At the Shanghai Expo this year officials at the Swedish Pavilion have taken the unusual approach of offering shots of Absolut Vodka to welcome (and, one imagines, attract) visitors. As part of the festivities, Swedish-born company Absolut has also commissioned a limited-edition bottle called “Absolut 72 Transformations” from 29-year-old Chinese Pop artist Gao Yu.

Gao's bottle features a cartoon portrait of the monkey king Sun Wukong with a sharp gaze, a fierce depiction of the heroic character, who appeared in the 16th-century tale Journey to the West, which is one of China’s four great classical novels. The work's title comes from the 72 transformations that the monkey undertakes to overcome all kinds of obstacles on a pilgrimage aimed at achieving Buddhahood.

The project marks the latest commercial success for Gao, whose pieces first sold at auction for large sums when he was 23, and the latest artistic venture for Absolut, which collaborated with Andy Warhol on another bottle design 25 years ago. To date, the 130-year old Swedish vodka producer has had at least 300 different bottle designs by internationally renowned artists, fashion designers, and glass artisans around the world.