| 摘 要： | After sailing nine months to China from its homeport of Gothenburg, Sweden, the 58.5-meter-long, 26-sail giant ship Gotheborg finally made it against the dangers of storms, typhoons and pirates. Docking the ship at Tiger Mouth, where the Pearl River enters the sea, the crew was overwhelmed by the welcoming ceremony of the local people, as were the Swedish king and the queen on board. This may sound like an 18th century anecdote, but it was the real return of a replicated legendary ship, on July 18. The original ship hit rocks and sank with her entire cargo as it neared Sweden on the way back from a third voyage to China in 1745. The dream of rebuilding the entire vessel and sailing to China once again along the original route, which came to fruition after a marine-archeological excavation in the mid-1980s, might sound a bit crazy at first But the expedition, which garnered enormous public attention in the two countries, proved itself a success in bettering bilateral relations. A lengthy state visit by King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia also helped. Sweden's Ambassador to China, Dr. Borje Ljunggren, speaks with Beijing Review reporter Li Li about the state visit of Sweden's king and queen and the potential for closer bilateral exchanges.
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