BEIJING, Mar. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- A Chinese-Australian woman, Liz Moh, and her Australian friends Kylie Smits and Michael Smits became the first people in Shanghai to swim with beluga whales last Saturday, when they attended a party organized by the Diving Club of Shanghai Changfeng Ocean World Co, Ltd.

    "It is amazing, you know, I have never seen belugas before and never thought they were so beautiful and cute," said Moh after swimming with the 8-year-old whale Wei Wei.

    "He was nervous at the beginning, and then he became relaxed - I could feel that," said she.

    The party started at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Along with the trio who swam in the Beluga Whales Show Stadium, six others dived in the Aquarium's shark tank.

    Most of them weren't members of the club, but they just got the information from friends' e-mails and attended the party for fun.

    "We knew about the party from Liz, and now we want to register as members since it's not expensive and a lot of fun," said Kylie Smits. The Smits couple have traveled all over the world to enjoy their love for diving.

    Saturday's event was the 10th gathering of the club since its establishment in March 2001, two years after the aquarium in the Changfeng Park was opened to the public. So far, the shark tank in the aquarium is still the only place to go diving in downtown.

    The club now has 80 members, of which 70 percent are expatriates. Enditem

(Shanghai Daily news)