Taking the audience on a visual tour of Taipei City with a six-minute 3D film on life in Taipei — from Shihlin Night Market to MRT stations — and interactive games promoting the city’s friendliness, the Taipei Pavilion opened yesterday at the Shanghai World Expo, along with 141 pavilions from other countries.
The pavilion, a wooden structure renovated from an old power plant, is among 55 exhibitions at the expo’s Urban Best Practices Area, showcasing Taipei’s ubiquitous wireless Internet access and garbage recycling policies.
More than 100 visitors, mostly from China, lined up in front of the pavilion before it was officially opened at 10am, hoping to gain a better understanding of the city.
“My impression of Taipei is that there are lots of scooters and the Taipei 101 Mall. I want to know more about how people live in Taipei before I have a chance to visit the place,” 20-year-old Shanghai citizen Chang Ximeng (張希濛) said.
Huang Xiaohu (黃小虎), from Wuhan Province, said he was impressed by the “Future Theater” display at the Taipei pavilion, showcasing the city’s wireless development and garbage recycling using virtual holographic images.
“Taipei is not only a city with high technology, but also a highly civilized place. I am particularly impressed by the order in the MRT stations and this is something we have to learn,” he said.
The two-story pavilion includes a 3D theater featuring a six-minute film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsian (侯孝賢), “Future Theater” and an interaction zone.
In the interaction zone, the number “2010” is displayed on an LED touch-screen. The pattern is comprised of 2,010 headshots of Taipei residents, including Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), representing the friendliness of the city.
Visitors can also take a photo with a Taipei landmark — including Taipei 101 and Dazhi Bridge — as the background, at one of four photo booths and take the finished post-card like photos home as souvenirs.
The Taipei pavilion also attracted a lot of attention because of its “ambassador,” pop singer songwriter Wang Lee-hom (王力宏), whose appearance at the opening ceremony yesterday drew cheers from the crowd.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) expressed his pride in Taipei and said he expected the pavilion to raise awareness and generate new interest in the capital city.
“I come to Shanghai with a smile and hope Taipei’s high-tech and friendly environment demonstrated at the expo will both increase your interest in Taipei and encourage you to visit our city very soon,” he said.
Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng (韓正), Hon Hai Group Chairman Terry Guo (郭台銘), sponsor of the pavilion, former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) also attended the event.
The Taiwan pavilion is a transparent cube with a giant ball at the center. It is mainly made of steel and glass, with the outlines of Yushan and Alishan painted onto the facade.
Staff at the pavilion said only 3,000 visitors would be allowed to visit the exhibition initially, though it would open to more visitors after a large celebratory event on May 11.
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