I’ve started uploading the videos from this site to Youtube.
The Chile Pavilion at the World Expo was really cool. Chile was the first Latin American country to sign up for the 2010 Expo and it’s pavilion is one of the largest relationship building projects ever supported by the Chilean government. The pavilion was designed by Sabbagh Architects and features a steel and glass exterior that conceals a wooden exterior. The theme of the design is named “Sprout of a New City” and the exterior undulates like waves. Once you get inside, you will quickly notice the change in materials and the unique ways that the wooden walls have been put together. And then there is the giant wooden egg. This is the centerpiece of the pavilion and the entire pavilion seems to embraces it without actually touching the egg’s surface. The wooden members that cover the ceiling literally wrap around the space and the floor has an egg shaped distortion below the object.
Besides the really awesome interior design, there are several exhibits that were quite nice compared to many that I seen in Shanghai this year. For instance, did you know that if you dug a hole from Chile and went straight through the Earth’s core you pop out somewhere in China? The phrase “digging a hole to China” is quite popular in America but it’s technically incorrect. Chile on the other hand can say it all day long. There is also an exhibit that displays some of Chile’s urban planning techniques and another that focuses on how to understand the city. I really liked the exhibit that included a series of people that talked to you about how to improve daily life.
The channel glass walls on the exterior work into the green design of the building by providing lots of daylight without a huge sacrifice on insulation. There is also a green roof that is probably really helpful considering how hot it got in Shanghai this summer. Anyway, leaving the exhibit area will lead you into a kind of gift shop and mingling area where you can check out the wooden floors and the bottom of the egg. You can pick up some wine if you want. I would go see this one again because the line was short, the exhibits were informative and the overall design was inspiring.
At only about 2.5 m square, the Portugal exhibit in the Urban Best Practices Area (UBPA) was a really neat concept that took a smaller living space and extended it vertically. The structure was 3 stories tall and provided somewhere between 15 – 18 sq meters of living space with a tiny footprint. The kitchen and dining area is located on the first floor and is flanked on 3 sides by lots of glass that provide plenty of day lighting and views. This floor also includes a stainless steel WC with a giant window on the back wall so that you can watch the people going by while you do you’re business. Going up the tiny staircase (not ADA approved but ‘hey it’s China’) you’ll come to a tiny office and sitting area that include a small amount of storage. The staircase is open all the way to the top, which helps with the claustrophobia and allows for the ample day lighting to fill the space. It also allows you to drop stuff on people form above. Spilling a glass of water on the top floor would quickly become a three floor mess. Damn gravity. Anyway, continuing to the top floor you’ll find a reasonable side bed (that is very soft and a welcomed relief from my Expo hike) another small stainless steel WC with a shower. There is also a small balcony so you look down on all of the little people. Most of the windows on the 2nd and 3rd floor are covered with wooden slats (either on the interior or exterior) that help with privacy without disrupting the natural lighting.
The Portugal case was interesting and I’d think it would be neat to see a group of these scattered across a lawn but I don’t know if I’d enjoy living in one. The space is small and scurrying up and down those little stairs would get old fast. The place kind of reminded me of a child’s play house but I don’t mean that in a negative context. It was just fun. Perhaps it could work as a hotel or some other kind of high density temporary residence?
Wow! What a waste of space. You can always tell the pavilions that aren’t worth seeing when the line in front streams in as fast as the line in the back streams out. When you first enter the Argentina “pavilion”, you’ll be blown away by the empty void that makes up the interior. I’ve included a couple of photos and believe me that’s all there is so don’t bother. I can’t even imagine how bad this place would be during the day when the lights aren’t bright. One of the major themes of the Expo in Shanghai this year is sustainability and the fact that Argentina has built a building for nothing is really a smack in the face. At least Cuba sold rum. Muy bien chicos!
The Africa Pavilion was a nice get away from the hustle and bustle of the Expo. I’m just kidding of course. The Africa pavilion just cut out the line from it’s joint pavilion and lets people stream through in a mad rush to grab Expo passport stamps. And with around 50 countries being represented in one building there are lots of people hanging out in what is basically a warehouse. Now don’t get me wrong, the pavilion is worth visiting and it’s a great place to get out of the heat but the stamps have got to go.
Each country in this huge joint pavilion was allocated 320 sq. meters to show off the highlights of their country. Walking through the pavilion you will be amazed at how many countries you’ve never heard of because of Africa’s lack of representation in the developed world. The exhibits are on the small side and the information presented runs the gamut in terms of quality. The countries of Africa are all in various stages of development and as you visit one country after the other you can get of feel of the past, present and future in terms of standard of living, environmental efforts and urbanization.
The pavilion itself is located on the far end of the Expo site and is easy to spot because of it’s bright blueish purple color. The image that spreads across each gigantic side is a sunset sky as seen through the branches of a tree. There is a central stage for cultural performances but the best feature was the giant wall of faces that surrounded this stage. It was awesome!
Yea, I know you all missed me for the last 5 weeks or so but I’m back. My laptop crapped out about a week before my super awesome girlfriend arrived and it’s taking me this long to get everything back up and running. However, as I sure the couple of you regulars on this site may know, I document and backup like my life depends on it so there are a lot of new pictures and updates coming. Enjoy!
On our first day in Beijing, we decided to walk to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Both places are icons in Chinese history, both good and bad. This post is only going to focus on Tiananmen Square and the experience walking around. There are several memorials and monuments in the square and the surrounding areas. The tower of the Forbidden City (now known as the Tower of Tiananmen Square) is located at the north and this is where the heads of state and guess watch parades and tributes to China. In the center of the square is the Monument to the People’s Heroes. The monument is engraved with the saying from Chairman Mao…….”The People’s Heroes are Immortal”. It is also depicts the development of China in modern history. On the west side of the square is the Great Hall of the People and is where the People’s Congress holds meetings and other diplomatic activities. In the south of the square is the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao. Located in the hall is Chairman Mao himself…….and Frank says he is a nice shade of orange. On the east side of the square is the National Museum of China. The day was overcast and slightly raining but it didn’t stop the Chinese tourist basking in the glory of the square and jumping the line to see Chairman Mao. We didn’t get to go see the Chairman and drop off the basket of flowers Frank bought (okay I just made that up…….he didn’t buy flowers). We walked around the square and noticed they put up giant LED screens to broadcast commercials for Chinese Tourism. Walking around the square, I started getting a little uneasy, not from the people just the history. Earlier in the week, I typed in Tinanmen Square into Google images and it sent chills up my spine. Of course in China, Tiananmen Square is blocked as a search but I used a VPN in China……..take that Mao. In 1989, the Square was a prominent feature on world news and it wasn’t because it is beautiful. On June 4 1989, China laid down the hammer on the people. The world knows the event as Tiananmen Square Massacre but officially it is called the June Fourth Incident (funny how China sees it as just an incident). In 1989, several communist governments fell and Chinese students and intellectuals thought it would be a good time to see if China was wanting to change………..No it wasn’t. The protest started with the death of pro-democracy, anti corruption official, Hu Yaobang. About 100,00 mourners showed up at the square on the Eve of his funeral which was in April. The protest lasted for several weeks until the Government decided for the people that was enough. Most of what happened on June 4th actually took place outside of the square on the surrounding streets. One of the most iconic images of the late 20th century is “Tank Man”. One student, said to be Wang Weilin, walked in front of the oncoming tanks and refused to get out of the way. At one point, he climbed on top of the tank to talk to one of the soldiers, climbed down, and began to run away. He was whisked away by a group of people and never seen again……..you make up your own story about his disappearance. It wasn’t this image that kept coming into my head but another photograph I saw. The army was told to retake Tiananmen Square by 6 am. One of the photos on line shows what it means to take back the square by 6 am. I am not going to describe the photograph but it still hasn’t left my head. To everyone reading this from other nations, I know the US has had its bad times and we are not innocent. There are several incidents in our history that are just as tragic…..slavery for one, the massacre of millions of Native Americans is another. The message I am trying to get across is how utterly tragic and horrible we as people can be……at what cost do we cease being human and become expendable. This is what was in my head as we walked across the Square. It was also on this day that I wanted to come home to the US and not face any more history. On a final note, the motto of the Chinese army is “Serve the People”.
There is a saying in Beijing………If you don’t step onto the Great Wall, you are not a man. Well, I think we became men/women several times over this day. One of the things we wanted to do is climb the Great Wall and that is just what we did. First of course is a brief history of the Great Wall (entertaining and educating…….that’s what we are about). The Chinese began building the Wall in the Spring and Autumn period or 8th Century BC…….yep that’s right BC. Of course the intention was to keep out invaders from the northern part of China. The Great Wall stretches approximately 5,500 miles and consist of sections of wall, trenches, and natural hills and mountains. A lot of the Wall has been destroyed either naturally or by development. Prior to the Wall becoming a national treasure, local villages would use stones from the Wall to build their homes and roads. It has also been written you are able to see the Great Wall in outer space. I tend not to believe this for one reason……….Beijing is the most polluted city in the world. It is hard to see 3 blocks down the road let alone a wall from outer space. Our group traveled to a newly opened section of the wall in Badaling. This is an area is called the North Pass or Juyongguan Pass and is the most visited section of the Great Wall. If you feel like an adventure and want to see the wall in its more natural state, do not go to the tourist area of the Wall. The pictures most people see of the Wall are from the restored sections. The section of the Wall we visited was design to resemble a dragon, had 9 towers, and the head of the dragon and partially restored. Before beginning our climb, our guide (let me sidetrack for a moment………our guide was probably around 18 years old, taught himself English, and does this climb at least 5 times a week….the man was a machine) told us about the first section which had been destroyed between the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Trying to conquer the Qing dynasty, the Ming dynasty tried to find the best place to invade and went to the local farmers who showed the warriors the lowest part of the Wall. You can see where the Wall was completely destroyed in this area and clearly separated into different sections. When we arrived, it was cold and misty and everyone decided to put more clothes on……..all I can say is BIG MISTAKE! Next our little guide (yes he was little but a powerhouse) told us that we would be walking up to the first tower which was completely restored. When we got to the top of the first tower, let’s just say I was physically whipped. I started thinking it would be wise to start some form of exercise program when I got back to the US but for now it was a bit too late. Our guide gathered the group together and begin a his speech………If you thought that was hard and you don’t think you can continue, go back to the bus now. Part of me said go back to the bus but thankfully the other part of me won out and said no you can finish (I was a bit mad at that part for a while till my legs just went numb then I didn’t care). Two people took him up on his offer and went back to the bus (don’t do it, seriously you will be pissed). Our group consisted of 4 to 6 marathon runners who wanted to see how fast they could get to the end (don’t do it seriously, you will be pissed). We began our trek to the next Tower and all I can say is………WOW. We got lucky because it was misting and was around 21 celsius (70 farenheit) which made the hike an experience. Looking over the side of the Wall, you can tell why the Chinese decided to build the Wall…….the Mongolian side was basically straight down about 500 to 700 feet while the Chinese side was maybe a 5 foot drop. Our visibility was really low but for me it added to the experience. Also during the hike, the Chinese army was doing military drills firing weapons which also added to the entire experience (I got a little bit deep and just tried to put myself into a different time period and began thinking it was during one of the invasions). During our hike, we only ran into two other groups; a family of three and a group of Chinese workers restoring the wall (I got a picture of them). Of course the Wall has it’s tragic parts. When building the Wall, food and water was scarce and a lot of workers died. Instead of burying the dead, the Chinese just built the wall over top of them so it is also a graveyard. Sorry to end on such a creepy note but it is worth noting. Here is my advice; if you are out of shape and hate to exercise, have back, knee or feet problems, scared of heights (Kudos to Amy for overcoming her fear), don’t like to sweat, get dirty, or scratched up, and like big crowds, do an easier part of the wall. If you like an adventure and want to have a once in a lifetime experience and no crowds, do a section of the Great Wall like we did.
