Andersen's tales still inspire Chinese

During Danish Queen Margrethe II's visit to China, Chinese people were talking about Danish cookies, Lego toys, and of course, Hans Christian Andersen.

Andersen (1805-75), a prolific writer best known for his fairy tales, was introduced into the country and first translated into Chinese in 1913. Because of him, many Chinese consider Denmark the "Kingdom of Fairy Tales".

The queen read Andersen's work to Chinese children on Thursday in Beijing. She created illustrations for the Danish edition of The Lord of the Rings, and designed stage costumes for children's plays adapted from Andersen's works.