Postcards From Shanghai

Foreign Policy has a terrific slideshow spotlighting some of the pavilions from the Shanghai World Expo -- an assortment that FP describes as "lavish, futuristic, and sometimes just plain weird." Re just plain weird: I can't help but wonder if they're talking about the U.K. pavilion, the centerpiece of which (pictured above) is "a six storey high object formed from some 60,000 slender transparent rods, which extend from the structure and quiver in the breeze."

To be clear, "just plain weird" doesn't mean bad, or stupid, or even ill-conceived. It just means extremely different, and why not? What's the point in participating in a World Expo dedicated to the cityscapes and landscapes of tomorrow if you're not going to offer people something they've never seen before? That said, I do wonder if the designer, Thomas Heatherwick, is a "Star Trek" fan -- because, well, anyone else reminded of a Tribble?

World Party

Opening tomorrow (or, as they call it in China, today): Expo 2010 Shanghai China, which involves more than 190 countries and is expected to draw 70 million attendees during its run from May 1 to Oct. 31, making it the largest World Expo in history. Expo 2010's theme -- "Better City, Better Life" -- "represents a central concern of the international community for future policy making, urban strategies and sustainable development. ... Through different sub-themes, Expo 2010 will create blueprints for future cities and harmonious urban lifestyles providing an extraordinary educational and entertaining platform for visitors of all nations."

That's the China Pavilion pictured above. The magnificent red structure at the center is called "The Crown of the East," and was built in the dougong style, which uses interlocking wooden brackets, and which dates back more than 2,000 years. So perhaps when it comes to imagining the city of tomorrow, yesterday is just as important as today.