HARBIN, China, Jan 15 (Reuters Life!) - With temperatures plunging well below freezing for weeks, even thinking about winter in northern China is enough to make the average citizen shiver.

But for some, the bone-chilling cold is the prime season to get fit and make a splash in icy-cold water.

Every day a handful of mostly senior residents in the northern city of Harbin, one of China's coldest, gather for a dip in the icy waters of the Songhua River, which in 2005 suffered a huge toxic spill leading to tap water being cut for millions.

While they delight crowds that gather to cheer them on, winter swimming is more than just a show of bravado for amazed tourists, the swimmers say.

Like others, Cao Ling, 52, swears that her health and energy levels have improved since she started taking the freezing dips six years ago.

"At the beginning, my family was really against it, especially my mother-in-law. She asked if I was crazy," said Ling.

"My family told me if I swam in a normal pool, they could understand. But I'm swimming in a river and it's during the winter!"

Her family finally came to accept her hobby after she brought them to watch her swim, Cao said, fresh from a dip into the outdoor swimming pool that substitutes a pile of ice blocks for a diving board.

While Cao isn't the youngest of the group, most of the winter swimmers in Harbin are over 55. The oldest is 75.

Recording an annual average temperature of 6.6 degrees Celsius (44 Fahrenheit) last year, Harbin, perched on the edge of Siberia, is famous for its annual ice sculpture contest and winter festivals. (Writing by Kitty Bu, Editing by Gillian Murdoch)

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