A coral museum at the Dalian Tiger Beach Ocean Park, the largest of its kind in China, opened to the public in Dalian Thursday in northeast China's Liaoning Province.
Over 5,000 pieces of coral representing 200 species are on display in the museum, which was built at a cost of 30 million yuan (about US$3.61 million) and covers an area of 4,000 square meters.
The museum consists of an exhibition hall for rare coral insects, a marine laboratory and a diving performance area.
In the exhibition hall, visitors walk through a glass tunnel while observing 1,000 colorful fish representing 100 species swimming freely in over 200 tons of water, while in the laboratory, high-resolution microscopes are available so that visitors can observe the skeletons of various types of coral.
In addition, all tourists, regardless of their skill of swimming, are invited to don a specially-made helmet and take a swim with the sharks.
(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2003)
