Friday, June 25, 2010

Shanghai, part 8: From France to Nepal

At the Shanghai World Expo, I wandered down the giant alley toward the Poland Pavilion, which had intrigued me with its design. Meanwhile, Chunlin rested her feet.

On the way to Poland, I passed the France Pavilion:
m84 - France Pavilion

Past the Germany Pavilion, I spotted Poland.
m87 - Germany Advancing on Poland

m89 - Poland Pavilion
It wasn't as interesting in person as in concept. It was hard to see it as folded paper from ground level.

Across the wide alley, Spain was a pleasant surprise.
m99 - España Pavilion

m93 - Spain Pavilion Fold
The Spain Pavilion was a giant wicker basket -- and it smelled like it, too.

Come November 1, the expo will close and these buildings will no longer be good for much of anything. As far as I know, China plans to demolish all the nations' pavilions and create a new neighborhood. Only a few expo structures will survive.

I rejoined Chunlin and we hopped a shuttle bus for the other side of the expo, near the Nepal Pavilion.
m101 - Nepal Pavilion Dual

At first we thought we'd go in, but then we saw the full extent of the line.

m100 - Nepal Pavilion Spire

Instead, we climbed the stairs to the pedestrian walkway which runs over the street nearby.
m107 - Mark on the Elevated Walk - Ch

m106 - Chunlin on the Elevated Walk

Presumably these walkways will still exist once the expo is gone. Or at least I think they'd make a good addition to the future neighborhood's infrastructure. Separate the foot traffic from the wheeled traffic. Safer that way.

More such photos on flickr.

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