About the author: Chen Jianxin was then Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce and Vice President of UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. He served as UFI President in 2012 and has been Honorary Life President of UFI since 2015. He is now Director of the National Technical Committee for Standardization of the Convention and Exhibition Industry and President of the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Industries Association.
Chen Jianxin joined the work for Expo 2010 Shanghai in February 2002. He served as Deputy Director of the Shanghai Expo Bid Office and Deputy Director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, mainly responsible for the host-country exhibition and display, market development and ticketing for Expo 2010 Shanghai.
High Vantage Point and Breakthrough: Determining the Main Display Line of the China National Pavilion
Chen Jianxin
The world-renowned Expo 2010 Shanghai China closed half a year ago. For all staff members who personally participated in the bid, preparation and hosting of the Expo, every plant, every scene and every moment of the Expo remains vivid and unforgettable. In particular, as an organizer and person in charge of the China National Pavilion display design team, I feel deeply moved when I see tens of thousands of visitors still enthusiastically visiting the China Pavilion every day after the Expo closed. To find the main line for the National Pavilion display, we spent countless sleepless nights, made many visits across the country and consulted large amounts of literature. Those experiences are etched in my memory for life.
I. Accepting a Sudden Assignment and Facing the Difficulty
One Sunday in August 2007, the telephone at home rang. It was a call from a municipal leader whom I respected. He told me that major adjustments would be made to the display design and planning of the China National Pavilion. The team originally undertaking this work on behalf of the Expo Bureau would change its role from acting for the client to becoming the contractor. The Expo Bureau, as the client, would directly take responsibility for planning, design, construction and operation of the National Pavilion display, rather than entrusting the work as a whole as before. The leader also told me that I would be in charge of this work.
After hanging up the phone, my mind went blank. I stood stunned for more than ten minutes and still could not recover. I understood what it meant to be responsible for planning a national pavilion display. I understood the expectations placed on the National Pavilion by the central government and Shanghai, by leaders, experts and the general public. I understood even more what the host country's national pavilion represents at a World Expo. It was almost an unbearable burden.
From 2005 to 2007, the Expo Bureau and the entrusted team had conducted several large-scale rounds of planning, design and theme interpretation. From the theme of Expo 2010 Shanghai, Better City, Better Life, to the theme of the China National Pavilion, Chinese Wisdom in Urban Development; from the first sixteen-character expression of the pavilion's display concept to the later sixteen-character expression of self-improvement, great virtue, learning from nature and harmony in diversity, the wisdom and effort of many experts from across China and Shanghai had already been condensed into the work, along with contributions and support from some foreign teams.
Now the project had reached the key moment of turning these themes and concepts into a display main line, display content and display forms. At this moment, the team and organizational structure were suddenly adjusted, and I, though I had worked in exhibitions for many years, was mainly familiar with commercial and trade exhibitions. Being asked to lead and command this work left me completely unprepared, and I suddenly felt unprecedented pressure and challenge.
But at that time, what could I say as an individual? Could I say I could not do it and retreat before the battle? Since this was the trust and decision of the organization, and perhaps also the choice of history, I could only face it bravely, bear it bravely and overcome difficulties to complete the task. Expo workers had always emphasized the twelve words: heavy responsibility, arduous task and glorious mission. Only then did I deeply understand their meaning.
Later, when Vicente Loscertales, Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions, learned about my new assignment, he said half seriously and half jokingly: Dear friend, if you succeed in this matter, you will become a hero of your country. But if you fail, you had better immigrate to Canada. Though it was a joke, it objectively reflected the fact that international professionals knew the importance and weight of the National Pavilion display.
II. Searching Repeatedly and Finding a Way Forward
With the basic display concept of the China National Pavilion established, the biggest difficulty and challenge was choosing the display breakthrough point. The sixteen characters meaning self-improvement, great virtue, learning from nature and harmony in diversity highly summarized and condensed the historical course and great wisdom of five thousand years of Chinese civilization, and also covered the great wisdom of China's urban development history. But turning them into vivid, experiential display content rather than label-like statements was clearly not easy.
The dozens of proposals collected in the early stage roughly fell into several types. The first mechanically illustrated the sixteen characters. Learning from nature became Chinese gardens and landscapes; great virtue became Confucius and revolutionary leaders; harmony in diversity became the clothing and customs of China's 56 ethnic groups; Chinese elements became lists such as the 24 solar terms. The second type was too heavy with historical traces, too thin in modern feeling and too abstract in future elements, equating Chinese wisdom in urban development with the development process of ancient Chinese cities: heavy imperial cities, magnificent palaces, red lanterns, flying dragons and phoenixes celebrating together. The third type was metaphysical, grand but empty and lacking detail. Some praised cities through altitude lines; some described them through differences in latitude and longitude. Although they had a sense of space and three-dimensionality, their relationship with Chinese wisdom was hard to explain. Rounds of proposal collection made it difficult for the team to find a new path or break free from fixed thinking.
In the process of searching and repeated reflection, we decided to reconsider the positioning of the China National Pavilion. Everyone agreed that the pavilion, as the national image of the host country, was of decisive importance. If the National Pavilion succeeded, the success of Expo 2010 Shanghai would have a premise and a foundation. Therefore, the China Pavilion had to establish three standards.
First, it had to have global breadth. It had to tell its story in the language of the world, because the China National Pavilion would be a must-visit place for leaders of every participating country. They would hope to understand China's past, present and future through our display, especially China's experience in urban development, and to see inspiration and reference. Second, it had to have national height. The pavilion had to truly display China's great achievements in urbanization and reflect the experience and practice of the Chinese government and people in using wisdom to meet challenges and explore a path of urbanization with Chinese characteristics. Third, it had to have professional depth. This meant both theoretical professionalism and professional display methods. Every viewpoint in the pavilion had to be scientifically based, defensible and repeatedly considered, with little or no controversy. The display methods had to reveal the great through the small, proceed from shallow to deep, be vivid and lively, avoid dull preaching, and give every visitor an enjoyable experience.
After positioning became clear, the team entered the next round of tackling the problem. Since the previous proposals had not found an appropriate entry point and breakthrough, we boldly changed the work procedure. Instead of beginning with the theme and concept, we began with the current state of China's urbanization process and with people's everyday personal experience, searching again for wisdom and a breakthrough.
With leaders supporting the loosening of constraints and with help from many leading experts from Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Shanghai, we carefully reviewed China's urbanization path. What shocked us was that the 60 years of Chinese urbanization after the founding of the People's Republic could be divided into two stages: the first 30 years and the later 30 years. In 1949, 90 percent of China's population lived in rural areas, and about 10 percent lived in cities. By 1978, when reform and opening-up began, the urban population ratio had risen to 18 percent. By 2008, after 30 years of reform and opening-up, China's urban population had reached 590 million, accounting for 46 percent of the total. In other words, during 30 years of reform and opening-up, China's urban population increased by more than 300 million.
In plain and vivid terms, during these 30 years, 25 new urban residents were born every minute; a new established town appeared every one and a half days; 1.28 county-level cities were created every month; and one prefecture-level city was established every two months. This was an urbanization movement of a scale, speed and density never before seen in human history. This process brought prosperity to China's urban and rural areas and general improvement in people's lives, but also created huge challenges for social structure and the living environment. In addressing these contradictions, our Party and government consistently upheld a people-oriented governing philosophy and constantly promoted harmony among people and harmony between people and nature. This is China's unique wisdom. This wisdom comes from the traditions and experience of the Chinese nation and also offers reference for urbanization around the world. Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics in 2001, former World Bank chief economist and American economist, placed China's urbanization alongside the information technology revolution in the United States as the two major events affecting the world economy at the beginning of the 21st century.
Thirty years of reform and opening-up, nearly 30,000 new towns and more than 300 million new urban residents became the breakthrough point for the main display line of the China National Pavilion. Through this breakthrough, we could fully display the great achievements made by the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people since the founding of the People's Republic, especially since reform and opening-up. Through this breakthrough, we could also integrate the governing philosophy of harmony with the sixteen-character wisdom gradually condensed by the Chinese nation, making them coherent and continuous. Through this breakthrough, we could tell the world about China's urbanization development strategy and prospects, showing that China's future path is one of sustainable development. When we reported the newly formed view to the leaders of the Organizing Committee and Executive Committee, it received full support and recognition. Every team member was delighted, because the breakthrough problem had finally been solved.
III. From a High Vantage Point to an Increasingly Mature Plan
With the main display line of the National Pavilion basically established, detailed planning and design work advanced in full. The China Pavilion was divided into three levels: the first was the core display level, the second the experiential display level, and the third the functional display level. The specific plan was five ones: one theater, one scroll, one stretch of green, one ride and one square.
One theater would guide audiences to experience the tremendous changes in cities and life during the 30 years of reform and opening-up, facing the reality and achievements of urbanization. One scroll would use grand modern multimedia methods to present the classical Chinese painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival, tracing traditional wisdom in Chinese cities. One stretch of green would use symbols such as rice paddies and bamboo forests to convey the development concept of urban-rural integration and the harmonious idea of living under one roof. One ride would use interactive and comparative methods to let visitors experience the wisdom of ancient and modern Chinese cities in planning, construction and management. One square would use more convenient urban life as its main line to let visitors feel sustainable lifestyles.
By May 2009, the team was engaged in intense debate over whether One Square should reflect global warming caused by carbon emissions. Different people had different views. As the world's fastest-growing developing country, China's total carbon emissions were bound to rise. Should we proactively address this matter? If so, how should we talk about it? Team members thought repeatedly, expressed their views, and could hardly eat or sleep peacefully.
At that time, the main municipal leader told us earnestly that many countries around the world were focusing on environmental protection. If our National Pavilion did not address environmental protection, it would not conform to the global trend. Our display must talk about the future and environmental protection. The leader's requirement removed our concerns. We decided to change One Square into One Low-Carbon Future, and the third functional display level was also adjusted into a thematic display level. Based on the spirit of General Secretary Hu Jintao's speech at the World Climate Summit in Detroit, One Low-Carbon Future was divided into several major sections: obtaining resources properly, meaning the use of new energy; using resources sparingly, meaning energy conservation and environmental protection; and returning to nature, meaning carbon sinks. In this way, the whole display main line of the National Pavilion gained greater height and depth. The display content became richer and more complete, and the display logic became clearer and more reasonable. Looking back now, it was precisely the repeated consideration and refinement in the second half of 2009 that made the National Pavilion more perfect when it was formally exhibited and allowed it to stand the test of a year-long public practice.
The China National Pavilion attracted surging crowds at the Expo and achieved an unprecedented success. It received almost unanimous high praise from domestic and overseas visitors, leaders of various countries and the world media, bringing honor to the country and the people. This was the result of the direct command and care of the leaders of the Organizing Committee and Executive Committee, the result of mobilizing national strength and global wisdom, and the result of the unremitting efforts of every comrade in the design, construction and management teams. As one of the team leaders, I feel proud from the bottom of my heart. For the country's promise, we should and absolutely can reach a world-class level of display.
Organized with the assistance of Zhuang Yan, Fei Xiaozhou and Yin Shuxiao.