Shanghai Expo 2010 opens today (May 1st)!

Martian2 · May 3, 2010

warton · May 3, 2010

i really want to visit this wonderful exposition ;but ..........

my boss broke my heart

Martian2 · May 4, 2010

1. China pavilion ($220 million U.S. dollars)

2. Saudi pavilion ($164 million)

3. Japan pavilion ($140 million)

4. Australia pavilion ($75 million)

5. France pavilion ($74.4 million)

The most expensive pavilions are interesting because they must have spent the money on something and deserve closer scrutiny.

"China

The Chinese national pavilion is the largest of its kind at the Expo[28] and most expensive, costing an estimated US$220 million.[27] The 63-meter high pavilion, the tallest structure at the Expo, is called "The Crown of the East," as it is meant to resemble an ancient Chinese crown.[27] The chief architect of the pavilion is He Jingtang.[35]
...
Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia spent $164 million on its pavilion, the highest of all visiting countries.[27][68] The pavilion is designed to resemble a giant oil tanker.[27]

The centerpiece of the Saudi Arabia pavilion features a huge hanging boat shaped like a half moon. The "moon boat" is loaded with dreams and friendship. Date palms have been planted on the top deck of the boat, creating a hanging garden, and thus epitomizing the oases in the desert. Visitors will be welcomed to the pavilion in both modern, as well as traditional, Bedouin tents set among date palm trees. The Saudi government imported the date palms and a full mosque for the expo.[27] A large screen, estimated to be the size of a soccer field,[27] projects images of King Abdullah meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao.[27]

China is Saudi Arabia's fastest growing trading partner.[27] A large stage within the pavilion will be used to unveil joint Saudi-Chinese business deals, including a new railway between the cities of Mecca and Medina, which will be constructed by a Chinese firm.[27]
...
Japan

Japan's hi-tech pavilion resembles a living, breathing organism. It has been nicknamed the "Purple Silkworm Island" It features violin playing robots, 3D cameras, and many new technologies.
...
Australia

Australia's ochre red pavilion attests to its critically important relationship with China,[29] its largest trading partner. The three story pavilion was constructed on a 4,800 square meter site.[29] The facade of the structure is composed of weathered steel, which has oxidized in the months preceding the expo's opening.[29] The red ochre color is meant to represent the "red center" desert regions of central Australia. [29]

The pavilion cost AU$83 million,[30][29] the most Australia has ever allocated for a pavilion in history.[29] AU$6 million of the total cost was contributed by the state of Victoria, whose largest foreign trading partner is China.[30]

The mascot of the Australia pavilion is Peng Peng, a kookaburra.[29]
...
France

France's pavilion features six paintings and one sculpture on loan from the Musée d'Orsay.[27] [41] The paintings include works by Paul Cezanne, Jean-Francois Millet, Edouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, while the sculpture is Auguste Rodin's The Age of Bronze.[41]

The Age of Bronze had previously been displayed at the Exposition Universelle in 1889 and the 1900 Paris Expo.[41] The Angélus, by Jean-Francois Millet, was also shown at the 1867 Expo in Paris.[41]"

See Expo 2010 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Asia/Story/A1Story20100401-207977.html and Shanghai Expo's best dressed pavilions | Asian Correspondent and Global Times - Expo pavilion will be French gift to China

What is a kookaburra? Look, two Peng Pengs!

SinoIndusFriendship · May 4, 2010

Martian2 said:
1. China pavilion ($220 million U.S. dollars)

2. Saudi pavilion ($160 million)

3. Japan pavilion ($140 million)

4. Australia pavilion ($75 million)

5. France pavilion ($74.4 million)

The most expensive pavilions are interesting because they must have spent the money on something and deserve closer scrutiny.

"China

The Chinese national pavilion is the largest of its kind at the Expo[28] and most expensive, costing an estimated US$220 million.[27] The 63-meter high pavilion, the tallest structure at the Expo, is called "The Crown of the East," as it is meant to resemble an ancient Chinese crown.[27] The chief architect of the pavilion is He Jingtang.[35]
...
Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia spent $164 million on its pavilion, the highest of all visiting countries.[27][68] The pavilion is designed to resemble a giant oil tanker.[27]

The centerpiece of the Saudi Arabia pavilion features a huge hanging boat shaped like a half moon. The "moon boat" is loaded with dreams and friendship. Date palms have been planted on the top deck of the boat, creating a hanging garden, and thus epitomizing the oases in the desert. Visitors will be welcomed to the pavilion in both modern, as well as traditional, Bedouin tents set among date palm trees. The Saudi government imported the date palms and a full mosque for the expo.[27] A large screen, estimated to be the size of a soccer field,[27] projects images of King Abdullah meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao.[27]

China is Saudi Arabia's fastest growing trading partner.[27] A large stage within the pavilion will be used to unveil joint Saudi-Chinese business deals, including a new railway between the cities of Mecca and Medina, which will be constructed by a Chinese firm.[27]
...
Japan

Japan's hi-tech pavilion resembles a living, breathing organism. It has been nicknamed the "Purple Silkworm Island" It features violin playing robots, 3D cameras, and many new technologies.
...
Australia

Australia's ochre red pavilion attests to its critically important relationship with China,[29] its largest trading partner. The three story pavilion was constructed on a 4,800 square meter site.[29] The facade of the structure is composed of weathered steel, which has oxidized in the months preceding the expo's opening.[29] The red ochre color is meant to represent the "red center" desert regions of central Australia. [29]

The pavilion cost AU$83 million,[30][29] the most Australia has ever allocated for a pavilion in history.[29] AU$6 million of the total cost was contributed by the state of Victoria, whose largest foreign trading partner is China.[30]

The mascot of the Australia pavilion is Peng Peng, a kookaburra.[29]
...
France

France's pavilion features six paintings and one sculpture on loan from the Musée d'Orsay.[27] [41] The paintings include works by Paul Cezanne, Jean-Francois Millet, Edouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, while the sculpture is Auguste Rodin's The Age of Bronze.[41]

The Age of Bronze had previously been displayed at the Exposition Universelle in 1889 and the 1900 Paris Expo.[41] The Angélus, by Jean-Francois Millet, was also shown at the 1867 Expo in Paris.[41]"

See Expo 2010 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Shanghai set to step onto world stage with Expo and Shanghai Expo's best dressed pavilions | Asian Correspondent and Global Times - Expo pavilion will be French gift to China

Impressive! Makes me REALLY want to go to the Expo, which will be by far the greatest expo ever! :china:

below_freezing · May 4, 2010

the japan pavilion looks like a living organism all right...

but they could drop the silk from silkworm. imo looks disgusting.

Martian2 · May 5, 2010

Popular Science magazine has a terrific "Gallery: 35 Incredible World Expo 2010 Pavilions."

See Gallery: 35 Incredible World Expo 2010 Pavilions | Popular Science

fallstuff · May 5, 2010

grey boy 2 said:
World Expo turns Shanghai an int'l carnival - People's Daily Online

Spectacular fireworks explode over the Lupu Bridge across the Huangpu River during the opening ceremony for the 2010 World Expo held in Shanghai, east China, April 30, 2010. Colorful Lupu Bridge is miraculously transformed to a "rainbow" Friday night. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

Different languages and dialects could be heard and visitors with different skin colors piled in long lines to enter most of the pavilions in the Expo park.

Under the theme of "Better City, Better Life", pavilions in all shapes, colors and sizes, branded with each country's unique culture and history, were expected to draw more than 350,000 visitors at the opening day.
National treasures, both tangible and intangible, from 246 countries and international organizations are on display.

Some popular pavilions, including the China Pavilion, need to book an extra ticket before entrance.

The China Pavilion, a crimson-painted, crown-shaped mansion, was the most eye-catching facility near the center of the 5.28-square-kilometer Expo...................................................................................................................................

"I might only be able to visit five pavilions today," he said, wowing the crowds around him.

As the first Expo ever in a developing country, the Shanghai World Expo is expected to attract 70 million visitors from China and abroad.

The Expo is "a celebration of human achievements with the goal of inspiring present and future generations to pursue not only the ideals, but also the actions for 'Better City, Better Life'," Vicente Gonzalea Loscertales, Secretary General of International Exhibitions Bureau, said Saturday while addressing the opening ceremony of the Expo park.

The Expo will "not only educate, entertain and fascinate visitors, but will spark the energies to build the cities of the future on some of its foundations," he said.

Congratulation to China on yet another giant achievement.

The U.S is known for largest, tallest, longest, and fastest stuff. That is under serious threat from China. Well, we still have the fattest folks in the world.

applesauce · May 8, 2010

fallstuff said:
Congratulation to China on yet another giant achievement.

The U.S is known for largest, tallest, longest, and fastest stuff. That is under serious threat from China. Well, we still have the fattest folks in the world.

be wary of the communist!!!, the one child policy will challenge the obesity crown as will, these kids get only the best from their parents.

no_name · May 8, 2010

Might go visit expo in july.

I imagine it is a huge task to provide security from may to october.

Martian2 · May 9, 2010

In another forum, someone asked whether all foreign pavilions will be dismantled after the Shanghai Expo. Here is my revised reply.

The host China pavilion will remain. Normally, foreign pavilions have to be dismantled after the Expo. However, there is a special motion in front of the Expo organizing committee to make an exception for the Shanghai Expo.

French prime minister Sarkozy has made it clear that France intends to gift the French pavilion to China. In other words, the French pavilion will remain after the Shanghai Expo is finished.

Global Times - Expo pavilion will be French gift to China

"Expo pavilion will be French gift to China

* Source: Global Times
* [21:26 January 06 2010]
...
Sarkozy also wished that the pavilion could be retained after the Shanghai World Expo as a gift to the Chinese people.

Therefore, unlike some other temporary pavilions, the French pavilion has been built and decorated to be a permanent building from the beginning."

Pavilions, will you stay or will you go?

"According to the rules of the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE), the governing body of the World Expos, and plans from Shanghai Expo organizers, all foreign pavilions are to be dismantled after the event and the Expo site redeveloped.

At the Aichi Expo in Japan five years ago, all the Expo structures were removed and the site was rebuilt as a youth training camp.

After Expo Shanghai, only a few structures will remain on the site. These include the China pavilion, the Theme pavilion, the Cultural Center, Expo Center and Expo Boulevard. These will become permanent landmarks on the site after Expo finishes at the end of October.

But some foreign countries want to retain their pavilions in Shanghai or elsewhere in China as a testament to their friendship with China."

SinoIndusFriendship · May 10, 2010

Martian2 said:
In another forum, someone asked whether all foreign pavilions will be dismantled after the Shanghai Expo. Here is my revised reply.

The host China pavilion will remain. Normally, foreign pavilions have to be dismantled after the Expo. However, there is a special motion in front of the Expo organizing committee to make an exception for the Shanghai Expo.

French prime minister Sarkozy has made it clear that France intends to gift the French pavilion to China. In other words, the French pavilion will remain after the Shanghai Expo is finished.

Global Times - Expo pavilion will be French gift to China

"Expo pavilion will be French gift to China

* Source: Global Times
* [21:26 January 06 2010]
...
Sarkozy also wished that the pavilion could be retained after the Shanghai World Expo as a gift to the Chinese people.

Therefore, unlike some other temporary pavilions, the French pavilion has been built and decorated to be a permanent building from the beginning."

Pavilions, will*you stay or will*you go?

"According to the rules of the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE), the governing body of the World Expos, and plans from Shanghai Expo organizers, all foreign pavilions are to be dismantled after the event and the Expo site redeveloped.

At the Aichi Expo in Japan five years ago, all the Expo structures were removed and the site was rebuilt as a youth training camp.

After Expo Shanghai, only a few structures will remain on the site. These include the China pavilion, the Theme pavilion, the Cultural Center, Expo Center and Expo Boulevard. These will become permanent landmarks on the site after Expo finishes at the end of October.

But some foreign countries want to retain their pavilions in Shanghai or elsewhere in China as a testament to their friendship with China."

More like "as a testament to their territorial claims on Chinese land..." In other words FREE ADVERTISEMENT FOR FRANCE. And worse still, he wants PRIME REAL-ESTATE PROPERTY for FREE!!!

I say if the French (Zionist Sarkozy in particular) "value Chinese friendship" so much, then why doesn't he pay to have the French Pavilion relocated to FRANCE in PARIS NEXT TO THE EIFFEL TOWER??? :woot: