The Light of China Shines at Expo 2020 Dubai

By Audrey Guo

On October 1， Expo 2020 Dubai was opened to visitors， and the China Pavilion opened its gate on the same day. Chinese President Xi Jinping made a video message for the China Pavilion of Expo 2020 Dubai， saying that as the first Expo held in the Middle East， Expo 2020 Dubai would be of great significance， since under the theme of “Connecting Minds， Creating the Future” participating countries would demonstrate the philosophies and achievements for economic and social development， and enhance dialogue and cooperation. “Chinas answer is to call on the people of all countries to work together， respond to the call of the times， strengthen global governance， pursue innovation-driven development， and advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind，” Xi said.

Expo 2020 Dubai is the first Expo since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic， with 192 countries， and it is expected to attract 25 million visitors in a half-year exhibition period from October 1， 2021 to March 31， 2022.

In-depth and comprehensive show of the real China

Under the theme of “Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind—Innovation and Opportunity，” which closely keeps to that of Expo 2020 Dubai， the China Pavilion covers global focuses like innovation and opportunities， communication and cooperation， development and sustainability， and so on， highlighting the development opportunities and cooperation potential brought by the Belt and Road Initiative for member countries and regions， and fully reflecting Chinas advocacy of promoting common development of the world and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Zhang Shenfeng， Vice Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade （CCPIT）， said in his opening address for the China Pavilion of Expo 2020 Dubai， that the China pavilion would give an in-depth and comprehensive show of a real China through various exhibitions， interactive experiences integrating virtual and reality， colorful and brilliant light displays and exciting cultural activities. Via the China Pavilion， China is willing to strengthen communication and cooperation with other countries and regions around the world and boost the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. “We look forward to deepening the long friendship and coop-eration between China and the Arab countries through Expo 2020 Dubai， thus realizing mutual benefits and win-win results，” Zhang said.

Dimitri Kerkentzes， Secretary General of International Exhibitions Bureau， said， the China Pavilion， by focusing on “building a community with a shared future for mankind”， will send a convincing message to the world through Expo 2020 Dubai. Meanwhile， China calls on all countries to strengthen cooperation and work together to construct a world of lasting peace， security for all， common prosperity， openness， inclusiveness and sustainability， reflecting that China is committed to and actively boosting global dialogue and cooperation centering on the future of humanity and the planet.

Ni Jian， the Chinese Ambassador to the UAE， said the China Pavilion， named “Light of China” and shaped like a Chinese lantern， embodies the brilliant achievements of China in reform and opening up and socialist construction， shows profound Chinese civilization， and carries the good wishes of 1.4 billion Chinese people to the UAE and people around the world， since lanterns symbolize light and hope.

Recently， Gao Yan， Chairperson of the CCPIT， said in a signed article in Peoples Daily， relying on successful practices of development， and based on more than 5，000 years of glorious civilization， the China Pavilion comprehensively expounds Chinas philosophies of development， civilization， ecology， international order and global governance， and interprets the ideas of China on establishing partnership of 21st century with other countries， uniting international communities， promoting global cooperation and creating a better future， in line with the theme of Expo 2020 Dubai.

As an exhibition of the highest level， the Expo provides an important platform to strengthen mutual understanding， expand mutual communication， promote mutual appreciation of civilizations and common prosperity. Gao Yan said， Chinas participation in Expo 2020 Dubai is of great significance in improving comprehensive and strategic ChinaArab partnership， as well as promoting the construction of the Belt and Road and the building of China-Arab community with a shared future.

The CCPIT， as the competent organization in China for IEB and Expo affairs， has organized 16 China Pavilions for overseas expos since 1982.

Actively showing achievements in science and technology innovation

Covering an area of 4，636 square meters， the China Pavilion is one of the largest pavilions at Expo 2020 Dubai， and attracted more than 5，000 visitors on the first day alone. Since Expo 2020 Dubai opened the gate， the China Pavilion was the first foreign pavilion visited by Mohammed Al Maktoum， Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai， who praised the China pavilion for its rich and exciting displays， and thanked the Chinese government for the support of Expo 2020 Dubai.

At the previous presentation， Sha Xiaolan， General Artistic Advisor of the China Pavilion， gave an introduction of the China Pavilion. The main building has two layers： the outer is like the keel structure of a lantern and combines traditional Chinese architectural elements such as buckets and Chinese window grids； inside the pavilion you can see a matrix of characters for movable-type printing. The matrix is red （the traditional color of Chinese lanterns） during the day and stages a light show at night utilizing digital programming technology. In one word， the pavilion has cleverly integrated ethnicity and modernity.

Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali， Executive Director of Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau， and other Arab officials have spoken highly several times of the China Pavilion， “the China pavilion will showcase all that is great about China including its rich cultural history and advanced technological innovations， and it is expected to be one of the most engaging and visited pavilions at the exposition.”

In perspectives of “One dream”， “One earth”，“Common home” and “Shared future”， the China Pavilion will showcase the achievements of China in the fields of space exploration， information technology， modern transportation， artificial intelligence， and smart living. In addition， there is also a special area for the promotion of 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic Games. The lively and charmingly naive giant panda robot“Tong Tong” will appear in the China Pavilion as a“public diplomacy card” of China and its mascot.

According to Wang Rui， Director of the China Pavilion， the most popular among foreign visitors werethe sections of Exploration and Discovery， Innovation and Cooperation， and Opportunities and the Future， especially Beidou satellite navigation system， the simulated cockpit forthe China State Railway Group G-series highspeed train， a driverless new energy concept carca； led “Kun” from SAIC， intelligent robots from UBTECH， the theme theater and large-scale light shows.

During the visit， Annie Lynne， Director of the Panama Pavilion was attracted by the screen design of the theme theatre at the China Pavilion and marked that three independent screens rise， revealing the ring-shaped screen behind them， which is an amazing experience for the audience and symbolizes the idea that human beings from different regions live together in one world and share one dream.

According to Zhang Shenfeng， the China Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai will present the latest development achievements in science and technology innovation， promote cooperation among all parties in the digital economy， artificial intelligence and other frontier areas， create an open and inclusive environment， and seek new momentum for global economic development.

It is reported that 26 provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities including Beijing and Jiangsu， as well as more than 40 leading enterprises in China such as SAIC， CNPC and Shanghai Electric will participate in Expo 2020 Dubai， with both figures recording a new high. These provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities will hold various exhibitions and displays， economic and trade forums， cultural and artistic performances and other activities both online and offline.

Outlook for future “smart” life

At Expo 2020 Dubai， the third exhibition section of the China Pavilion， “Innovation and Cooperation Area”， was an important highlight of the entire China Pavilion， which elaborated on the idea of abetter life in the future under the theme of “A Better Home”， from perspectives of smart city， smart life and smart ecology， etc.

Visitors can visually experience a 3D virtual smart city of the future： buildings with dynamic lighting， combined with interactive video content， bringing a harmonious future city to life.

At the entrance of the “Smart Life” exhibition area， visitors can scan a unique QR code in order to interact with exhibition items and experience future smart life.

In the “Smart Community” area， each visitor can scan codes to read stories： through the Internet of Things， smart payment and other technologies， a resident can find a parking slot， another resident who is planning a business trip easily can make an appointment for nucleic acid testing through their cell phone， AI monitors notice an elderly citizen who has gone out alone and fallen and promptly notifies are scue team. Some of these scenes are becoming common in China， but they are new to many foreign visitors.

Saro from India， with his family of four， flew from India to Abu Dhabi and Dubai for a trip， and he said during the visit of the China Pavilion：“these scenes of ‘smart life in the China Pavilion surprised me， and I hope to visit China sometime， to experience such a convenient and efficient way of life and useful high technology.”

As the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic continues， the “smart medical care”exhibition area is attractive， too. The AI Primary Guiding and Diagnose Aiding System from Tencent Medical vividly explains how technology can comprehensively improve diagnosis and treatment capabilities of doctors in primary hospitals and ameliorate the concerns on slow and difficult access to medical care. It is worth mentioning that the China Pavilion also presented content related to “technology and pandemics”. For example， visitors can see the story of how Tencent Miying medical imaging AI， which can identify lesions in 2 seconds， technically supported Wuhan mobile cabin hospitals when the pandemic first broke out in early 2020.

Due to the pandemic， the China Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai is actively exploring innovative“online + offline” exhibition modes， encouraging visitors to experience the charm of the Expo through a variety of online and offline activities. For example， online visitors can learn about how the Chinese developed the Beidou navigation satellite system， view scenery along the Belt and Road， and read about important achievements of China in promoting international cooperation on energy. Or， they can walk through a time tunneland experience how technology can alter future communities when it comes to retail， healthcare， education， travel and other scenarios. Visitors can also settle into the front row as VIPs in order to watch the China Pavilion the me movie.