Shanghai Daily news

With Shanghai Expo just two years off, China jumped in with both feet at the World Expo on Water in Zaragoza, Spain. Its grand pavilion of red and gold made a big splash.

Traditional Chinese culture is all about harmony and balance, seeking it, preserving it, restoring it.

The theme "Humans and Water - Return to Harmony" is explored in the China Pavilion of the World Expo on "Water and Sustainable Development" that opened in Zaragoza, Spain, on June 13.

It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that the red-and-gold China Pavilion, with a lucky fish motif made a big splash. The experience at the three-month-long Zaragoza Expo, a specialized World Expo, will strengthen China as host of World Expo 2010 Shanghai and give a preview of its creative planning.

The 2010 theme is "Better City, Better Life" and the wise use of water resources is critical to the city of the future.

The northeastern Spanish city, halfway between Madrid and Barcelona, is expecting more than 6 million visitors throughout the Expo that ends in mid-September. There are 105 national participants and several international organizations. The Shanghai Expo has 206 confirmed participants so far.

The China Pavilion in Zaragoza showcases the use of water over the ages for transport, irrigation, energy, landscaping and beauty. The 1,200-square-meter pavilion shows China's Grand Canal system, the taming of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, the use of water elements in traditional gardens that emphasize harmony, and modern efforts to preserve water and fight pollution.

Golden fish, symbolizing luck and happiness, appear throughout the space, both artistically and in the flesh, swimming in water courses. The word for fish, yu, sounds like the word for "extra," meaning abundance.

At the entrance stands a giant cone-shaped water clock, or clepsydra, an ancient timekeeping device. It measures time by means of a regulated flow of water into a vessel.

The exhibits explain the role of water in China's development from the Bronze Age to great ancient civilizations and to today's modern country.

Displays include 10,000-year-old rice seeds from the dawn of agriculture. Scripts written on bone contain references to water. Reproductions of "oracle bone script" are displayed, the oldest known form of the Chinese written language.

China has been ravaged by water over the ages and its history can be told through efforts to control its great rivers, the Yellow and the Yangtze. Exhibits feature ancient water conservancy projects, some dating 2,500 years. The Dujiangyan Dam and the irrigation system in Sichuan Province were built in 256 BC - China's oldest existing water conservation project. It survived the 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12. Dujiangyan is only 100 kilometers from the epicenter in Wenchuan County.

A touch screen shows Dujiangyan Dam and visitors can learn about its history and construction. A cinema with a 180-degree screen showcases China's positive experiences cleaning up water pollution.

Pavilion designer Tao Hong says China constantly has faced flood disasters and water conservancy projects embody the country's will, wisdom and power to tackle challenges by nature. Chinese civilization passes from generation to generation during the process, Tao says.

The last part of the exhibition is a Shanghai Expo promotion.

The shortage of water, especially clean water, is a major international issue that will be highlighted at the Shanghai Expo. It stirs debates, disputes and conflicts worldwide. Spain itself is affected by drought.

Spanish King Juan Carlos said at the opening ceremony that the Expo aims to "sensitize the world about how precious water is, and there is no replacement for it."

He said the Expo is a step in promoting conservation of natural resources and "fighting against environmental deterioration and climate change."

Zaragoza has invested 2.9 billion euros (US$4.5 billion) to build the exposition site on the banks of the Ebro River and spruce up the city of 600,000. Private sponsors have contributed another 2 billion euros.

To remind us that our bodies are two-thirds water, visitors can step on a scale giving their weight in water.

The 76-meter Water Tower is a landmark structure, mostly hollow and filled with light. Spiral interior ramps lead visitors upward past displays.

Suspended inside is a 32-meter-long, 3-meter-wide shiny metallic droplet of water - a dramatic moment of kinetic water splashing in all directions.

Spain volunteers to form Expo 'backbone'

Shanghai Expo volunteers will

learn from the Zaragoza, Spain, Expo and form the backbone of the 2010 event in Shanghai.

About 60 Chinese volunteers will get first-hand experience to bring home and share for the benefit of the Shanghai Expo. The Shanghai theme is "Better City, Better Life" and the use of water is crucial to urban living.

Shanghai organizers said last week there are six teams of volunteers experienced in volunteering at large events and fluent in either English or Spanish. They include 22 students from 15 colleges in Shanghai.

This is the first time Shanghai has sent volunteers to a World Expo, "showing the cooperation between the two Expos," said Xu Weiguo, vice Party secretary of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination.

"This is a chance to train our volunteers. We hope they will be the backbone of the future volunteer team for the Shanghai Expo," Xu said.

The Shanghai Expo will need at least 20,000 volunteers. Recruitment will begin in October. Thirty-eight positions have been identified, including interpreters, media assistants, traffic guides and grounds workers.