Many little girls dream of becoming a mermaid. And some, growing up, make the dream come true, get paid for it and even get into the Guinness Book of Records. We tell how the trend to work as a mermaid swept China.
Residents are increasingly getting jobs in various aquariums, where they swim with fish, and sometimes show whole shows. So, the Chinese resort of Atlantis Sanya, famous for its performances, was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records on April 30, 2021 for the “Largest show of underwater mermaids” (see photo below).
The world’s largest scuba training organization, PADI, has launched a “mermaid swimming” trend in China after its instructors began teaching courses in the special technique. In fact, this is still the same freediving (snorkeling with breath holding), but in this case, those who want to feel like a mythical creature swim with a massive and rather heavy artificial tail. You can move with it only thanks to certain movements, which are now taught to everyone.
The idea to organize a similar diving course came to the mind of a Chinese woman, Dada Li. She created the first professional team of girls swimming with mermaid tails.
The girl wanted to become a mermaid since childhood, which is why in 2012 she decided to take up freediving, a sport whose popularity is now rapidly growing all over the world.
“I was fascinated by this sport. It requires a deep sense of one’s body. You only have goggles with a snorkel, fins and yourself. Also, I was inspired by an old movie from the 1980s called Splash. There, the main character is a mermaid who lives at the bottom of the sea … This image has been living in my head ever since, ”says Lee.
What do women learn in the “fabulous course”? “The mermaid tail keeps the freedivers’ legs together so they can’t move freely. In this regard, it is necessary to use the stomach and waist to move like a dolphin. It takes practice to make this movement fluid and elegant,” notes Lee.
Perhaps someday similar courses will appear in our homeland. Swimming with a mermaid tail is not only a way to add a touch of magic to life, but also a good way to pump up the abdominal muscles.