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A 6-year-old girl from China has broken the women's world record for solving a 3x3 Rubik's Cube, a classic puzzle cube with three rows of colored squares on each of its six sides, completing it in just over four seconds, according to state media.
Young speedcuber Lian Yunzhi broke the women's 3x3 average world record twice this month at two competitions certified by the World Cube Association (WCA), the international governing body for competitive cubing, held in Wuhan and Guangzhou, according to state broadcaster CCTV on Monday.
She posted averages of 4.52 and 4.27 seconds after solving the Rubik's Cube five times. Lian, who is from Chengdu, is "the first female speedcuber to average under 4.5 seconds," CCTV added.
A video CCTV posted showed the small girl wearing a red gingham bow on her head as she deftly turned and twisted a Rubik's Cube. After solving the puzzle, she placed the cube on the table, clapped her hands, and pumped a fist into the air.
Nicknamed "Zhizhi," Lian was first introduced to the Rubik's Cube after being enrolled in a class as a child, one of various extracurriculars alongside dance and music lessons, her mother Lin Yangxi told local media outlets.
Lin "gradually realized" that cubing was an "excellent activity for fostering a child's comprehensive abilities" and shifted her focus toward it, she told Chengdu's Red Star News.
Her daughter has now mastered over 1,300 Rubik's Cube solving algorithms, practicing daily for two to three hours, Lin said.
"Solving a Rubik's Cube improves focus, memory, logical thinking, spatial awareness, and helps develop a healthy mindset toward winning and losing," Lin said.
"It's not just about blindly memorizing formulas, but using logical reasoning to find optimal solutions," she added.
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