I went to the Expo last May 16 with a friend and boy, was I glad we were able to get China Pavilion reservation tickets. This was our game plan–
Ok, we need to get to the Expo really early so that we can get in the China Pavilion; because I think that’s the most important thing–if that’s the only thing we’ll be able to see what with the long lines.
The Expo Garden opens 9am. Let’s meet at xxx metro station 8am. [And I thought we were very early that time! Because now--lining up at 6am still might not get you a pass. Luck sometimes has to do with it.]
That's 8.20am and just look at the crowd!
You first read about the Expo Fast Pass techniques here. But why would you want to go through all that trouble?
First off, because it is the China Pavilion. The Pavilion commands awe and attention just by the bright Chinese red color and the intricate upside-down pyramid with interlocking blocks made to look like the traditional Dougong.
Second, well, aside from the mini train ride inside [Hehe, yes! There is a train ride inside which reminded me of Disneyland's "It's A Small World." But I am getting way ahead of myself.], the China Pavilion is definitely the pavilion with the most quality content. The buzz around it was telling the truth.
After checking out the pavilion for myself, here are my top 5 reasons why you would want to “fight” for your reservation pass as well. (More on the “fighting” part later.)–
The prize
1. Going up the China Pavilion feels majestic.
Feel the majestic air.
In China’s history, notable in Imperial Tombs, there is such a thing called the Sacred Way or the Divine Road leading to heaven. Only the emperor, who is the son of heaven, can walk on that road. The same with the China Pavilion, the center is not passable; so we climbed the escalators on the side.
2. The animated version of Zhang Zeduan’s famous thousand-year-old scroll painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival.
Painting of Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival by Zhang Zeduan
I will just quote the entire description from here.
As the representative work of Zhang Zeduan, a famous palace painter living in the late Northern Song Dynasty, Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival is a handscroll of painting reflecting the life and customs of the Northern Song Dynasty. The handscroll of painting, measuring 24.8cm wide and 528.7cm long, is painted on silk with a light color background. It is now kept in the National Palace Museum in Beijing.
In a form of long handscroll of painting, the work adopts a splashed clairvoyance painting composition method to take complex sceneries into a unified and varied frame and gives a detailed description of the prosperous vision and natural scenes of Bianliang, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the Bian River. The entire painting is composed of three sections: the spring scenery of Bianliang suburban area, the busy dock of Bian River, and busy downtown streets. From representative aspects such as commerce, traffic, inland river transportation, and architecture, the painting gives an integrated showing of the blooming and busy visions of suburban area, downtown, and waterway of Bianliang as the political and economic center of the Northern Song Dynasty, presenting in front of us the detailed and vivid social life of Bianliang over 1,000 years ago.
In the 5-plus-meter-long painting, there are in total over 550 persons in different clothes and expressions engaged in different activities, showing a proper spacing through an artful painting composition method. In addition to the persons mentioned above, there are still 50 ~ 60 livestock including cattle, horses, mules, and donkeys, and more than 40 carriages and vessels in different sizes presented on the painting. The buildings, bridges, and city towers possess their respective characteristics and show the architectural properties of the Northern Song Dynasty.
As a representative of realism among Chinese paintings, Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival has exerted a great influence over the creation of genre paintings in later generations and provided the studies on the economy and folk customs of the Northern Song Dynasty with precious and direct materials. Therefore, it enjoys a very high historical and artistic value, and is an art treasure renowned both at home and abroad.
Since its birth, Riverside Scenes at Qingming Festival, for five times, has been taken into palaces and, for as many as four times, stolen away. In spite of the dramatic fate, it is still intact and kept in the National Palace Museum as an art treasure of China.
I could stare at the animation the whole day if I wanted to if not for the armies of people shoving and harassing me. What I like about Chinese paintings is that the details are incredibly small yet vivid. The original version of this painting is so delicate that it is rarely shown in public.
Sheila Melvin of the New York Times describes the work of art as such–
It depicts a tranquil landscape of rolling mountains and leafless trees with thatched cottages scattered here and there along a riverbank. As the river meanders onward, the landscape becomes more populated. Farmers ride past on donkeys, fishermen moor their boats and men carry buckets of water in shoulder poles. The river widens and is spanned by a gravity-defying, rainbow-shaped bridge mobbed with peddlers, pedestrians, coolies and idlers. A boat prepares to pass beneath, its crew hustling to lower the masts as dozens of passersby stop to watch and offer unsolicited advice. Just past the bridge lies the town, a snug and prosperous enclave of homes, restaurants, hotels and temples. Everywhere there are people engaged in the business of life: shopping for a new bow; slurping noodles; commuting by camel caravan, ox cart, horse, sedan chair and foot; listening to a story-teller; having their fortune told; sipping tea, or showing off a grandson to friends encountered in the street. For a brief moment, I too am a part of all this activity — until the man beside me elbows my ribs and the guard shouts “Move on!
The last line–that’s what I felt too.
3. Visual eye-candy
I am a very visual person. And the China Pavilion offers a lot of that in its exhibits. The whole structure is divided into 3 sections–
Section1: The Footprints
Pre-show Hall
Blocks where you can see videos on them while waiting for the theater to open
Pre-show hall
Story of Spring
A romantic story on China's progress to modernization. Connect that.
Reminiscence- See 4 different versions of the Chinese living room.
Your home then
Your home now
River of Wisdom
- The Scroll
- National Treasures
- Crystals of Civilization
Land of Hope
Land of Hope
- Green Homeland
- Under the Same Roof
- Rural-Urban Duet
Children’s Aspiration- 300m, 3.3m wide ring-shaped pedestrian ramp that is filled with artworks depicting the children’s ideals and wishes for the city and the world.
Children's Aspiration
Section 2: The Dialogue
This is basically about China’s past and present and moving towards modernization.
And we finally got on the monorail.
Section 3: The Vision
Focus on low-carbon future
Warning from Nature
Proper Exploration
Measured Consumption
Return to Simplicity
Fountain of Illumination
My only problem with the last part is that it may come off as too technical and hardcore for the laymen. The exhibits talk about the environment and a lot of facts and figures on combating pollution and how to go about a greener future.
But like I said, it's all eye-candy. So I guess, it's easy to understand.
4. Awesome architecture and cool water fountain
The China Pavilion is designed by He Jingtang who is the director of the Architectural Academy of the South China University of Technology. According to him, the pavilion includes many energy saving technologies. The exterior of the structure offers a temperature buffer zone and natural ventilation for the interior. The inverted shape of the pavilion acts as shading for entire building, and the roof harvests rainwater as well.
View from the bottom
Water fountain that forms words
5. Nice view going down
This is not much of a reason, but the ride down the escalator and just watching all those little people at the bottom is relaxing (after lining up in the other pavilions). And not to mention, good photo-op!
Organized people at the Expo
There is a video produced by Janek Zdzarski on the China Pavilion, and it captures perfectly on what to expect once you get the precious reservation voucher.
I did mention about “fighting” for the fast pass. What happened before was that my friend and I got different time slots on entering the China Pavilion. So we looked for others who can switch with us. It was a messy situation. But according to my Expo volunteer spy (actually, my language buddy), the time slots are no longer followed. As long as you get a reservation voucher, you’re good as in (for that day only of course).
