CRI听力:Mosquarium Opens in Russia

"Mosquarium" opened August 5th and is giving the residents of Moscow as well as tourists the chance to explore life under the sea.

The centre boasts as being unique, given its size and the variety of exhibits.

Marina Zhuravleva is the head of the oceanography and sea biology centre.

"The concept of "Mosquarium" has no parallels in Russia or Europe, it's a really big complex of oceanarium and a sea exploration centre that was built far from the seaside."

The complex is divided into three areas: aquariums, a whale pool and a centre for swimming with dolphins.

It hosts more than 250 different kinds of fish, representing fauna from various parts of the world, all the way from Greenland to the Far Eastern parts of Russia.

Lyudmila Likhbatova, a visitor, shares her impression of the place:

"There's so much to see here that it's even difficult to remember what one likes most. The variety of fish, sharks swimming above one's head, plenty of little pretty fish, some look as if they were covered with velvet. Impressive!"

The centre covers an area of 53 thousand square metres with 25 million litres of water being used in its 80 aquariums and pools. But thats not all it has according to Zhuravleva.

"The character of each exhibition is enhanced by our ceiling decor as well. There're icicles hanging form the floor in zones representing cold water inhabitants, water lilies in warm water zones and real size models of fish that unfortunately wouldn't fit in any aquarium."

Narnia, Nord and Juliette, the three whales of the aquarium, take part in spectacular shows with special sound and light effects several times a week.

Visitors will also be able to try swimming with dolphins as soon as the creatures get used to their new home.

With more than 82 thousand people having visited the aquarium during the first five days, it appears there is nothing "fishy" about this new aquarium.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.