A trait common to classic works of all kinds is elaboration on the finest details, visible or not. With this in mind, visitors are suggested not to take anything for granted at the Chinese Pavilion. The granite stairway of 76 steps leading to the National Hall, for instance, was hand cut by more than 130 stonemasons skilled in the traditional chiseling craft called "three axes." The technique is prized for exposing the best veins in rocks and delicate surface filigree. It's estimated that it took more than 54 million chops to create this stairway.

Green Machines

The Chinese Pavilion has embraced the latest technologies in energy saving and environmental protection. The wall paint is completely free of toxins. Its glass reduces radiation and enhances heat reflection, and the material that coats it can convert sunshine into electricity for lighting. The sightseeing platform on the roof of the National Hall is also topped with a film designed to catch solar energy. The water to flush toilets and irrigate lawns is supplied with a rainwater collecting and purifying system. Turn on all the indoor and outdoor lights of the pavilion, all LED, and they will consume merely 100 KW per hour.

The regional building, an adjunction to the Chinese Pavilion, is girdled with a semi-outdoor glass corridor, which supplies the inner space with natural heating and ventilation. Its 27,000 square meter roof garden is modeled after a section in the former Yuanmingyuan Palace. It offers a respite for crowds jostling into the exhibition areas, and an effective weather-relief sanctuary as well.

Back to the Future

The exhibition areas of the National Hall are arranged on three floors. The centerpiece named Oriental Footprint is on the top floor at 49 meters above the ground. This section includes a 700-seat cinema, built of steel. An eight-minute film is looped on its 30 degree circular screen, illustrating China's urbanization progress. When leaving the theater through a 128-meter-long passage, visitors will be amazed again by an animation of the Northern Song (960-1127) painting Along the River during the Qingming Festival that dances on the walls of its corridors. Virtual people and animals wend through the streets of the Song capital, bustling neighborhoods as depicted in the scroll, while the light in the sky changes from dawn to dusk. Travelers of this time capsule are expected to enjoy the illusion as much as the original painting, a state treasure that is also on display on this floor.

The floor below is dedicated to another masterful bit of experiential learning in which visitors hop on excursion trains on a tour of Chinese architectural icons and the history of municipal construction.

The third exhibition area is focused on Chinese progress towards a low-carbon future, which can be summed up in the old Chinese adage "get by justifiable means, and use with restraint."