After swimming for 24.5 hours in the sea, Yang Pinghua completed a round trip of Qiongzhou Strait on Sunday.

The 56-year-old from Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang province, became the first woman to successfully complete the journey in the world.

Starting from Haikou, Hainan province, in the early morning of Saturday, she swam for nearly 10 hours to reach the turning point in Xuwen county, Guangdong province, and returned to Haikou in the evening of Sunday.

Due to strong winds and currents she was unable to reach accompanying vessels for food supply.

During the 57.7-kilometer trip, she only had some water and durian at the turning point.

"Thanks to the strict physical training in the past year, I could continue and finally achieved my goal," Yang said. "My next goal is to take part in a relay swim across the English Channel with five other women in 2020."