Dough figurine and local cuisine welcome Merkel in Northeast China's Shenyang

German Chancellor Angela Merkel writes on a book near the mini figurine of herself at the Shenyang Imperial Palace in Shenyang city, Northeast China's Liaoning province, June 14, 2016. [Photo/IC]

Mini dough figurine and local cuisine, including preserved vegetables and pork, impressed German Chancellor Angela Merkel during her first visit to Shenyang city, Northeast China's Liaoning province, on Tuesday morning.

On her last stop during her three-day official visit to China from June 12, Merkel visited the Shenyang Imperial Palace where she was given a Qing-style royal welcome and presented a mini dough figurine that looked exactly like her.

"It really looks like me," said Merkel after receiving the dough figurine presented by its maker Yu Qiquan, an artist in Shenyang.

Yu spent 10 minutes sculpting the 25-cm-high figurine of Merkel and he did not forget to include the necklace she was wearing.

When Merkel saw the figurine, she asked again and again: "Did you really just finish this lifelike figurine?" Yu smiled and said: "Yes, please pinch the figurine's legs. They are still soft."

After being told that the figurine will not lose color or get deformed for decades, Merkel carefully received it and presented Yu a German-made pen and said: "I am very happy with the figurine made by you. Your hand-made gift and my machine-made gift both have their strengths."

Besides the figurine, Merkel also showed her loved for local cuisine as she enjoyed two servings of preserved vegetables and pork for lunch at Shangri-La Hotel in Shenyang.

"When we introduced the preserved vegetables and pork to German Chancellor Merkel, she was very interested in trying the dish. After having a bowl, she asked to have one more bowl and enjoyed it immensely," said Liu Xingli, director of food and beverage at the hotel, in an interview with Liaoning TV.

After tasting the local food, Merkel visited China Industrial Museum and BMW Brilliance's Tiexi Plant in the afternoon.