KEY POINTS:
Yang Yang must have felt like the luckiest boy in China.
The three-year-old was chosen by staff at Qingdao Polar Ocean World in China's eastern Shandong Province to swim with a rare beluga whale.
The photo opportunity was a part of celebrations across the country for China's Children's Day.
Yang showed no fear despite being dwarfed by the friendly giant. He even planted a kiss on the beluga, also known as a white whale.
It is estimated there are fewer than 80,000 beluga whales left in Arctic waters - with St Lawrence, Cook Inlet, and Alaskan belugas classified as endangered.
Yang Yang, meanwhile, is one of about 280 million children in China - representing about one- fifth of the child population of the world.
Yang Yang is extra lucky - on Children's Day in China schools remain open, children attend class and still have to do homework.
The recently completed Qingdao Polar Ocean World is home to more than 10,000 ornamental fish, as well as white whales and polar bears and is one of the largest polar marine animal parks in the world.
