Ash Dykes, 34, plans to travel the full length of China’s Yellow River, a journey of about 3,400 miles (5,400km) from its remote source on the Tibetan Plateau to the Bohai Sea. The Welsh adventurer, from St Asaph, has previously completed notable expeditions, including walking across Mongolia in 2014 and trekking the length of inland Madagascar in 2016. In 2019 he claimed to be the first person to walk the Yangtze River’s length, a 4,000-mile trek.

During the expedition he will undertake a range of activities, including skydiving, paragliding, scuba diving, kayaking, climbing and hiking, to showcase the river’s scale and significance. The project will be filmed for international television, and Dykes said: “The Yellow River is known as the lifeblood of Chinese civilisation, and China has always felt like a second home to me.” He added: “Having walked its southern sister river, the Yangtze, this feels like the natural next step, and China has welcomed me with open arms.”

The mission is due to begin at the start of September. Dykes described the undertaking as: “This expedition is about showing the river as it truly is, its vast scale, its rich history and its modern-day importance. That means choosing the right way to travel at the right time, whether that’s by land, air or water.”