At the word "Jump", a red flash was seen taking off from the cliff. With his arms widely extended, he dived into the roaring water down the waterfall, amidst cheers.

"My name is Di Huanran. I'm 60 years old and I grew up by the Mudan River."

He is tanned, muscular and dynamic, anything but a debilitated old man. And he loves all kinds of extreme sports. He even showed off his monocycle skills after the interview.

"Located in northeast China, the city of Mudanjiang has winter days for up to more than six months a year. There weren't many entertainment when I was young. So I used to swim and dive in the river with my friends."

His waterfall diving career dates back to a trip he took in his 20s, when he went sight-seeing at Jingpo Lake Scenic Area. He came up with an idea of jumping off the cliff at the first sight of Diaoshuilou Waterfall, wondering what that would feel like. There were folklores about how formidable the waterfall was. "They all said it could smash a log into pieces. So young and so curious, I didn't buy it at all," he laughed.

To that end, the daredevil climbed up all the way to the top of the cliff and made his debut. "That was really exciting. I was literally flying in the air and became a part of nature," he recalled proudly.

Because of this sensation, the scenic spot hired him to perform waterfall diving. In the beginning, his swimming teammates dived with him, just for fun mainly during summer. Di, however, has practiced every day, even in the freezing winter. 

"The temperature in the region can drop to minus 37 degrees Celsius. But the water in the pool never freeze." It's like his heart, full of passion and determination. His family opposed him doing so at first, thinking it too dangerous. Despite of this, he explained that it's safe as he'd carefully calculated what's needed for safety, and that he would never risk his life. In the meantime, he kept training intensively on a daily basis, and convinced his family with his robust body he got from his scientific exercises. Eventually, the young diver started to fully enjoy his lifelong interest.

"I've been diving for 35 years. I feel delighted to dive every day. And I will keep diving, as long as my body allows."

After that, he took up the skid resistance chain, climbed up the cliff and got ready for the next dive.