I. Expo Shanghai Online

Expo Shanghai Online is one of the two highlights of Expo 2010 Shanghai China, which was officially launched on November 12, 2009. The Expo 2010 Shanghai China uses 3D virtual and multimedia technology to provide the virtual pavilions and scenic spots on the Internet for the first time. Therefore, the global online users can enjoy the wonderful Expo 2010 Shanghai China in advance without leaving home. The English version of the Expo Shanghai Online was also officially launched on New Year’s Day in 2010. All virtual pavilions, which will be completed in May 2010, will be fully presented to audiences worldwide brilliantly together with the physical Expo pavilions. According to the person in charge, the “Henan Experience Pavilion” for the Expo Shanghai Online is under preparation, and its development and construction plan has been deliberated and approved on the executive meeting of the People’s Government of Henan Province, and has been reported to the Shanghai 2010 World Expo Organizing Committee and the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination.

II. Shaolin Kung Fu

There will be Shaolin Kung Fu performances every day during 184 days of the Expo 2010. It is reported that “The Chan Temple - A Legend of Shaolin Warriors”, specially produced by Shaolin Temple, will be performed nearly 1,000 times in the square and Entertainment Hall of Shanghai Expo Garden. The program depicts the growing process of a little monk in respect of Zen and martial arts in an original ecological style, demonstrating the basic worldview of Zen Buddhism and showing a more comprehensive Shaolin Kung Fu and basic Zen meditation.

III. Interpreting Six Major Images with LED

There is a 170 m² LED screen on the external facade of Henan Pavilion to present six images. The first one is the human ancestor named the Yellow Emperor, who laid the foundation for the establishment of cities. The second one is the “Zhou Gong Ying Luo” map, which embodies the paradigm of urban layout with the kingship at the center and the symmetrical central axis, and bears the earliest urban planning theory in China. The third one is the dynamic reproduction of “Along the River During the Qingming Festival”, which is a true depiction of ancient Kaifeng as the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, and represents the maximum prosperity of ancient urban life in China and even in the world. Such urban life is also the pioneer of modern urban life. The fourth one is the Shaolin Temple murals. Martial arts are one of the essences of Chinese culture, and Henan is the origin of Chinese martial arts, therefore those murals reflect the ancient Chinese urban culture from one aspect. The fifth one is the skyline of Henan’s modern urban iconic building cluster against the peony flowers, heralding a new round of booming development in Henan. The sixth one is the evolution of Chinese characters alternating with the above five images. The reason why China becomes the only country with a continuous civilization among the four ancient civilizations is mainly because of Chinese characters. The evolution of these characters basically occurred in Henan, such as the oracle bone inscriptions, clerical script, tablet inscriptions of the Northern Dynasties, regular script, and cursive script.

IV. Depicting History and Future with Sancai Mural

On the background wall of the Henan Pavilion, there is a large Sancai mural named “Heart of the Nation, Origin of Urban Civilization”, themed with “Heart of the Nation, Origin of Urban Civilization, Root of the Chinese Civilization, Rise of the Central Plains”. The mural, which is 25 meters long and 3.2 meters wide, uses Luoyang Sancai as the main background tone to create colorful and luminous glazing color on the basis of traditional glazing color, and combines with various painting styles such as vertical line, line drawing, free sketch painting and oil painting to reflect the rich history and bright future of Henan. The entire mural employs the most representative traditional techniques of Henan such as Tang Tri-Color Glazed Ceramics, Jun Porcelain, Ru Porcelain, jade carving and bronzes made with lost-wax process. In the center of the pattern, the character “Yu” at the core of the tripod is carved from Nanyang Dushan jade which is one of the four famous jade; the one next to it is the name of “Heart of the Nation, Origin of Urban Civilization”, which is cast in bronze by using the lost-wax process. The “Hetu and Luoshu” in the halo of the pattern is shown with glazing colors of Ru Porcelain and Jun Porcelain. The addition of blue jade to the traditional Sancai glazing color for the first time made an innovative development in both pattern and form throughout the mural.        

V. Reproducing the Ancients’ Life with Ancient Treasures

Henan treasures are selected to show the ancient urban form and lifestyle. The display of these cultural relics can give us a glimpse of the real ancient urban architectural patterns and life situations.

For example, the Simuwu Ding, unearthed in Anyang in 1939, is a masterpiece of the zenith of Shang Dynasty bronze culture; the Nine Ding and Eight Gui Vessels, as the ceremonial vessels used for social sacrifices during the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, were the highest level of sacrificial vessels at that time; the Pottery Miniature House, which has 18 pieces in total; the four-layer Pottery Miniature Warehouse, which can be split and assembled. The body of the Pottery Miniature Warehouse is painted with red drifting cloud pattern, linear pattern, triangular pattern and other patterns, and it is a rare architectural burial object of the Han Dynasty; the Pottery Miniature Courtyard, which has 11 pieces in total, including the gatehouse, watchtower, wing-room, kitchen, warehouse, and pigsty, and can be split and assembled into a complete quadrangle dwelling; the pottery water pipes in the Pingliangtai Ancient City Ruins, where there is a history of more than 4,600 years and are one of the world’s oldest castles excavated in China. In these ruins, the pottery water pipes unearthed indicate that the prototype of modern urban sewage pipes can be traced back to the Neolithic Age.

VI. Reproducing the Prosperity of Ancient Kaifeng with Along the River During the Qingming Festival

This carving is made of an ancient Camphor tree. Growing in the tropical mountains of Southeast Asia, the tree is more than 2,300 years old with a height of 100 meters, a trunk diameter of 4 meters, and a root diameter of 20 meters, which has been completely exposed and air-dried for nearly 10 years. Modeled on the Along the River During the Qingming Festival drawn by a painter named Zhang Zeduan in the Northern Song Dynasty, the carving was finely carved by 35 artists and artisans for five years. The work is 18 meters long, 2.56 meters high, 2 meters wide and weighs 12 tons, which very graphically reproduces the prosperous scene of ancient Chinese cities. It is reported that this work has arrived in Shanghai on March 17.

VII. Showing Past and Modern Henan as the “Heart of the Nation, Origin of Urban Civilization”

An 8-min film is produced to give a general view of past and modern Henan as the “Heart of the Nation, Origin of Urban Civilization”.

The film is divided into three chapters: Right Time, Favorable Geographical Position and Human Harmony. By showing the scientific urban cluster development, historical proof and re-creation in the new era, the film emphasizes the wisdom inheritance in urban development in the Central Plains from ancient times to the present, and makes people feel the contributions of the Central Plains to urban development in China and even in the world in an overall manner.