Credits amazing looks to fitness regimen of swimming outdoors even in the cold of winter.

On her next birthday, the first digit of Yelin Liu’s age will roll over. The native of Xinyang, China, doesn’t seem particularly fazed by the impending milestone of getting older, though she has expressed a desire to maintain her youthful looks as she gets older.

While that’s something that many people say they’d like to do, in Liu’s case it’s more than just an empty pie-in-the-sky-instead-of-the-stomach ambition. After all, transitioning to a new decade of adult life isn’t a first-time challenge for Liu.

As a matter of fact, she’s an old hand at such new beginnings, since on her next birthday she’ll be turning 50.

Yes, the expectation-defying Liu was born in 1968, and as of this moment is 49 years old. A former librarian, she now identifies herself as a freelance fashion model.

Many of you are no doubt thinking that Liu is old enough to be your mother, and she does indeed have a child of her own, pictured below, who at 22 is probably old enough to be your brother. Liu says that when she and her son are out and about together, strangers often assume they’re boyfriend and girlfriend, instead of son and mom.

▼ Some of the confusion might stem from her attire, though, which is more revealing than what most moms choose for an afternoon of family bonding.

Liu claims to use very little makeup. Instead, she credits her looks to a 30-year regimen of regular exercise. Even now, she lifts weights and swims every day. Oh, and she’s not taking a dip in the pool, either. Liu says she loves to swim outdoors in a lake, even in winter, when it becomes “a test of [her] will and perseverance,” and she recently swam the 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) across Malaysia’s Strait of Malacca in four hours.

▼ Liu, in a rare moment of relaxing

“I want to stay this beautiful when I’m 80 years old,” Liu has declared. While that seems like an impossible goal, it’s also hard to believe someone can look this young at nearly 50.

Sources: Yelin Liu Instagram, Mail Online
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