Denmark's famed Little Mermaid statue left her perch in the Copenhagen harbor Thursday and started a journey to the World Expo in Shanghai _ the first trip abroad in her 96-year history.
The 5-foot (1.5-meter) landmark, which honors the memory of Danish fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen, was lifted by a crane and lowered onto the back of a truck at a ceremony in the Danish capital.
Crown Prince Frederik is protector of the Danish EXPO pavilion and is expected to visit the pavilion. The organizer is of the pavilion is the Danish EXPO Secretariat. The National Pavilion Day of Denmark is 29 June 2010.
Created by Danish sculptor Edvard Eriksen, the fishtailed bronze is Denmark's most popular tourist attraction. She was unveiled in the Copenhagen harbor in August 1913 and has not been moved since, except to undergo repairs after a series of attacks by vandals.
In Andersen's tale, the mermaid is a sea king's daughter who falls in love with a prince and must wait 300 years to become human. It was turned into a Disney film in 1989. GPD © AP
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