Long-ago friendship focus of Tintin store opening

After a two-month soft opening, the country's first flagship shop based on the classic Belgian cartoon character Tintin celebrated its official grand opening on Monday in the presence of diplomats from Belgium and France and fans.

The ceremony was attended by Zhang Yifei, the 67-year-old daughter of Chang Chong-chen, also known as Zhang Chongren, who collaborated on The Blue Lotus. Set in Shanghai, it was the fifth volume of The Adventures of Tintin, the comic series that Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, also known by his pen name Herge, created in 1929.

Zhang Yifei presented a historical archive capturing the days when The Blue Lotus was created in 1934.