?The Macau Pavilion at Shanghai World Expo will take the shape of a jade rabbit lantern and it will change colors to present a mythological world. The design was inspired by rabbit lanterns popular during the Mid-autumn Festival in south China in ancient times. [Photo: Shanghai Daily]

 

The Macau Pavilion at Shanghai World Expo will take the shape of a jade rabbit lantern and it will change colors to present a mythological world, Macau officials announced Thursday at the opening of an expo promotional week in the special administrative region.

The design was inspired by rabbit lanterns popular during the Mid-autumn Festival in south China in ancient times, officials said. In Chinese mythology, the jade rabbit is a guide at the front of Nantianmen, the door leading to a fairy land.

The pavilion will be wrapped with a double-layer glass membrane and feature fluorescent screens on its outer walls. Balloons will serve as the head and tail of the "rabbit" and these can be moved up and down to attract visitors.

A spiral ramp will take visitors on a journey of Macau. A film about Macau will be screened on the roof of the pavilion.

Every visitor to the pavilion will receive a rabbit lantern.

The pavilion will be eco-friendly with recyclable construction materials as well as solar power panels and rain collection systems.

Provinces and cities in China will get 600 square meters each to showcase their varied cultures and traditions. The exhibitions of national participants will be held in a joint pavilion in the China Pavilion section with separate pavilions for Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

(Shanghai Daily October 24, 2008)