On the scraggly hills of east Shenzhen, Ionic columns stand looking over a pale blue sea. Guarding a road lined with European facades, a white plaster Neptune and his mermaid consorts glare in the morning sun. The scene that greets visitors on the approach to Sea World, the aquatic theme park in Xiaomeisha, is somewhat surreal. Within the park's walls, however, a fiercely down-to-earth project is bringing hope and joy to disabled children and their parents.
Surrounded by sculpted grounds, in a hive of linked cement bunkers, pools and cages through which sea lions waddle, is aquarium curator Zhou Yunxin's office. Zhou, in her mid 40s, is Sea World's senior engineer and exhibitions organiser, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the theme park. But her office is also the command centre for the park's Dolphin Swimming Partners and Blue Sea Environmental Protection Agency. The facilities are basic: cement floor, a hard wooden seat and two posters of marine life taped to otherwise bare walls. Zhou is athletic and tanned, with a swimmer's build and chlorine-orange hair.
Raised in Chongqing and schooled in Shanghai, her research in marine biology engendered in her a pressing need to protect the environment. After teaching at a university in Sichuan province, Zhou came to Sea World in 1997, hoping to awaken people to the wonders of the sea and the need to protect it. Working initially as an engineer, her job was unlikely to bring her into contact with the people she wanted to reach. But then a little girl touched her heart.
When the parents of paraplegic 'Kun Kun' first implored Zhou to develop dolphin-assisted therapy in 2000, she baulked. With neither funding nor training, all she had were a few dolphins she couldn't afford to lose. Unfazed, Kun Kun's parents brought their daughter to meet Zhou. 'When I came face to face with her, with their struggle, I couldn't refuse. I was so moved,' says Zhou. 'I was determined to start.'
Trained as a researcher and an engineer, Zhou had no experience with either therapy or children. 'We more or less taught ourselves,' she says matter-of-factly. 'We began liaising with some Taiwanese aquariums [that offered dolphin-assisted therapy] and trained for a year. We read and practised all we could. Then we admitted Kun Kun, our first guest.'
Dolphin Swimming Partners uses dolphin interaction to motivate disabled children to develop better speech and motor skills. This, in turn, fosters self-esteem and empowerment, instilling hope in the youngsters that they can reach beyond their disabilities. Now, five years later, more than 100 children have trained under the programme and it boasts a two-year waiting list. It's the only scheme of its kind in the world that doesn't charge for its services; the Sea World management have been supportive from the start and are pleased to be benefitting from the positive media attention the programme attracts.