"When I visited Todaiji Temple in Nara, just after I arrived as a Chinese student in Japan about 30 years ago, I felt somehow nostalgic as it had an atmosphere of old China," says Cai Guo-Qiang, as he explains his work for Culture City of East Asia 2016, Nara, a cultural project that launched in March. "I think that Todaiji is a symbol of cultural exchange between Japan and China, which crossed over the ocean by ships, bringing Buddhism, technology and culture as well as goods such as silk or ceramics. That's why I wanted to build a ship here to remind us of our close relationship in ancient time."