A swimming relay targeting crossing the Taiwan Straits resumed on Aug 20, after being suspended for 22 hours due to bad weather.

The event paused in the middle at 6 pm on Aug 19, when wind and waves became too strong for swimming. Meanwhile, some glitches also hit the escort vessels, which had to go back to Taiwan for repair.

All the swimmers, 7 each from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, stayed put on the Ho Fo passenger ship, which is the mother ship for the event, and waited for the weather to turn fine again.

Three marine patrol ships and two fishing vessels dispatched by the mainland arrived at the Ho Fo at 1:40 pm on Aug 20 for navigation and escort missions.

Ge Li, the 10th leg of the swimming relay, dived into the sea at 4 pm, marking the resumption of the event.

The swimming relay, which kicked off on noon Aug 18, attempted to cross the Taiwan Straits for the first time in history. The swimming course, from Hsinchu county in Taiwan to Pingtan county in Fujian province, is expected to extend 250 km and take about 72 hours to finish.