Dietmar Schmitz, Commissioner General of the German Pavilion, attends a press conference briefing on Germany’s participation in the Shanghai Expo 2010, in Beijing, March 23, 2010. ©Wang Guanqun

By Wang Guanqun

BEIJING, March 23 — The German Pavilion in the forthcoming 2010 World Expo Shanghai will present solutions devised by German industries and institutions to today’s most pressing urban problems, said Dietmar Schmitz, Commissioner General of the German Pavilion, in a news conference on Tuesday.

The German Pavilion, which will run from May 1 to the end of October 2010, is presenting itself as “balancity”, a city in balance, which is their explanation for the Expo Shanghai theme “Better City, Better Life”, Schmitz told reporters.

Speaking of the solutions to the urban problems, Schmitz gave an example of a flexible car-sharing model being practiced with success in Ulm, Germany.

“Car-sharing helps to protect the environment, it helps to use less energy, and it is more comfortable for people who live in the city to travel by car even if they don’t have a car by their own. It is a modern philosophy,” Schmitz said in an interview with Xinhuanet.

“We will also show a special system on how to lead the traffic,” said Schmitz, “by using this system, there will not be so many queues standing for the lights, and the traffic can move more fluently.”

Schmitz said earlier in a speech that urban planning resolutions also included “Hamburg’s ‘Umbau Ost’ urban redevelopment scheme along with its ‘HafenCity’ harbor conversion, and an innovative water purification system for Berlin’s Spree River.”

Talking about the solution to the reutilization of the pavilion itself, the commissioner said, “I have to admire the Shanghai Expo organizer, because they thought what should be done when Expo is over.”

“The Shanghai organizer asked all the international participants to rebuild their pavilions after the Expo… and make a green park in the area,” said Schmitz, “this is a very good idea to change the industrial site it was before into a park with a real after-use.”

According to Schmitz, the German Pavilion in Shanghai Expo is the biggest one Germany has ever had at an Expo. Some 8 to 9 million visitors are expected to visit the pavilion during the 184-day Expo.

On Xinhua Web site: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-03/23/content_13231763.htm

Ruslan Khozouz (L), diplomat of Jordan Embassy, speaks during an interview with Xinhuanet correspondent at the 7th Shanghai Expo International Forum held in Beijing, Nov. 12, 2009. ©Xinhuanet

By Wang Guanqun

BEIJING, Nov.13 — At the seventh Shanghai World Expo International Forum opened Thursday, representatives from the participating countries expected much from the 184-day world feast next year.

Some of them sought opportunities for further cooperation and development through the Expo.

Jon Trausti Saemundsson, Icelandic Embassy Project Manager, told Xinhuanet that the Shanghai Expo will be a great opportunity for both China and Iceland to learn from each other.

“I hope there is going to be a lot of business opportunities for both sides,” he added.

Arild Blixrud, Commissioner General of Norway for Expo 2010, agreed by saying, “We want to invite Chinese people to visit Norway; we want Chinese come and invest in Norway.”

For other representatives at the forum, the Expo will be a chance to find solutions to some of the world’s problems.

Maurice Strong, former UN under Secretary General and first executive director of the UN Environment Programme, said the Expo park “will become a great place to demonstrate the latest technologies that we need to adopt for climate change.”

“I think the Expo will give a tremendous boost to the prospect for a better climate,” he added.

Also others saw the Expo as dialogues between different cultures and civilizations.

“Most countries of the world are participating in the Expo. It is a kind of interaction of civilizations. Just like Iraq — we have Babylon, we have ancient places. So we can show them all in the Expo 2010,” Ziyad Tariq Alhiyali, representative from the Iraqi embassy said.

Representative from the Jordan Embassy Ruslan Khozouz believed the Shanghai Expo is a great platform for communication where diverse cultures clash. He said the Expo will open to the world a splendid window to understanding more about the Chinese and the Oriental civilizations.

The forum was co-hosted by the Shanghai Municipal Government and Bureau of International Expositions, under the theme “Shaping Urban Future with Global Wisdom.”

More than 300 representatives and Expo officials and organizers took part in the forum.

(Xinhuanet correspondents Hui Meng, Liu Li also contributed to the story.)

On Xinhua Web site: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/13/content_12447526.htm

Jon Trausti Saemundsson (L), Project Manager of Iceland Emassy, speaks during an interview with Xinhuanet at the 7th Shanghai Expo International Forum held in Beijing, Nov. 12, 2009. ©Xinhuanet

By Wang Guanqun

BEIJING, Nov. 13 — Guests participating in the seventh Shanghai World Expo International Forum said their countries are actively preparing for the upcoming Expo 2010, and revealed some of their ideas to Xinhuanet.

Canada’s Expo 2010 Commissioner General Mark Rowswell, commonly known as “Da Shan” in China, said based on the experience of the previous Expos, Canada puts a lot of efforts on the Expo 2010.

“Not to boast myself, but the cooperation between Cirque du Soleil and me would be a feature in the Canada pavilion,” the Chinese crosstalk star talked in fluent Chinese, “we will use our extraordinary imagination to embody our theme, a theme of the ‘vigorous city’.”

“After its open-up, I believe the Canada pavilion will be one of the most popular pavilions in the park,” he added.

But Rowswell declined to talk further on the details inside the pavilion, joking “if we reveal this too early, there will be many countries imitating us.”

Iceland Embassy representative Jon Trausti Saemundsson told Xinhuanet that since they come from Iceland, they are creating the Iceland pavilion like an ice cube.

“People coming to visit the pavilion will be transferred into the ice cube,” he said, “so people come in will come into an area that they can smell the nature of Iceland.”

Saemundsso said they will cool down the area, so people will feel the chilling. And on the visitors’ way out, they will be given ice water, which are imported from Iceland.

“So visitors will be walking in the Shanghai Expo park with the ice from Iceland,” he said.

Commissioner General of Norway for Expo 2010 Arild Blixrud said they will show harmony of the nature in their pavilion.

“We will build up a pavilion in wood, not steel. So when people come to our pavilion, they can touch the nature,” he said, “we want to remind them, keeping a good contact with nature will make a society a good place for living.”

“The United Nations has declared Norway as a very good country for living for sixth consecutive year, and we want to tell people why it is so,” said he.

The Jamaica representative said in the exhibition in the Caribbean pavilion, there will be a traditional beverage displayed. Besides, some of the world’s top athletes from Jamaica will be invited to the pavilion to join the activities with the visitors.

Thursday marked the 170 days countdown to the opening of 2010 Shanghai World Expo. According to the Shanghai organizer, constructions of most pavilions have been started in the Expo park, which is expected to see some 70 million visitors in the 184 exhibition days.

(Xinhuanet correspondents Hui Meng, Liu Li also contributed to the story.)

On Xinhua Web site: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/13/content_12447993.htm