Shanghai World Expo 2010 - China Pavilion

The China Pavilion is the mothership of all the pavilions. It is the biggest, tallest and most expensive pavilion - and covered in eye-catching Imperial Red. You can't miss it as you enter the Expo site.

The pavilion has 3 main parts - a podium level clad in a huge aluminium screen, a roof garden above the podium, and the top section which is like an inverted pyramid. Actually the shape is taken from the eave detail of traditional Chinese temple and palace architecture - traditionally stacked wooden beams placed in a crisscross pattern to extend the depth of the roof eave. In this case - the design has been blown up a few thousand times to become the form of an entire building. I must say this is one of the more successful appropriation of a traditional form for a modern building. The resulting structure is quite dramatic and iconic.


The podium level covered in a huge aluminium screen.


The crowd waiting to enter the pavilion.


China Pavilion at night.


To get into the China Pavilion, you need to queue outside the Expo site at 5:00 a.m. to get one of the 60,000 passes given out everyday. Then you queue again to get into the Pavilion. The line is 4 hours long. I didn't have the patience to wait that long, so could only admire the pavilion from the outside.

http://cwfoodtravel.blogspot.com/

Comments

Pegs said…
hahah ... mothership of pavilions! ;)
Borneoboy said…
Ya. I felt it kind of had the Darth Vader feel about it, don't you think ?
I guess the Chinese in China are used to waiting in line. I wonder when the Expo will ever be quick to access.

The China Pavilion is definitely stunning, and you got great pics of it, showing its scale. What purpose is the aluminum screen?

Love the new blog design, btw. It seems to load quicker.
Borneoboy said…
Hi Nate and Annie. Thanks for your compliments. And I am glad you like the new blog design.

The huge aluminium screens are to block off what I think are not so interesting spaces behind. If you take the screen away, I think it will only be a blank facade.

Popular Posts