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Photos: Wang Zi

By Wu Ningning

It may be every young girl's dream to be a mermaid, but for 25-year-old Beijinger, Li Yanan, her dream has become a reality. The vocational college graduate originally trained in IT, and worked in customer service, but now spends her days entertaining children and adults alike at Bejing's Blue Zoo. Li Yanan talks about the ups and downs of being a real life Ariel.

How can I become a mermaid?

This question haunted the whole of my childhood. When I heard the fairy tale for the first time, I was deeply attracted by the image of a beautiful young maiden with a fish tail. "You cannot 'evolve' backwards," my parents told me, "this is a fantasy, the same as vampires, werewolves and bigfoot – they are not real." They are right. However, after visiting aquariums and finding these self-styled "mermaids" at the age of 15, I realised it could be a career. When I saw Beijing Blue Zoo was advertising in 2008, I decided to apply straight away.

It feels likes you are transported to another breathtaking world.

This was my first impression about the world underwater. The interview for the job was quite simple. Each candidate was required to dive down in the pool with no oxygen and nothing to propel you. Unlike ordinary swimming pools, what was amazing is how dark it was underneath the surface. The endless dark made me afraid at first. But when I looked up from the bottom of the pool there was a green glow and alive with fish – it's like another world.

Mermaid tail, mermaid chic!

I really like my mermaid tail which I got on my first day as a mermaid. The fully functional tail is made mostly of wetsuit fabric and plastic moulds. The scales are painted by hand. The designer said the tail had to be functional, and it was important it looked realistic and could make me physically behave like a mermaid. I couldn't wait to use it the first time. I felt overjoyed. My long-held mermaid dream had finally come true.

Bumping into the fish is an extraordinary moment.

I like to play with an octopus hidden in a fantastic granite cave, or swim among clouds of tiny black fish. Sometimes I would also like to grab hold of a passing shark for a lift. Most of them are gentle, graceful and harmless and pose no threat to humans. They feed mainly on seals and sea lions.

Another mermaid's tail was bitten by a shark.

You can't take your safety for granted. I guess they mistook her tail for a seal when they were hungry. She struggled to get rid of the shark again and again, but failed. Then all of the other mermaids in the pool tried to pull her tail out of the shark's mouth. If we hadn't all helped, the shark may have bitten off her feet.

Each swim is a physical and mental challenge.

Photos: Wang Zi

I can swim effortlessly through the water with nothing to help me, but if you're not in good shape, and don't have muscles and endurance, it is mission impossible. You really need to use the power of your torso and stomach muscles, so to improve diving, you need to do exercises to strengthen them. I have to do 200 sit-ups every day. We swim four times a day for 20 minutes each time.

I can hold my breath for nearly two minutes.

I needed to learn breathing skills. As you descend further, your heart rate drops. Your blood comes to the center of your body, and it starts filling your lung tissues. It makes breathing difficult. In those circumstances, I would swim naturally to the surface to take a breath. Actually it is my body rather than my mind telling me to breathe. Eventually I found mastering my fear in the water is not as hard as I had imagined, as long as I concentrate entirely on my breathing rhythm.

Happiness is a free bonus of being a mermaid.

It's demanding as well as a low-paid job (less than 2,000 yuan a month), but the happiness I get from being under the water is boundless. Most times, visitors will wave and shout "hi" to me. Some crazy visitors try really hard to crane their necks to see how real the mermaid is. At those moments, I really want to jump out of the water to show them the real me. The most interesting thing is that the feeling of being a mermaid follows me everywhere. Even when I am in a regular pool, I pose or swim like a mermaid unconsciously.

My boyfriend thinks it's great to date a mermaid.

Stories of mermaids have fascinated people for a long time. My boyfriend isn't an exception to the rule! He imagines I am a beautiful young maiden with the lower body of a fish. Unfortunately, he is not a sailor who I can lure by singing siren songs. But he fully supports my job.

wuningning@globaltimes.com.cn