The Little Mermaid statue is lifted by a crane at Denmark's Copenhagen harbor Thursday. [chinadaily.com.cn]

The renowned Little Mermaid left Denmark's Copenhagen harbor on Thursday heading for Expo 2010 in Shanghai on its first overseas journey since its birth in 1913.

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The goodbye ceremony included dancing as well as children singing songs in Danish and Chinese. After a ribbon cutting ceremony, the statue was lifted from its position in Copenhagen.

It is expected to greet visitor starting from the end of April and will return to the Danish capital by the end of November.

Copenhagen's city council has approved its landmark statue to be sent to Shanghai during Expo 2010 on March 12, 2009.

The bronze statue was created by Danish sculptor Edvard Eriksen according to Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale that bears the name.

Renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei (known for the Olympic Stadium "Bird's Nest" in Beijing) will create a video installation that will take video footages of the Little Mermaid's journey to Shanghai. After darkness falls on the Denmark Pavilion, a documentary will be shown on the large screen in the Pavilion about the Little Mermaid's journey to Shanghai.

The photo illustration show how the Denmark Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo will look when the Little Mermaid arrives. [Xinhua]