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BEIJING, Sept. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Famous Taiwan
writer and cultural figure Li Ao came to the Palace Museum and his alma
mater in Beijing Tuesday, more than 50 years after his last visit.
Li spent three hours in the Palace Museum. "I
remember when I last visited here as a boy, there was still long grass
growing out from the spaces between bricks in front of the Hall of Supreme
Harmony," said an emotional 70-year-old Li, who had spent many childhood
years in Beijing.
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Li Ao visits the Palace
Museum.
(Xinhua) |
"He
is an expert on cultural relics with profound knowledge," said Jin
Yunchang with the museum guiding for Li.
In the Xinxian Hutong primary school, Li's alma
mater, he found the classroom he studied nearly half century ago and wrote
an ancient maxims on the blackboard to encourage the children to study
hard.
The pupils handed drawings, paper-cut they made
to Li as presents, and Li gave one of his book to the school.
And then, Li called on his teacher, Lu
Rongshen. "How do you do, Mr. Lu? I'm Li Ao." Suffering parkinsonism, Lu
cannot speak, without face expressions but watching his once student.
Getting a photograph of young Mr. Lu from Lu's
children, Li said she was such a young and beautiful teacher at that time.
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Li arrived in Beijing Monday evening for a
10-day "Chinese culture trip", his first trip back to the Chinese mainland
after he left for Taiwan at age 14.
He is expected to make speeches in three
prestigious Chinese universities in Beijing and Shanghai, meet primary
school classmates, teachers and visit some landmark places.
As he made the tour, accompanied by experts of
the museum, a large group of reporters and enthusiastic Chinese mainland
fans followed close behind.
Many readers even brought books written by Li
and asked for his autograph, a request that Li gladly met.
Days before Li Ao's arrival, the Chinese
mainland media started publishing articles about the trip and Li himself,
a legendary figure in the eyes of many Chinese readers. Books written by
him are available in all major bookstores in Beijing.
![]() Brought up on the mainland until 14, Li
is known for his profound knowledge of traditional Chinese culture. He is
also famous in many other ways, including as a prolific writer of
criticism, an ardent supporter of China's reunification, an earnest
scholar and an "arrogant man".
"But if you really know him, he is not actually
an arrogant man. He is a respectable man with profound knowledge and
unique insights," said university teacher Zhou Sheng, who has read Li a
lot.
Li was once received a Nobel prize nomination
for his historical novel about a temple in Beijing.
His trip is being closely watched by media
organizations in China and overseas.
![]() That's not only because of his fame
and personality, but also because he is seen as enhancing another channel
of exchanges between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, which has
experienced estrangement in relations since the Chinese civil war.
The war ended with people originally living on
the mainland and China's former ruling party Kuomintang moving to Taiwan,
a Chinese island province.
This year witnessed friendly exchanges between
the Communist Party of China and three political parties in Taiwan, namely
the Kuomintang, the People First Party and the New Party.
Analysts say enhanced exchanges between people
of the two sides will help increase mutual understanding, beef up bonds
between Chinese people across the Taiwan Straits and contribute to an
eventual peaceful reunification of China. Enditem | 
