Editor’s note: In December 1st, 2005, The Application for Registration of Expo 2010 Shanghai was approved by the 138th General Assembly of Bureau International Expositions. After its approval, The Application for Registration has attracted extensive attention from all over the world. The Application for Registration is the legal document on the complete implementation program of Expo 2010 Shanghai China, and also serves as the fundamental guideline for the Expo preparation. Therefore, the whole preparation work of the Expo will be the active implementation  process on the basis of the Application.for Registration In order to make it more convenient for all sorts of people home and abroad to understand the Application for Registration comprehensively, we hereby publish the abstracts of the Application for Registration on the official website of Expo 2010. The following is the “Application for Registration of Expo 2010 Shanghai

4. Theme Development and the Classification of Exhibition Activities

Expo.com: The Application for Registration of Expo 2010 Shanghai has attracted extensive attention from all over the world, after its approval on December 1st, 2005 by the 138th representative members’ convention of the Bureau of International Exhibitions. The Application is the legal document on the complete implementation program of Expo 2010 Shanghai China, and also serves as the fundamental outline for the Expo preparation. Therefore, the whole preparation procedure of the Expo will be the active process on the basis of the Application. We here publish the abstracts of the Application for Registration on the official website of Expo 2010, in order to make it more convenient for all sorts of people home and abroad to understand the Application comprehensively. The followings are the “Application for Registration of Expo 2010 Shanghai (Abstract 4)- Theme Development and the classification of the Exhibition Activities”.

4.1 Connotations of the Theme 4.1.1 Background

The theme of the World Expo 2010 Shanghai is “Better City, Better Life”. The topic originates from thousands of years of human civilization. In the meantime, selection of the theme is the continuation of a 154-year tradition of the World Expositions, whose themes have always reflected a common concern or interest of humankind at a particular historical stage.

With the fast urbanization of human society, improving the functioning of cities as the major carrier of and mechanism for modern human life, and building a harmonious relationship between cities and their rural hinterland are becoming increasingly important on the global agenda. A super-large city in the Asian-Pacific region, Shanghai, China was honored at the turn of the century with the opportunity to host the World Expo 2010, the very first Expo in history with a theme on cities. Expo 2010 will be a landmark occasion for reviewing the urban history of humankind and for mapping out the future of urban development.

Mr. Loscertales, Secretary General of the International Bureau of Expositions, once said that the World Expo is a super event for a nation and a super event for global communication of knowledge through its theme. A sound theme development is the starting point of a successful World Expo. In preparation for the Expo 2010, the Organizer ought to conduct in-depth exploration of the theme and its sub-themes, which leads to a well-rounded interpretation of the theme and serves as the basis for participants to design exhibition content. Meanwhile, the Organizer will fully incorporate its understanding of the theme into the planning and designing of the China National Pavilion, the theme pavilions, as well as the events, symposia and forums to be held during the Expo, so that the Expo 2010 can truly be a great platform for displaying the past, present and future of cities and for the communication of knowledge about urban development. In addition, because Expo 2010 will be the very first registered World Expo to be held in a developing country, Shanghai has proposed, as far back as during the bidding stage, to bring the maximum number of developing countries to the Expo 2010. In the meantime, every effort will be made to construct a platform between the developed world and the developing world so that countries at varying stages of urbanization may benefit from one another’s experience in creating better cities and better life.

This Theme Development embodies the understanding and interpretation of the theme by the Organizer at the current stage. The initial concepts for the China National Pavilion and the plans for thematic area are also laid out in the second part of this chapter, including the exhibitions, events, symposia and forums.

a. Crystallization of human civilization

The City is the crystallization of human civilization. Just as the American social philosopher Lewis Mumford put it, “The city is a special structure which, fine and compact, has been designed to preserve the fruits of human civilization.” Many western languages derived their versions of “Civilization” from the same Latin word “Civitas” (meaning “City”), and it is by no means a coincidence. By virtue of its embracive and regenerative nature, the city has played a significant role in the perfection of order in the human society, the fusion and evolvement of cultures and the accumulation of wealth. Created by humankind, the city has rewarded humankind with a rich, exquisite and wonderful life. Behind the city walls, people are able to enjoy a safer, more comfortable and more convenient life. Through development of cities and their interaction with the rural areas, these benefits are enabled to spread into other parts of human society. In cities, various cultures and customs meet, interact and fuse with each other; elements of production force agglomerate and turn into huge momentum for growth. It is also in the cities that the innovative buds in people’s mind find their hotbeds, which trigger off breathtaking technology revolutions. Within a city, the urban community is believed to be  basic units where all these evolutions in culture, economy, science and technology were sensed and experienced by its residents, while outside the city, urban-rural interaction enhances development in both cities and the countryside.

b. Challenges facing the city

In the year 1800, only 2% of the global population lived in cities, but by 1950, the figure had risen to 29%，and by this year (2005), 3.2 billion out of 6.5 billion world population are living in cities. According to an estimate of the United Nations, by 2010, the urban population will have accounted for 55% of the human population.

There is no denying, however, that the city today, due to its high-density living pattern, is faced with a series of challenges, such as spatial conflicts, cultural collisions, resource shortage and environment degeneration. In some developed countries, city residents are disturbed by these problems and have come to doubt the future of urban life. In developing countries, where urbanization is in full swing, people are suffering from pollution, congestion and disorder in the city, which is always their dream land. Unless effective control measures are taken, the unchecked expansion of cities will aggravate these problems and in consequence the quality of urban life will be eroded.

c. 2010 in Shanghai, China

In the 21st century, it is more urgent than ever for human beings to study these urban issues for proper solutions. On December 3rd, 2002, the 132nd General Assembly of the BIE selected Shanghai, China as the host city for Expo 2010, which shows not only the BIE’s recognition of the capacity of China and the city of Shanghai in hosting such an event, but more importantly, the profound concern of the BIE or even the whole world over the urban issues.

As one of the four major ancient civilizations, China had developed brilliant urban cultures in the early ages of human history. A considerable number of cities in China boast a history of over a thousand years. They collectively represent the essence of Chinese culture and constitute part of the world’s cultural heritage. China has one fifth of the global population, 5 ten-million-population cities, and as many as 102 one-million population cities. Over the past two decades, urban population in China has undergone a rapid increase. From 1978 to 2000, the percentage of urban population in the total population of China rose from 17.9% to 36.1%. Faced with the challenges brought about by rapid urbanization, the Chinese Government is committed to constructing sustainable cities. At the juncture of the past and the future, China is ready to take an active part in the dialogues and cooperation for building sustainable urban life globally.

Shanghai is a legendary city itself. It was not until the mid 19th century, a time when the modern World Exposition took its first breath, when Shanghai started its evolution towards being a city. Ever since, the city has gone through every stage of urbanization, from birth, growth, gradual maturity to the present scale and strength. Today, standing at the meeting point of the East and West, the city of Shanghai would let its door wide open to people from all over the world who may display and share, in a city full of vision, passion and determination, the radiant colors of urban life and the solutions to the urban challenges. 4.1.2 Theme–Better City, Better Life

The Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements issued at the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) reaffirms, “Our cities must be places where human beings lead fulfilling lives in dignity, good health, safety, happiness and hope.” All the problems facing the city, including congestion, pollution, crime and conflicts, are believed to originate in discords between man and nature, between man and man, and between spiritual and material lives. It is also maintained that such discords, if left unattended, will inevitably lead to the decline of life quality in cities and even the degeneration of human civilization.

It is in face of such discords that Expo 2010 Shanghai China proposes the concept of “City of Harmony” as a response to the appeal for “Better City, Better Life.”

Harmony was a core proposition of ancient Chinese philosophy that advocated harmony between people, between man and heaven, and between body and soul. In the Book of Rites, one of the Five Classics of Confucianism and which imagines and describes a Society of Great Harmony, Confucius told his disciples that “When the Grand course was pursued, a public and common spirit ruled all under the sky; they chose men of talents, virtue, and ability; their words were sincere, and what they cultivated was harmony.” Other philosophers of different schools in the pre-Qin dynasties also envisioned a harmonious society in their works.

Harmony was also an ideal of ancient western philosophers. The ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras (582–496 BC) proposed and expounded the theory of harmony in a systematic manner, holding that harmony entails antinomy and unity. A contemporary of Pythagoras, the Greek pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus (about 535–475 BC), proposed similarly that “harmony invisible [is] superior to the visible.” In Republic and Laws, Plato conceived an ideal state where “the whole society will attain perfectly harmonious development and all social classes will enjoy the happiness that nature bestows on them.”

Over the past centuries, human beings have never stopped their search for models of harmonious cities. A series of theories, propositions and models, from More’s Utopia to Ledoux’s Idealized City and then to Howard’s Garden City, are all intended to achieve balance and harmony in terms of space, order, and spiritual and material input and output. Since the 1980s, the concept of sustainable development has risen as a fundamental solution to the environmental and development issues. Governments around the world, in their local versions of Agenda 21, have formulated development strategies that more or less center on harmony between man and city, between man and nature, and finally between the current generation and the future generations. It can be clearly seen that the quest for the “City of Harmony” has run through urban history of humankind, and have increasingly become a highlight in our blue print of the future city.

The “City of Harmony” is fundamentally constructed upon harmony between human beings and nature, between man and man, and between spiritual and material realms. The results, in turn, are manifested in the harmonious co-existence of diverse cultures, the harmonious development of economy in the city, the harmonious life in the age of science and technology, the harmonious functioning of communities–the cells of the city, and the harmonious interactions between urban and rural areas. The “City of Harmony” will usher in new thinking and practice in urban planning and urban management and will take them onto a higher stage of development. 4.1.3 Sub-themes

Expo 2010 will illustrate the concept of “City of Harmony” from five perspectives, namely, culture, economy, science and technology, communities, and rural-urban linkages. It is obvious that the five perspectives, or sub-themes, are independent from each other, but closely interrelated at the same time. In the process of developing of the sub-themes both the historical and contemporary perspectives have been adopted. The connections between the sub-themes are also duly covered.

a. Blending of diverse cultures in the city

Ever since its birth, the city has been accommodating the co-existence of different groups of people and different cultures, so the blend of diverse cultures is a special scene in the city. In the process of urban development, military conflicts, trade and migration have led to and even driven the collision and blending of multiple cultures, finally forming the unique style of each city. The style stems on the one hand from the cultural heritage and creative industries of the city, and on the other reflects the life style and value orientation of city inhabitants of all social sectors.

Today, all countries in the world are paying more attention than ever to cultural freedom and cultural identity. In the climate of globalization, urban culture is subject to multiple impacts. For one thing, the prevalence of global or regional brands has led to the standardization of urban cultures, and the contact and collision between the relatively strong and weak cultures, between the foreign and the native cultures, and between the immigrant and the mainstream cultures, have never been more intense due to the free flow of information and people.

Cultural diversity also means a harmony between the past and the future. The city is a key locus for heritage conservation, but the desire for economic development and modernization tends to pose a threat to the survival of tradition and heritage in cities. In the meantime, thanks to the rapid speed of information transmission and digital technology today, more and more people are brought to the awareness of the protection of material and non-material heritages under threat.

b. Economic prosperity in the city

The earliest cities had risen on the basis of bazaars, and agglomeration effect has played a critical role in the economic development in the city as a driving power. The urban economic prosperity may rely on its advantageous location, or its natural resources, or its human resources. In the age of knowledge economy, however, innovation and entrepreneurship have become the core dynamic for sustainable economic development in the city. The innovation potential of the city depends on its research capacities, and more importantly on the creative interactions between people. Although closely connected with wealth of the city, entrepreneurship has for the most part derived from a cultural tradition that encourages risk-taking and business ventures. As innovation and entrepreneurship have to be carried out by people, the economic fate of the city depends on whether there are good work and living conditions to attract first-rate talents. In addition, good infrastructure facilities and consummate services will be a necessary support for economic prosperity in the city.

Admittedly, conflicts exist between economic development and environmental conservation. In order to achieve the goal of sustainable development, many cities in the world today have adopted Recycle Economy as an important economic strategy. Recycle Economy advocates Reduction of resource consumption in production, Reuse of products, and Recycling of wastes (3Rs), aiming to achieve in the end a harmony between economic development and environmental well-being.

In a word, economy in the future city will be more vigorous, and such vigor will come mainly from two sources: innovation and creativity of urban dwellers, and harmonious coexistence with nature.

c. Innovation of science and technology in the city

A huge platform for technological advancement, the city brings together various elements of innovation. The intensive communication among creative minds within the city produces sparks of innovation, and the research and production facilities in the city have at the same time helped to turn these sparks into technologies, and further into products and services that benefit humankind.

Ever since the 20th century, rapid technological development has made extensive urbanization possible. Meanwhile, the enrichment and improvement of material life are most clear and obvious in the city. While the dream of flight has been a factual reality for just a hundred years, human has left its footprints on Mars. People have benefited greatly from science and technology in their day-to-day life, in their ways of communication, in healthcare and in wealth accumulation. In the meantime, the revolution of material life has left clear marks on people’s cultural life and spiritual pursuit.

Today, when people observe the space through Hubble Space Telescope or reform life through genetic engineering, they are more clearly aware than ever of the limitation of science and technology. Science and technology are not omnipotent after all, and will not serve as a tool or weapon for humankind to conquer nature; instead, they should serve as a catalyst for symbiosis between human beings and nature.

In the future city, science and technology will play a more constructive role in the conservation of nonrenewable resources, in the efficient use of energies, in the protection of bio-diversity, and in the building of a sustainable habitat models. In a word, science and technology will take humankind back to the embrace of Mother Nature.

d. Remodeling of communities in the city

Communities are cells of the city, and the most common form of space for life. Only healthy “cells” can make a healthy and harmonious city. The goals of cultural blending and economic prosperity are all attained in communities as most basic living quarters.

Construction and remodeling of communities in the city have always been the most urgent tasks of city administrators. It is the most lasting puzzle in the history of urban development as to how poverty-ridden areas can be eliminated from the social map of the city. Today, the structural change of urban population in developed countries and the rapid increase of urban population in developing countries have made the puzzle even more disturbing. In the Millennium Declaration, the United Nations proposes the goal of Cities without Slums, aiming to achieve a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.

Directed by the goal of sustainable development, community remodeling in the city of the 21st century will entail the creation of balanced communities, and the reduction or even elimination of gray or dark corners in the city. A balanced community shall, by our definition, feature a reasonable structure of residents, reasonable housing ownership structure, sound infrastructure, congenial environment and sufficient employment and business opportunities.

Communities in the future city will be featured by strong social cohesion, and a harmonious interaction with the city and other cells of the city. Human beings will always be at the center of the creation of better life in better communities.

e. Rural-urban Interaction

Ever since the city was born, urban and rural areas have been mutually interdependent in terms of economy, social activities and the environment. Rural residents have made a living by selling their farm produce to the city, while the prosperity of the city has depended on the resources and demand from its hinterland.

The expansion of the city has placed a considerable burden on the rural area, consuming or even depleting land and other resources in the countryside. New thinking in urban planning and new architectural and energy technologies will help to relieve the burden to the greatest extent. At the same time, the massive influx of immigration from rural areas will also pose a tough threat to city administrators. For one thing, the construction and renovation of communities in the city will create a better living environment for the urbanized population, and for another, the construction of small cities and towns will help to control the pace of growth of big cities. Under the influence of globalization, agriculture in some countries has lost its competitive advantage. Sufficient interactions between the city and the countryside have become a necessity to help farmers diversify livelihood, or to remodel the production structure so as to regain competitiveness. A proper management of the flow of people, capital, commodities and information between urban and rural areas is the key to a harmonious and synchronized development of both the city and the countryside.

At the moment, about a half of the global population is rural, and in Asia and Africa in particular, a large population is still living in the rural areas. In light of the huge divide between the city and the countryside in developing countries, international organizations are urging people to harness the linkages between urban and rural areas to reduce urban poverty and to improve rural living conditions.

With the urbanization, the boundary between the city and the countryside has kept fading away, and the rural-urban relationship is getting closer. In some sense, harmony in the future city will depend to a great extent on an equally habitable and harmonious hinterland in the countryside.

4.2 Thematic Area / China Pavilion of Expo 2010 4.2.1 Thematic Area

The exhibition and activities in the thematic area are an all-round expression of the theme by the Organizer, in cooperation with participants. It is not an exaggeration to say that the thematic area is one of the most anticipated parts of an Expo and often underpins the success of the event by elevating the Expo from mere physical exhibitions up to meaningful intellectual conversation of humankind. The thematic area is equipped with a whole variety of facilities and spaces, which will be filled up with exhibitions and activities of various forms, in order to effectively create the universal dimension of an Expo.

The thematic area of Expo 2010 is found in Section B and Section E in the master plan. It is composed of mainly spaces of four types of space for use:

l          Space for Exhibition

l          Space for Events

l          Space for Thematic Discussions

l          Space for Services

The description of the thematic area is based on the categorization of spaces.

a. Exhibition

Spaces: Theme Pavilions / World Expo Museum / The Interaction & Experience Zone

Theme Pavilions

There will be five theme pavilions in Expo 2010. The five theme pavilions will be named “Eternal City”, “Dynamic City”, “Innovative City”, “Evergreen City”, and “Livable City” respectively. The content of each one of them will correspond to one sub-theme. However, that is by no means exclusive. Since the five sub-themes are intricately interconnected, efforts will be made to bring out the inherent links between the sub-themes through exhibition design.

 The World Expo Museum

Besides the theme pavilions, another important part of the exhibition space in the thematic area is the World Expo Museum. During the Expo, the Organizer will join hand with a few world famous museums to stage a World Expo Show. The show will also draw on other resources to be the most comprehensive display of the history of World Expo so far. 

Besides the World Expo Show, during the Expo, the Organizer will also cooperate with famous museums from other parts of the world to run traveling exhibition of the classic collections of those museums. That will give visitors to the Expo a bonus–they would have opportunities to browse the essences of other cultures. After the Expo, the Museum will be kept permanently as a venue for the traveling exhibition of historical and art pieces from around the world.

The “ City of Harmony” Experimental Center

This is a program where cities around the world come to display their ways of building “City of Harmony”. The Experimental Center will be located in the Interactive & Experience Zone, a 10-hectare area in Zone E with both indoor and outdoor exhibition spaces.

The Organizer will send letters of invitation to a number of cities to participate in the program. Or interested cities can also approach the Organizer for participation. Each potential participant will submit their presentation scheme to the Organizer and discussions will be held for ways of cooperation.

Given that a number of cities have already shown interest in the program, Organizer will soon work out, together with the BIE, the conditions and requirements of participation, as well as the consultation mechanism.

Public participation

There will be ample opportunities for public participation in the exhibition programs of the thematic area. Space will be designated for public-initiated exhibits. Themes of these exhibits may include:

Penetrative” exhibition

Finally, by “exhibition” we are not only referring to the organized exhibitions taking place in the exhibition space. The Expo site itself and its operation is another realm of exhibition for the theme. The internal transport system and external transport links, the construction materials to be used, the source of energy, refuse treatment, site planning, green space, and the conservation of historical buildings on the site can all be great carriers and disseminators of the message of the theme “Better City, Better Life”.

b. Events

During the Expo, there will be a great variety of performances and cultural events taking place in the aforementioned spaces. Different from the performance and cultural activities taking place in or immediately around the national pavilions, those taking place in the thematic area are more universal in nature and are supposed to have a closer link with the theme and sub-themes. Generally there will be the following types of events, based on our current plan：

l          National Days celebrations: the thematic area offers sufficient space for the celebration of National Days. As supporting activities, National Week or City Week / Day can be held, as a platform to showcase the culture from a particular country / city.

l          Theme performances:  This refers to events based on a particular theme, such as “Shows of Endangered Art Forms”, “Global Brand Fashion Show”, “World Children’s Choir Series”, etc.

l          Chinese culture series: Events showing the historical roots and diversity of Chinese culture, such as “Minority Art Show”, “The Vernacular Sounds– China’s Local Operas”, “Chinese Folk Songs”, etc.

l          Parades: Parades regularly held on the major paths and plazas of the thematic area, such as those themed as “Tunnel of Time–5000-year old civilization” and “Art, Science, Man”, etc.

l          Screen shows: Shows on the big screens in the public space, such as “Cities in Movies” , urban documentary series, flash and cartoon art show, etc.

l          Public & community participation events: All of the previous categories of performance and cultural programs can all have public participation elements. In addition, there will be a series of performances which are purely staged by local communities and the general public, such as community variety shows, school choir festival, campus band show, senior citizens fashion show and a variety show of the disabled, etc.

c. Discussions

World Expo is not only a ground for mass entertainment. It is increasingly becoming a place of education and a key platform for the discussion of major topics regarding the development of human society. The crystallization of discussions and debate will be a great invisible legacy of the Expo.

A series of discussions related to the theme are planned or have been held in the years prior to the Expo 2010 as “warming-up” of the theme:

l          Expo 2010 Theme Development Forum (May 2004, Shanghai, China)

l          Writing Contest on the theme of the Expo 2010 (Jul.21 – Sep.15, 2004)

l          Urban Development Forum (May, 2005, Aichi, Japan, held jointly with Ministry of Construction, CCPIT and City of Beijing )

l          The World Expo 2010 Forum Series (Co-organized with the BIE, held annually)

   During the Expo 2010, discussions on the theme will be found in the following three categories:

(1) Existing global forums and conferences

The Organizer will try to bring some existing global forums to Shanghai in 2010 to be part of the Expo, such as:

-UN Habitat Conference

-World Urban Forum V

-The 3rd Conference of World’s Schools of Planning

In addition, the Organizer will work closely with UN Habitat to make Shanghai the host of the World Habitat Day in 2010 with a theme of “City of Harmony”.

(2) “City of Harmony” Roadmap Series

This is a series of forums organized by the Expo 2010 aiming to promote the theme of the Expo. The organizers and supporters of the forums may include: the BIE, United Nations (UN Habitat, UNDP, UNESCO, UNEP…), other international organizations (World Heritage, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, IMF, etc.), relevant NGOs and NPOs, (including those participating in the Expo 2010), Chinese Central Government, Shanghai City Government, sister cities of Shanghai, cities of participating nations, as well as the corporate sector.

There will be five forums based on the five topics in the series, including:

l          Cultural identification and the cultural strategy for “ City of Harmony”

l          Urban economic growth strategy and “City of Harmony”

l          Technological solutions to livable urban and rural areas

l          Solutions to “Balanced Communities”

l          A harmonious urban-rural interaction

Each of the first five months of the Expo will be devoted to one topic, while the last month will be for conclusive sessions. A Shanghai Declaration will be published to record the consensus of the delegates. Special attention will be paid to the concerns of the cities of developing countries. There will be a “developing countries section” in each of the forums to find solutions to issues like the management of informal settlements, the supply of clean water, urban and rural healthcare systems, as well as urban infrastructures, etc.

(3) Public forums

The public forum will be held mainly in the cyber space. A Public Blog area will be opened on the Expo 2010 website. There will be several columns, open to bloggers of all backgrounds to express their views on urban life and the future of cities in order to trigger mass discussions on the web.

Meanwhile, all the conferences held on the site of the Expo will be open to the public. There will be a public passage in the convention center to allow visitors to walk through and watch and listen to the conference. Major conference will be broadcasted live on the LCD monitors around the site. Representatives of the city’s residents will be invited to participate in some of the seminars and conferences.

d. Services

Events will also be held in the restaurants and shops of the thematic areas will feature certain theme-related events:

l          National/City Food Festival to be held during National Days;

l          “The Bazaar”: An outdoor market run by charity groups, mainly selling home-made handicrafts and household collections;

l          “Street Corners”: A program featuring shows of street artists from around the world;

l          Innovative Culinary Event: Such as Healthy Lunch Box Competition;

l          …

e. Thematic Area in Cyber Space

As a platform of mass communication and entertainment, the Internet increasingly assumes a significant role in shaping people’s daily life. It is hard to imagine where the web technologies will take us to in five years. But one thing is certain, the Expo 2010 will be the first ever World Expo to fully tap the web technologies and to have a “Virtual Thematic Area”.

Exhibition

The theme pavilions, the World Expo Museum and the Interaction & Experience Zone will all have a web version. The web version will carry some images of the pavilions and exhibitions, but more importantly, they can link to a huge volume of images, sounds and letters related to the theme, which can hardly be fit into the real exhibition space. In this way, the virtual exhibitions can serve as a prelude to the actual visit or an extension of the latter.

Events & Entertainment

Major events on the Expo site will be broadcasted online, such as the opening and closing ceremonies, the National Day celebrations and superstar shows. Besides, there will be a series of web-based contests and selection of Top-Tens. This kind of programs can stir up greater attention to the Expo 2010 and its theme (not only locally, within China, but also around the world), such as:

Discussions

All the major forums will be broadcasted live online. The Organizer will also explore the possibility of running live online sessions in the forums of “City of Harmony Roadmap Series”, so as to bring more people in different parts of the world into the discussions.

Services

The Virtual Thematic Area will have its retail space. There will be online shops selling Expo 2010 souvenirs, some of which are web-only versions. 4.2.2 Concept for China Pavilion

The theme will be fully embodied in the conceptual plan for the China National Pavilion. The plan will be based on the past, present and future of China and aim to showcase the ethnical and geographical diversity of cities in China. It is composed of four sections:

a. Timeless capitals

As one of the four ancient civilizations, China is home to many thousand-year-old cities. The Chang’an of Tang Dynasty (618–907 A.D.) was one of the most prosperous cities in the world at that time. The bustling streets of Bianliang, capital of Song (960– 1127 A.D.), were the object of a world-famous painting Qing Ming Shang He Tu, while the prosperity of Dadu, capital of Yuan (1279–1368 A.D.), was well-recorded in Marco Polo’s travelogue. While we are proud of the glories of the ancient cities of China, great efforts are being made to sustain the glory in the present age and also into the future.

b. On the other side of the rainbow

Throughout history, China has played an active role in the global cultural and commodity exchange. The most outstanding examples include the Silk Road and Admiral Zheng He’s seven voyages down to the “western oceans”. In the past 20 years, China has been opening up its doors wide to overseas capital, technologies, as well as advanced development philosophies. In this section, people will see the communication between China and the rest of the world, both throughout history and in present time, and how this communication has led to common prosperity of nations.

c. A new century

As a populous country with a vast geographical span, China has enjoyed unprecedented growth in the past twenty years or so, accompanied by fast urbanization in many parts of the country. This section will show the images of Chinese cities at the beginning of the 21st century, their cultures, economic growth, and interaction with rural areas. There will also be a look into the future on how a “City of Harmony” can be achieved across the country.

d. A future of harmony

Following the “Harmonious Society” credo, China is endeavoring to build a fair and equal society characterized by the rule of law, good social order, mutual trust, sustained dynamism of growth, and harmonious co-existence of man and nature. The “harmony” philosophy is rooted in the Chinese culture and echoed by the “sustainable development” theories. The blueprint of “Harmonious Society” will be the centerpiece of this part.

4.3 Interaction between the Organizer and Participants in Theme Development and the Exhibition, Events and Forums of the Thematic Area

To further explore and develop the theme for content plans, the Organizer will, in the near future, form a special team for carrying out this task. The team will follow an active plan to develop the design of the China National Pavilion and the thematic pavilions, as well as schemes for events, symposia and forums. Based on its study and exploration of the theme, the Organizer will provide participants with a guideline for theme development. A coordination mechanism will be put in place to make sure that participants properly follow the theme in developing theme contents. Special assistance will be offered to countries that might need help in properly designing their exhibitions.

The thematic area will see frequent and all-round cooperation between the Organizer and participants in its exhibitions, events, symposia and forums. First of all, the Organizer welcomes cooperation with participants–countries, international organizations and businesses in developing the theme pavilions; The World Expo Museum and the “City of Harmony” Experimental Center will have programs open to participants as well as cities in the participating countries.

Next, the thematic area will be common ground onto which all the participants can come to stage the celebrations for their National Days and to showcase their cultures through participating inall kinds of themed events.

Last but not least, as it is mentioned earlier, the Organizer will launch a series of symposia and forums during the Expo, including the existing global forums and the “City of Harmony Roadmap Series” especially designed for Expo 2010. These discussions will be open to all the participants. In addition, interested participants can work together with the Organizer to be sponsors, supporters and even co-organizers of the conferences.

Similarly, participants are welcome to work with the Organizer in the development of the “Virtual Thematic Area”.