上海世博迎来丹麦"小美人鱼"

25日，丹麦的著名标志之一“小美人鱼”在上海世博园揭开面纱，这标志着丹麦馆正式开馆。“小美人鱼”铜像96年来第一次离开故乡，连同哥本哈根的海水，在上海滩讲述一个丹麦的童话......

Starting from this moment, the "Little Mermaid" is creating a fairytale world at the Denmark Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo.

It's the first time in almost 100 years the 1.5-meter landmark has left her perch at Copenhagen Harbor. The statue was made in honor of Danish fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen.

According to the Danish minister for taxation, Troels Lund Poulsen, the statue was brought all the way from Copenhagen to Shanghai in order to show Denmark's dedication to China and trust in the Chinese people.

"I sincerely hope that it will be a great experience for the Chinese public to get closer to the 'Little Mermaid'."

Although the ceremony was a closed event, there were still hundreds of visitors crowding outside the Danish Pavilion to get a closer view of the statue. A parent surnamed Hua brought her son here to see the famous statue.

"I am here to see the Denmark Pavilion because we want to see the Little Mermaid. The Little Mermaid has never been to another country before, this is her first time going abroad, and she came to China. Moreover, we don't have that many chances to visit Denmark."

She says they will come to visit the "Little Mermaid" again after the World Expo begins on May 1, as she can only see the mermaid's back since the pavilion has yet to open to the public.

Chief architect of the Danish Pavilion Bjarke Ingels explains why visitors can only see the back of the "Little Mermaid" until they enter Denmark's pavilion.

"The general idea, when you move through the pavilion, you get to see her from all directions. When you are inside the pavilion in the big window, you'll see her exactly like you would see her from the land side in Copenhagen, when you arrive here, you would actually see her as you were arriving from the sea."

He says he knows Chinese people grow up with Andersen's fairytales, such as "The Matchstick Girl," "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Little Mermaid."

"It's almost like a piece of Danish culture being integrated into Chinese culture. And this is the first time for a lot of people to experience the little mermaid that they read about in school."

Andersen's works were introduced to China in the early 1900s and are still widely read by Chinese children.

A video installation by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei will replace the "Little Mermaid" in Copenhagen while she is away. The multimedia artwork will include a live broadcast of the statue in Shanghai.