Located in Zone C of the Expo site and with an enormous hot air balloon as its centerpiece, the Lithuania Pavilion invites you to observe your own city from a different angle.

"According to the Expo theme of 'Better City, Better Life', we think that the city - just like humans and nature - must be in harmony, and this is best seen from above, flying in a hot air balloon," explained Indre Kumpikeviciute, director of the Lithuania Pavilion.

From the hot air balloon basket, visitors can enjoy a ride over various Lithuanian cities, by watching the landscapes shown on computer screens.

Over thirty percent of Lithuania is forest, with a further five percent covered by clean ecological lakes, the pavilion director explained.

Besides its abundance of natural resources, another of its national pastimes is also displayed at the Lithuania Pavilion. That pastime is basketball.

"The second religion of Lithuania is basketball. It is our national sport and we are very proud of it," the director said. The Lithuanian basketball team is one of the strongest in Europe and the world. Jonas Kazlauskas, the former coach of China's national basketball team, is Lithuanian.

There is a small basketball court inside the pavilion, attracting several young visitors to take shots. Adomas Mulevicius, a guide at the pavilion, said basketball is only one aspect of Lithuanian culture that they are trying to introduce to visitors.

"They are wrong to think that our culture is the same as Russian culture. People think this because in the past we were part of the Soviet Union. Right now, however, we're in European Union and we have a different culture and language. In short, we are not the same as before," the young man said.

One visitor, Cao Wan, came all the way from northeast China's Dalian city for the Expo. She said the Lithuania Pavilion is well worth a visit.

"Although it is a comparatively small pavilion, it is independent and unique in design," the girl commented.