Ash Dykes is turning his sights to China for his latest mission.

Having already become the first person to walk solo across Mongolia and Madagascar, the adventurer and extreme athlete from Old Colwyn is hoping his latest adventure will become another world first.

Ash’s 2018 mission, which he said is his “most ambitious to date”, is to become the first person to walk the length of China’s Yangtze river.

On the mission, he will cover more than 4,000 miles over the course of a year.

He will take about eight million steps and expects to come across bears, wolves and snakes as well as the highest river source in the world – at an altitude of more than 5,100 metres.

He said: “This is looking to be one of the greatest expeditions of this decade and one of the most interactive to date.

“This is the length of Mongolia, Madagascar and the UK in one expedition.

“It is a mammoth world first attempt that will be my greatest test yet.

“I look forward to heading into the heart of China and seeing what I come across.

“I also look forward to putting my training to the test and sharing stories with the rest of the world.”

Ash will go to China in mid-April where he will spend six weeks learning the local language, traditions and doing training, before heading to the source in late May or early June.

He said: “I feel very excited and can’t wait to share stories of the people, wonders and beauty of China.

“I feel focused and have been planning it for over a year, with various trips out to China to plan the logistics. I am almost ready to begin.”

This latest mission is set to be more interactive and he hopes to share his walk as much as possible while away.

Ash says he has acquired a sponsor, Navarino, which will provide him with the latest satellite communications in order to post blogs, videos and even live streams to make this his most interactive mission ever.

Follow his journey on social media,YouTube or by signing up to his email subscription list.