: How do you feel?

Secretary Wang said: I can't bear it anymore, so I have to get on the boat to take a rest.

After getting on the boat, he put on a cotton coat.

Chairman Mao swam freely in the water, lay motionless on the river without sinking, and even sat on the water and rubbed his feet! Not far from the other side, Chairman Mao said to me: We must swim to the other side.

He asked Wu Xujun, the head nurse sitting on the boat: How long have we been swimming?

Head nurse replied: 1 hour and 40 minutes.

More than 20 minutes later, Chairman Mao swam to the other side, the Dan Pool in Hankou. This time, Chairman Mao traveled more than 30 miles.

Standing by the water, Chairman Mao happily said to everyone: We have overcome natural dangers and crossed the Yangtze River!

Secretary Wang smiled and said to Chairman Mao: Your swimming skills are really good, you are not afraid of cold water and you are full of energy.

Director Yang asked: How long did the chairman swim?

Director Zhu Hanxiong replied: I swam for 2 hours and 3 minutes.

Afterwards, Chairman Mao and everyone returned to their residence by boat.

Sun Yong accompanied Chairman Mao on a tour of the Yangtze River (second from right is Sun Yong)

html At 2 pm on June 2, Chairman Mao swam on the Yangtze River for the second time.

Chairman Mao said to me: We take a boat to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River Bridge and launch water in the river, and then pass through the middle bridge hole of the bridge and go downstream.

I said: OK, the water in the middle bridge hole is fast, we need to control the direction to prevent hitting the bridge pier.

Chairman Mao said: You command the swimming formation well.

When Chairman Mao swam quickly to the bridge, I shouted: Please pay attention, stay in formation!

This time, we swam across the bridge hole smoothly. Chairman Mao said to Secretary Wang while swimming: This is such a good swimming place. People should be called on to swim in big rivers. Swimming can exercise people's will. Some people are afraid of big things. Isn’t America big? We touched it once and it was nothing special.

At this time, Minister Luo followed up in a small wooden boat and said with concern: The water temperature today is 22 degrees. If the chairman feels cold or tired, he can get on the boat and rest for a while before swimming in the water.

Chairman Mao said: I am not afraid of the cold, nor do I feel tired. You can wear a swimming ring and swim for a while. Someone will protect you and you can experience the nature of water.

Minister Luo said: I dare not go into the water now. I am determined to learn to swim and swim with you from now on.

Chairman Mao said: If you are determined to learn swimming, I will let Sun Yong teach you and learn it in the swimming pool first.

Later, I taught Minister Luo how to swim many times in the swimming pool. I first demonstrated in shallow areas, then taught back swimming and side swimming in deep areas. Minister Luo gradually mastered the water properties and learned to swim. Therefore, when Minister Luo meets me, he always calls me Teacher Sun half-jokingly.

Chairman Mao asked Wang Renzhong: Can you swim breaststroke and freestyle?

Secretary Wang said: I can tread water and swim sideways, the same way as the chairman.

Chairman Mao said: I can't do breaststroke, freestyle, butterfly . According to my swimming habits since childhood, I mainly swim sideways, on my back, and tread water. I swim however I feel comfortable.

On both sides of the Yangtze River, our three-day water-testing exercise and Chairman Mao's two swims in the Yangtze River have aroused widespread concern among the people. The news of Chairman Mao's trip to the Yangtze River spread throughout the three towns of Wuhan . The people were delighted and wanted to see Chairman Mao swim the Yangtze River with their own eyes.

At this time, the swimmers who were following and protecting Chairman Mao saw with their own eyes that Chairman Mao was lying on the water surface motionless but not sinking. He swam on his back, sideways, fast, slow, and dived his head into the water. They all watched. Be entranced. Chairman Mao originally planned to swim to a pier, but due to the strong northeast wind, it was difficult to swim. After swimming about thirty miles, he got on the boat and returned to his residence.

Chairman Mao’s work and rest schedule during the two days he came to Wuhan was different from usual days. He himself told our staff more than once that he was much more tired than usual when attending meetings, listening to reports, visiting and swimming in Wuhan, but he went to bed early and slept well, got up early and was in good spirits.

On the morning of June 3, Chairman Mao listened to the report of the leading comrades of Wuhan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. This report started at 11 a.m. and ended at 1 p.m. At two o'clock in the afternoon, Chairman Mao arrived at the Wuchang Shipyard Pier and took a boat to sail downstream of the Yangtze River Bridge.

At 3:30 in the afternoon, Chairman Mao started to go into the water.

At this time, tens of thousands of people on both sides of the Yangtze River were watching Chairman Mao swim. Cheers of "Long live Chairman Mao" continued. Many people were swimming with Chairman Mao on the shore. It was a huge crowd and it was very lively!

Chairman Mao saw and heard the cheers of the masses, waved to the masses frequently in the water, and shouted: Long live the people! This scene lasted for a long time.

Crowds were also standing around the docks near both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and they wanted to welcome Chairman Mao ashore. We were afraid that Chairman Mao would be surrounded by the masses, so we found a small dock, escorted Chairman Mao off the boat, and took a car back to his residence.

On his third trip to the Yangtze River, Chairman Mao only swam for one hour.

Chairman Mao successfully crossed the Yangtze River three times and excitedly wrote the words "Shui Tiao Ge Tou·Swimming" to express his feelings about swimming in the Yangtze River.