The replica of the 18th century Swedish merchant ship "Gotheborg" arrived in Shanghai on Tuesday after a 10-day voyage from Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.

The ship is scheduled to stay berthed in the metropolis for two months before a two-week stay in a shipyard in neighboring Zhejiang Province that will bring its China tour to an end.

In Guangzhou for a month, the ship was visited at least 2.5 million times since it arrived in the city on July 18 and more than 80,000 people were allowed to board the ship, according to local tourism authorities.

During this time, the Swedes staged a series of exhibitions in Guangzhou reviewing the milestones in Sino-Swedish relations, and showcasing Swedish coffee, tea culture and sailing.

China and Sweden recorded US$5.7 billion in bilateral trade in 2005, China's Ministry of Commerce said.

Sources with the Swedish Embassy in Beijing said about 300 Swedish companies have set up business operations in China, representing a total investment of US$2.8 billion.

The legendary "Gotheborg" made three voyages from Gothenburg to Guangzhou between 1743 and 1745, pioneering trade between Sweden and China.

On its last return trip to Sweden in 1745, tragedy struck when it smashed into rocks about 900 meters from its destination after a 30-month voyage to China. It sank with its entire cargo, including tea, china and silk, outside the port of Gothenburg.

The wreck was recovered in 1984 and excavation was conducted from 1986 to 1992. The discovery led to the idea of rebuilding a replica of the ship by using the same traditional techniques and materials and sailing it to China again.

The replica, Gotheborg III, is 58.8 meters long and 11 meters wide. It cost US$30 million and 10 years to build by more than 4,000 shipbuilders. Its voyage to China took nine and a half months.

(Xinhua News Agency August 30, 2006)