Taiwan writer Li Ao takes in Expo

SHANGHAI - Taiwan writer and cultural figurehead Li Ao, on his second return visit to the Chinese mainland, Friday called for "cross-Strait peace" at the Taiwan Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo.

Li launched a traditional Kong-Ming-Lantern inscribed with "cross-Strait peace," which sailed to the top of the pavilion as a symbol of his wish.

Taiwan writer and cultural figurehead Li Ao receives a cup of tea at the Zhejiang Pavilion at the Expo Park in Shanghai, Aug 27, 2010. [Photo/Xinhua]

"Why do I wish for cross-Strait peace? Because I think it's the key," said the 75-year-old man of letters.

Li, a mainland-born author, scholar and critic, arrived in Shanghai Thursday. His goals were to visit the Shanghai Expo and to take his son, Li Kan, 18, to Peking University, where he has been admitted by the school of economics, he said.

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Li said the pavilions of China, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Spain, Italy and Saudi Arabia were on his list to visit at the Expo.

At the China Pavilion, Li, pointing to his trademark red jacket, said the color was the same as the China Pavilion, bathed in red in tribute to the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Li was born in 1935 in the northeastern Heilongjiang province and was brought up in Beijing till the age of 14. He left for Taiwan in 1949 when he was a high school student. In 2005, Li returned to the mainland for the first time.

The 10-day "Chinese cultural trip" in 2005, which was arranged by Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, was closely watched by media across the Taiwan Strait and abroad.

Li said the China Pavilion made him thoroughly understand things "from ancient to modern times," and the understanding became "more concrete."

He was impressed by the pavilion's 128-meter-long multimedia scroll painting, "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival," a well-known artwork depicting life in an ancient Chinese city.

"Taiwan also has a version of the painting, but it is extraordinary that I see today at the World Expo a spectacular animation," he said.

Describing Chinese provincial pavilions as "gorgeous," he received a paper-cut gift from a girl at the Shanghai Pavilion.

His son, Li Kan, showed great interest in the high-tech elements at the Expo Garden and said he wanted to make friends on the mainland.

Li Kan became known to the mainland Internet users this month in a debate with outspoken Shanghai-based writer Han Han.

Li's family will visit the Expo Garden at the weekend.

Li is known for his profound knowledge of traditional Chinese culture.

"Over the past six decades, I've rarely left Taiwan. The only trip outside Taiwan was the 2005 trip to the mainland. Now, this is my second trip back to the mainland," he said.

A legendary figure in the eyes of many Chinese readers, Li is a prolific writer of criticism, an ardent supporter of Chinese unification, and an earnest scholar.

He received a Nobel Prize nomination after the publication of his historical novel, "The Fayuan Temple of Beijing."

His books are available in all major bookstores in Beijing.