Shanghai World Expo 2010 - The Middle-East Pavilions

Most of the pavilions of the Middle East are from oil-rich countries, and cost was of no concern compared to putting up a good and impressive show. Saudi Arabia reputedly spent over 100 USD on their pavilion which is like a boat planted with date trees on top. Though most of them have money to burn, design-wise they are quite a mixed bag.

The mother of all the Middle-East pavilions has got to be the Saudi Arabia Pavilion. It is shaped like a boat, supposedly loaded with "dreams and friendship" as a gift for China. With date palms planted on the top deck, and floated on slender legs, the pavilion looks a bit surreal and looked like it had just sailed in from somewhere. It’s no wonder this is one of the most popular pavilions at the Expo. The record waiting time was about 9 hours! Forget about getting in unless you have World-class patience.


The next most expensive Middle-East Pavilion is probably The UAE (United Arab Emirates) Pavilion. Its shape is designed to evoke the sand dunes of the deserts. To me it looked more like a gigantic set of sensuous lips. Clad entirely in gold-coloured stainless steel, you can literally see where the money is spent. They even employed starchitect Forster & Partners from UK to design the pavilion.


The Arab's love of horses is evident here.


This is a rendering of the UAE Pavilion. You can't really see this view on Site. Don't you think they look like gigantic lips ?


The Israeli Pavilion looked like something Frank Gehry would have done, but based on my Google search it was actually designed by Israeli architect Haim Zotan. The Chinese have nicknamed this pavilion “The Seashell” and I can see why.


The Qatar Pavilion. Not much to talk about.


Even Iran and Pakistan are represented.

The Iran Pavilion.


The Pakistan Pavilion.

Shanghai World Expo 2010 - The Asian Pavilions Part II

In Part II of my post on the Asian pavilions, we move closer to home. First up is Taiwan Pavilion. I am not sure what it represents - it looks like a slightly weird office building. On one side is a huge glass-covered structure which contains a globe-shaped LCD screen. I think the effect would be better at night.


The Singapore Pavilion looks like a huge metal drum with spikes sticking out from the sides. Again it is difficult to work out the concepts behind the design - as it bears no visual connection to Singapore, and the form doesn't seem to follow any particular function. Is it a a gun turret, or a missile silo for Dr. Strangelove ? Still it was quite dramatic to look at.


Finally we come to the Malaysia Pavilion. Frankly I was a bit disappointed. This was our moment to shine, and we could only trot out the tired old Minangkabau Roof. It looked more like a Tourism Malaysia project - and it probably was. The only saving grace was the beautiful batik painting on the roof - which were hand-painted by several batik artists from Malaysia. Better effort next time - Malaysia !


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Shanghai World Expo 2010 - The Asian Pavilions Part I

The Shanghai World Expo is more about design pyrotechnics then technological innovation. Most countries who are serious about their participation have pulled out all the stops to create show-stopping pavilions which look stunning from the outside.

Here I would like to share with you my pictures of some of the Asian pavilions.

India Pavilion. It has a beautiful planted dome. The planning and form is quite Classical - kind of like a temple.


The Nepal Pavilion. Quite intricate and exotic. The open dome-shaped structure in the middle is very interesting.


The Thai Pavilion. It looked just like a Thai Palace. Exotic dancers entertain the crowd while they wait to enter the pavilion.


Now for something completely different. The Japan Pavilion. The Aliens have landed ! The pavilion is covered in ETFE - a high-tech plastic. It is given a pinkish hue which makes the whole building look a bit organic. Looks like it came right out of the pages of an anime - strangely fitting for a Japan Pavilion.


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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.

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Shanghai World Expo 2010 - Waiting, Waiting, and More Waiting !

The Shanghai World Expo 2010 organizers wants this to be the biggest World Expo ever. The theme is quite fitting and timely - "Better City - Better Life". In this age of overcrowded streets, Global Warming and diminishing resources, we really need to find a better way to live, and hopefully this Expo will show the way. Unfortunately from my visit, I did not see anything life-changing or revolutionary in terms of technology. Maybe I did not look hard enough.

The Site for the Expo is more then 5 sq. km. It is the biggest Expo Site ever. More then 200 countries are represented. The Expo was opened on 30th April 2010 and will officially close on 31st October 2010. The organizers have set themselves an almost impossible goal of achieving a total of more then 70 million visitors. That means they need around 400,000 visitors everyday !

The visitor numbers in the initial weeks must have been a bit nerve wrecking for the organizers - it was below half the expected numbers required - averaging less then 200,000. Now the visitors have hit their stride - it is averaging above 300,000 per day, more then 500,000 on weekends !

With so many visitors, it is a given that you can't visit all the pavilions you want. The China Pavilion is limited to 60,000 visitors per day - and passes, though free, need to be collected from 5:00 a.m. in the morning. There is a long queue even to collect the passes.

If you are visiting the Expo, be prepared to wait, wait and wait some more. The waiting time to popular Pavilions average around 3 to 4 hours. I am not trying to discourage you from visiting, but you definitely need a good stamina, strong determination and great patience to make it through the long day. Some of the local visitors bring along portable chairs to ease their legs during the waits, but when nature calls I don't know what you are going to do ! If you leave the line, be prepared to queue again.

A Day Pass costing RMB 160 gives you a full day access to the Expo.


The main entrance to the Expo is from the Pudong side, and once you pass though the gate you will be faced with this gigantic shaded structure which is the "Expo Axis". This will be a permanent structure which will be used as a transport, commercial and exhibition space after the Expo. It has 3 main levels - an upper deck covered in fabric tent structures, and a lower deck which is like a shopping arcade with lots of shops, restaurants and cafes. There are 6 cone-shaped "sun valleys" which penetrate through all the levels to bring light into the internal spaces.


From the Expo Axis, elevated walkways provide connection to all the pavilions on the Pudong side. These walkways are well shaded by umbrella structures and are a great relieve from the hot sun. They also provide a nice vantage point to view the pavilions and expo grounds.


Be prepared to wait, wait and wait to enter the popular pavilions.