Heilongjiang: the First Cliff Diver in China — Di Huanjie

When the feature program The First Cliff Diver in China—Di Huanjie broadcast on August 14 on CCTV-4 this year, I was just travel in Jingpo Lake Scenic Spot in Mudan River, China’s northeasternmost Heilongjiang Province, and I was so lucky to have witnessed the amazing cliff diving performed by Di Huanjie in Diaoshuilou Waterfall.

Jingpo Lake is the second largest alpine barrier lake in the world. And Di Huanjie perhaps is the name card of the lake, he is known by most of people as the first cliff diver in China. Di Huanjie is 56 years old this year, and he has kept jumping down from the 20 meters high cliff and diving in the 60 meters deep Heilong Pool(Black Dragon Pool) every day for the past 30 years. On Oct 5 of this year, he won the the Guinness World Record certificate and was hailed as “the First Cliff Diver”. In winter, the lake is coated with ice, but he still keeps diving every day, in the environment of minus 20 ℃.

After the performance, I interviewed him briefly. He also told me that he was not a professional diver and never had dive training. Diver is only his hobby. He told me that he also had dived in Wenchuan Bridge, Mudanjiang Bridge, Yellow River’s Hukou Waterfall and Harbin’s Songhuajiang Bridge etc.