A Chinese white dolphin was spotted swimming last Friday off the coast of Fuding City, southeast China's Fujian Province.

Hailed as "mermaids" and "giant pandas in the sea," this endangered species is under the national first-class protection in China.

The white dolphin surfaced and then swiftly dived into the water, again and again, and didn't look afraid of humans. It swam for more than an hour near a fish breeding area.

"I was tying a rope to my fishing raft at the Shacheng port at about 10 o'clock in the morning when I saw a white dolphin swimming around me, lingering there for over an hour," said Zhu Jiale, a local fisherman.

The Chinese white dolphins have been frequenting the area because the maritime ecology and environment have been much improved in recent years.

(Cover photo via VCG.)

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