The World Expo 2005 Aichi in Japan amazed the world with its intelligent robots, innovative performances and its "green" thinking.
Next year, at the Shanghai World Expo, the country that has hosted five World Expos aims to continue its glory on the Expo stage.
Along the Huangpu River, about 500 spectators sit in a traditional wooden theater, enjoying a modern opera. Many robots walk among the spectators. They will welcome people and some will even lend a hand to seniors. Several robots will play violins. This will be the Japan Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo.
The Japan Pavilion has secured a 6,000-square-meter plot at the Expo site, neighboring the South Korea Pavilion and close to the China Pavilion. The 24-meter-high pavilion is the largest and most costly the country has ever built for a World Expo.
The pavilion is a semi-circular structure, covered by a purple membrane material. Its facade is similar to China's National Aquatics Center, or Water Cube, in Beijing. Several antennae and caves make the pavilion a "breathing organism," which will express the harmony between the human heart and technology.
The pavilion has been dubbed "Purple Silkworm Island" by Chinese people.
The pavilion will use solar energy collection batteries hidden in the double-layer membrane, and the cave will collect rainwater to spray on its exterior surface to keep temperatures cool.
Inside the pavilion, Japan will express the "harmony between the human heart and technology," its exhibition theme.
Journey through time
The pavilion will be divided into past, present and future exhibits. People will experience a journey from ancient times into the future within a one-hour visit, says Yasuhito Harayama, senior official of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
At the "past zone," the friendship between China and Japan will be highlighted. Historic cases such as a Chinese envoy's visit to Japan in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) and expertise such as Nishijin weaving will be showcased to highlight the cultural connections between the two countries.
Japan's modern energy saving and water purification technologies will be exhibited in the "present zone." The exhibition will focus on three topics: water source protection, global warming and the aging problem.
The "future zone" will feature a modern opera developed by both Chinese and Japanese directors. It will be the centerpiece of the pavilion.
The opera will tell the story of a rare bird that has avoided extinction in Japan with the help of China.
'Beautiful future'
The crested ibis was declared extinct in Japan in the 1970s. The Chinese government began giving some of its stock to Japan in the 1990s and the birds managed to re-establish themselves in Japan.
The opera will be easy to understand, with children its prime target audience, says opera creator Makoto Sato.
"I am trying to send a message to the next generation that we will provide a beautiful future," Sato says.
The production will involve some traditional Chinese opera such as Kunqu Opera, says Danny Yung, the Chinese co-director.
The Japanese Expo team will soon begin recruiting Chinese actors for the opera. High-tech robots may also be involved.
The 20-minute opera will be performed in the pavilion's 500-seat theater many times each day during the Expo, Sato says.
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