Fishtail fantasy

Lu Shanshan, 24, performs as a mermaid at the Marine Fantasy Amusement Park in Yuncheng city, Shanxi province. [Photo by Chen Wei/China Daily]

Lu Shanshan is a mermaid.

During the past five years, the 24-year-old has put on a fishtail to perform in a big water tank along with hundreds of fish and turtles at the Marine Fantasy Amusement Park of Yuncheng city in North China's Shanxi province.

A graduate of Shaanxi Art College who learned to dance as a child, Lu, a native of Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, chose the job because of her love for both acting and water.

Able to hold her breath for a full minute while free-diving, Lu can comport herself gracefully underwater like a mermaid in storybooks.

Though audiences find the shows entertaining, it is quite a challenge for the performers to act underwater, both physically and psychologically. These aquatic-show personalities usually complete at least six stunts or demonstrations in a five-minute gig.

Lu, who works from 10 am to 5 pm, performs up to 21 shows each day, especially during public holidays like Spring Festival. She gets a short break for lunch and says she usually feels too exhausted to do anything but sleep after work.

The job as a mermaid has been tough on her body. She has been bitten by turtles several times. Because of the long hours underwater, her leg joints ache during rainy weather. To relieve the pain, she has to apply hot towels on her legs daily after work.

Despite the hardships, Lu says that she likes her job very much. She wants a different role in the aquarium when she gets too old to swim with her sea creatures.