Today (April 5, 2011) finds us standing in line to see the China Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo center (for 2 ½ hours). Last year China staged the 2010 world expo (worlds fair) in Shanghai where the theme was urban living. It was supported by over 25 nations and tried to showcase the history and future of urban living. I was anxious to see what was left of it (only the China Pavilion) as it received world acclaim for its portrayal of urban life.
The China exhibit traced the modern transformation of Chinese life from the 70’s till now and showed how drastically life in Shanghai has changed in the past 20 years. It has gone from the more traditional life style to that of a world class city in only 20 years. Well in my opinion, the landscape has changed but the people, traditions and real lifestyle has changed but only slightly. Obviously the creature comforts have changed a lot but it is difficult to change a way of life in only 20 years. The people do work hard but leadership is still lacking, and therefore productivity suffers, which they try to make up for by using more people (which seems to be in limitless supply). As you can see we found a few at expo.
One of the more awesome displays was a moving mural of an old Chinese style painting. This seemed to combine the old ways with the new technology which was a great way to show the current transition of the people. New technology aiding the old traditions. The rest of the displays and movies were less impressive but it was obvious that the government was trying to focus on the need to more to “Green living”. They had many examples showing how we can all use our resources more efficiently from using LED lights to using mass transportation to reduce the CO2 emissions. Clearly the government has seen the tremendous advancements in construction and some parts of the infrastructure but now in order to have a better life for future generations, we must all think of ways to reduce our carbon footprint. It is a great message and one that needs to be focused on for future growth and prosperity.
It is interesting to see the government looking after the welfare of the people and directing the future of the country. The people truly believe that the government is protecting their way of life and their traditions while looking out for the major issues affecting the country. It is like having a big brother.
The architecture of the China Pavilion was fantastic, it looked very much like a traditional Chinese structure which is an upside down building with the larger levels at the top. I am sure many of us have made such a structure when building with Lincoln logs. It was a beautiful day in the mid 60s with bright sunny skies. We also saw the last of the Cherry Blossoms which I really love. Unfortunately I missed seeing them in Japan once again due to the earthquake, but I guess I have one more chance next year. Spring is now here and we enjoyed another great day out at the “Venice of Shanghai”. We have made the most of our Memorial Day holiday. More on that on a later entry.
No comments:
Post a Comment