London debut for treasures from Shanghai

Chinese and British officials are pictured at the opening ceremony of the exhibit.

Song Chao, director of the Information Office of the Shanghai Municipality, grants a certificate to British singer Sarah Brightman. Brightman has become the official Shanghai 2010 World Expo Promotion Ambassador in Britain.

scene of the press conference of Shanghai Week in London

Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, answers reporters' questions at the press conference.

Zhu Yonglei, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, answers reporters' questions at the press conference.

The British Museum has celebrated the launch of Shanghai Week in London with the opening of "Treasures from Shanghai," a spectacular collection of 60 ancient Chinese jade and bronze masterpieces on show in Europe for the first time.

"This exhibition brings to London pieces of superlative quality rarely seen outside China itself," said the exhibition's guest curator Jessica Rawson.

"The Neolithic jades on display are astonishing, particularly those that feature fine designs of strange human-like figures, birds and monsters with large teeth."

She added: "The Shanghai Museum houses one of the world's greatest collections of Chinese art."

Chen Kelun, deputy director general of the Shanghai Museum, said the exhibition would provide "insights into the time-honored urban civilization and etiquette of China" and identify themselves with the theme of the World Expo to be held in Shanghai next year.

The month-long exhibition is another example of the British Museum's collaboration with China after the exhibition "First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army" in 2007.

Officials check the model of the China Pavilion.

A photographer takes photos on the model of the China Pavilion.

promotion posters on The Times

scene of the exhibition

Shanghai Week is designed to commemorate the increasingly close relationship between Britain and China, and showcase the heritage and culture of Shanghai as it prepares for the World Expo.

Other highlights include a seminar at the Victoria and Albert Museum entitled "From London to Shanghai: Inheritance and innovation - wisdom in urban development" and a photographic exhibition at City Hall - "Shanghai and Shanghai Exposition."

Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng and Boris Johnson, his London counterpart, sent congratulatory messages to Shanghai Week organizers.

Meanwhile, Sarah Brightman, who sang at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, has been named Shanghai 2010 World Expo Promotion Ambassador in Britain.

Grenada delegates visit bureau

scene of the meeting

Hu Jinjun, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, presents a gift to senator Arley Gill who also serves as the Minister of State for Youth Empowerment, Culture & Sports of Grenada.

A delegation led by senator Arley Gill who also serves as the Minister of State for Youth Empowerment, Culture & Sports of Grenada visited the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination this afternoon.

Hu Jinjun, deputy director general of the bureau, invited Grenada to stage performances with a Caribbean flavor during the Expo.

Grenada will exhibit at a joint pavilion for the Caribbean Community.

Yao Ming gears up for Expo

NBA star Yao Ming will appear at an Expo gala on July 5 as an Expo ambassador to help raise donations for children who suffered in the Sichuan earthquake and those in impoverished regions.

Money raised at the gala will be used to buy Expo 2010 tickets for these children.

The basketball player will also participate in other Expo events to raise eco-friendly awareness among the public on July 5, which will mark the 300-day countdown to the Expo.

Yao said he was excited about Expo and would do everything he could to fulfill his role as an ambassador

Expo songs available on mobile phones

China Mobile has uploaded a series of Expo songs to its Website (www.12530.com) today.

China Mobile users will be able to download Expo songs on the Website. The first 34 songs have been available, including "Better City Better Life" sang by Sky Wu.

China Mobile users can log on the Website or send SMS or dial 12530999 to download

Music carnival hits the right note

Students perform with Expo 2010 mascot Haibao.

Australian people pose with Haibao.

An Expo-themed music carnival is touring the world. It involves a bunch of musical and cultural exchange programs that bring students across the planet together.

The debut concert of the carnival was staged on June 26 at Fudan University in Shanghai. This was followed by a performance of Chinese student choir, dance troupe and symphony orchestra at the closing ceremony of the 20th Australian International Music Festival on July 12.

Chinese students performed Expo-themed songs and danced with Expo 2010 mascot Haibao at the Sydney Opera House to promote the event to their overseas peers.

Other stops on the global tour have not yet been determined as details are still being worked out.

The carnival was organized by the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination and will run through the Shanghai World Expo, which ends on October 31, 2010.

During the Expo, students from nearly 100 top universities such as Harvard, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge will perform and conduct cultural exchanges with their Chinese counterparts from Tsinghua, Peking, Fudan and Jiaotong universities.

Organizer issues posters of Expo ambassadors

Expo 2010 poster

Expo 2010 poster

Expo 2010 poster

Expo 2010 poster

The Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination has issued four posters featuring cartoon images of three World Expo 2010 ambassadors - movie star Jackie Chan, pianist Lang Lang and NBA star Yao Ming.

The China Pavilion, the landmark Oriental Pearl TV Tower as well as Haibao, the Expo's mascot, are also featured on the posters, which read "Welcome to Expo 2010 Shanghai China."

More posters will be released in line with the different stages of Expo preparations.

Media watchdog officials visit Expo bureau

A delegation headed by Sun Shoushan, deputy chief of the General Administration of Press and Publication, yesterday visited the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination.

Sun visited the construction site of China Pavilion and toured the bureau's exhibition hall where the 2010 event's master plan can be found. He also got a view of the Expo site from atop the building.

The heart and soul of Japan to be on display at Expo

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.

Yangzhou signs deal to exhibit in UBPA

scene of the signing ceremony

Yangzhou City in Jiangsu Province will display the city's livable environment and its heritage protection practices in World Expo 2010's Urban Best Practices Area.

The city signed a participation contract with the organizer yesterday to exhibit in the third type of presentation planned for the UBPA, which involves forums with the use of multimedia.

Yangzhou is famous for its well-preserved gardens as well as Slender Western Lake. It has a history dating back at least 2,500 years.

UK minister confident of Expo showcase

Lord Davies of Abersoch (center), United Kingdom's Minister for Trade, Investment and Business, and Fu Ying (right), Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom, visit the under-construction UK Pavilion at the Expo site.

Lord Davies of Abersoch, United Kingdom's Minister for Trade, Investment and Business, and Fu Ying, Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom, learn about the progress of the UK Pavilion.

Lord Davies of Abersoch, United Kingdom's Minister for Trade, Investment and Business, said in Shanghai today that he views the 2010 World Expo as a platform to "showcase British excellence and creativity."

He made the remarks this morning during a visit to the under-construction UK Pavilion at the Expo site.

"The United Kingdom is committed to having an outstanding entry at the Expo," Davies noted, adding that reducing the country's Expo budget has not been considered.

He also expressed confidence that the UK's display would be memorable. "I think the pavilion will be very impressive and exciting and visitors will love it," he said.

Fu Ying, Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom, and Carma Elliot, British consul general in Shanghai, also visited the site with representatives from five British corporations — Diageo, BP, GKN, AstraZeneca and Barclays, which are sponsors of the pavilion.

The UK Pavilion will look like a huge "light box" with thousands of needle-like protrusions which will extend from the structure and quiver in the breeze.

During the day, each of these 7.5-meter long rods will act like fibre optic filaments, drawing on daylight to illuminate the interior, thereby creating a contemplative awe-inspiring space. At night, light sources at the interior end of each rod will allow the whole structure to glow.

Britain will also embed more than 60,000 seeds into the structure of its pavilion to urge people to protect natural species from extinction.

Construction on the pavilion began in March.