China Pavilion at World Expo to be big and red
WORLD Expo Shanghai organizers unveiled a red, traditional design for the China Pavilion as construction on the structure started this morning.
The structure is named as "the crown of the East" as its most distinct feature is the roof. It will be made of traditional dougong brackets, which have a history of more than 2,000 years.
The dougong style features wooden brackets fixed layer upon layer between the top of a column and a crossbeam. Some important buildings in the Forbidden City and Summer Palace in Beijing feature elaborate dougong-style roofs.
China Pavilion's design was chosen from 344 entries submitted from all over the world and revised by experts, the organizers said.
The China Pavilion, covering an area of 6.52 hectares, will host a 20,000-square-meter exhibition inside based on the theme "Chinese wisdom in urban development" by explaining values about harmony, nature and spirit.
It will also include a national pavilion, a joint pavilion for provinces and cities as well as separate pavilions for Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Each province or city will get a 600-square-meter exhibition area in the pavilion.
Organizers have also launched a worldwide search for exhibition designs. Winning entries will be published in mid April.
Construction of the pavilion will be completed in two years.