Per Strangburg stood on deck and waved as a replica of the 18th century Swedish merchant ship Gotheborg sailed down the Pearl River and out of Guangzhou on Saturday.

His reluctance to leave was "beyond words," the sailor told Xinhua.

The next stop is Shanghai, where the ship is scheduled to stay for two months before a two-week stay in a Zhejiang Province shipyard that will bring its China tour to an end.

For Strangburg and the other Swedish sailors aboard Gotheborg, the month-long stay in Guangzhou was memorable.

The ship was visited by about 2.5 million people since it arrived in Guangzhou on July 18. More than 80,000 people were allowed to board the vessel, said the city's tourism authorities.

Sometimes queues for a ticket stretched 200 meters. Visitors didn't mind waiting one hour to take a photo of the ship and its Swedish crew.

During the ship's stay, the Swedish side staged a series of exhibitions in Guangzhou to review the milestones in Sino-Swedish relations and showcase Swedish coffee, tea and sailing.

"The Gotheborg visit has enhanced friendship between Chinese and Swedish people and has triggered a new round of cooperation and exchanges in trade, culture and tourism," said Li Wenyao, head of the city's tourism bureau.

He said Guangzhou will send a delegation of business people to Sweden in November to seek opportunities for further trade.

"There are immense opportunities for Guangzhou to expand cooperation with Sweden in such sectors as information technology, biomedicine, machinery building and telecommunications," he said.

China and Sweden registered US$5.7 billion in trade last year, the Ministry of Commerce said.

The Swedish Embassy in Beijing said about 300 Swedish firms have set up business operations in China for a total investment of US$2.8 billion.

Chief executives of more than 20 renowned Swedish firms including ABB, Volvo, SAS and SAAB accompanied King Carl XVI Gustaf during his six-day state visit to China that coincided with Gotheborg's arrival.

The legendary Gotheborg made three voyages from Gothenburg to Guangzhou between 1743 and 1745.

On a return trip in 1745, it smashed into rocks about 900 meters from Gothenburg after a voyage to China. It sunk with its crew and entire cargo of tea, porcelain and silk.

(Shanghai Daily via Xinhua August 21, 2006)