Up close and personal with flipper

For a long time, Li Yushi, 9, felt depressed, for her small apartment would not allow her to raise a big pet, but her spirits picked up instantly with a special gift from her mother - a real dolphin.

Wearing her dolphin-adorned hairpin, Li was at the Beijing Aquarium recently, visiting her endearing friend, Ke Mei, a 1-year-old female dolphin.

Under the aquarium's Adopt a Dolphin project, launched to celebrate its 10th anniversary, children born on Sept 27 - the date of the aquarium's establishment - can adopt one of these energetic and intelligent animals.