Taiwan will take part in the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, China, between May 1st and Oct. 31. The last time it took part in such an expo was in Japan in 1970 when the R.O.C. still maintained diplomatic relations with Tokyo.

The Shanghai World Expo Coordination Bureau estimated that this six-month world fair would attract at least 70 million visitors from home and abroad, and that Taiwanese tourists would reach 3.5 million.

A total of 242 countries and 48 international organizations will participate in the expo. To boost Taiwan’s worldwide reputation during this event, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) plans to use the Taiwan Pavilion to showcase Taiwan’s varied cultures and Taiwanese people’s hospitality.

Taiwan Pavilion

This pavilion constructed and operated by the Taipei-based TAITRA is located in area A, called Shanghai, which is assigned for Asian countries. The area also contains the pavilions of Nepal, India, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Japan, China, Macau, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Israel, Oman, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates.

World-renowned architect C.Y. Lee, who in 2004 designed the Taipei 101, is the designer of the Taiwan pavilion, which has the shape of a huge sky lantern. He incorporated the ideas of nature, spirit and city into his design to convey the pavilion’s theme: Mountain, Water, and Lantern of the Heart, and to echo the slogan of the Shanghai World Expo -- Better City, Better Life.

In Taiwanese folk traditions, people will launch lanterns to pray for peace, happiness and good fortune during the Lunar New Year holidays because the lantern is a popular emblem of health and happiness. When thousands of red and orange lanterns slowly ascend to the dark sky, they look like countless twinkling stars.

The glass sky-lantern pavilion, according to TAITRA, will function as a multi-layered multimedia exhibition hall in order to present various aspects and images of Taiwan. It takes up about 1,400 square meters and stands 7 stories tall. Under soft illumination provided by internal light emitting diode (LED) lamps, images of butterflies, whales and flying sky lanterns which symbolize the beauty of Taiwan will be projected during the daytime and at night onto the surfaces of the structure.

After taking an elevator to the top floor, visitors can start their tour and experience Taiwan’s beauty in a giant 12-meter dome theater by viewing a four-minute film on the country’s high technologies, natural landscapes and cultural activities.

As visitors descend to the second level, they can light digital sky lanterns and wish for good luck. After they choose their prayers through touch screens, images of these words on the lanterns flying into the sky will be also projected onto glass curtain walls.

On this floor, Lee used rocks from Jade Mountain, water from the Pacific Ocean and Sun Moon Lake, and ceramic butterflies made in Yingge town, also known for pottery and ceramic products. These materials act as metaphors for metal, wood, water, fire and earth, five elements that symbolize balance and harmony in Eastern societies.

During the final stage of the pavilion tour, visitors will enter the city plaza on the first floor. Volunteers from Taiwan serving as goodwill ambassadors will provide visitors with a cup of tea and welcome them to visit Taiwan one day.

TAITRA has invited some Taiwanese celebrities to promote the pavilion, including Lin Chih-ling, a movie star and famous model; Momoco Tao, a popular TV host; Ivan Huon, a fashion guru, Yi Chang, a famed film director; and Loretta Yang, the artistic director of Liuligongfang -- a contemporary glasswork studio.

The construction work which began last Aug. is scheduled for completion this April and a lantern-lighting ceremony will be held at the pavilion on May 11, according to an official from TAITRA.

Taipei Pavilion

Taipei City has set up its own pavilion sponsored by Terry Guo, chairman of the Hon Hai group, who had donated NT$300 million (US$990,000) to the city government. This pavilion will highlight Taipei’s achievements in building a city broadband WAN (Wide Area Network) and its recycling program.

During the 184-day expo in Shanghai, the Taipei Culture Foundation will hold a series of cultural activities and forums called Taipei Culture Week from June 3 to June 29.

"We plan to take full advantage of this opportunity to promote the depth of Taipei’s varied culture and soft power, and to give visitors at the expo a better understanding of Taipei’s diversified lifestyle,” the foundation’s deputy CEO Johnson Chiu said.

He added that the city government would do its best to attract international and Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan during the 2010 Taipei International Flora Expo from Nov.6, 2010 to April 25, 2011.

Since 2007 the city government has led local cultural and creative enterprises to take part in annual cultural fairs in Beijing. Chiu said their foundation will collaborate with the Shanghai Oriental Culture and Arts Foundation to hold a forum and an expo on the cultural and creative industries.

"The planned week in Shanghai will feature many activities such as a painting exhibition, musical performances, Taiwanese opera, Peking opera and a film festival that will include outdoor screenings of Taiwanese movies,” he said.

Some of Taiwan’s renowned performing arts groups are scheduled to perform in Shanghai from June 16 to 27. They include the Ming Hua Yuan Arts and Cultural Group, Taipei Chinese Orchestra (TCO), Taipei Symphony Orchestra (TSO), the U-Theatre, the National Guogang Opera Company, the Contemporary Legend Theatre (CLT) and the Ping Fong Acting Troupe.

The TCO and TSO under the supervision of Taipei City government will serve as cultural ambassadors and perform with the U-Theatre, noted for its powerful drum performances in Taiwan, on June 16 -- the day chosen as Taipei Day by the city government.

The Legend of the White Snake, a beautiful and moving folktale, will be performed by famous Taiwanese opera actress Sun Tsui-Fong from the Ming Hua Yuan Arts and Cultural Group during the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on June 16. This is the story of a young scholar who falls in love with a beautiful woman unaware that she is a white snake in human form.

Three days later, Taiwanese famed Peking opera diva Wei Hai-min from the Guogang Opera Company will play the tormented female lead Cao Chi-chiao in the Golden Cangue, adapted from Chinese author Eileen Chang’s same-title novel.

From June 25 to 27, viewers can choose traditional theatre or modern play. The Taipei-based CLT will present its first production named the Kingdom of Desire, an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth. This performance fuses Western theatrical forms into the singing, acting, reciting and acrobatic fighting of traditional Chinese opera.

"Can Three Make It Part I,” one of the Ping Fong Acting Troupe’s popular productions, is a modern comedy with 18 characters played by three actors who deal with the absurdity and chaos of urban life.