CRI听力: Shanghai Expo to Be Denmark's Largest Expo Project

With a budget of about 30 million US dollars, participation in the Shanghai Expo will be Denmark's largest Expo project so far. Denmark has also decided to move the world-known sculpture "the Little Mermaid" from Copenhagen to Shanghai for the event. This will be the first time the world famous Mermaid has left the shores of Copenhagen.

He Fei has more.

Reporter:

As typhoon Morakot swept across the eastern part of China, it was very fortunate for Shanghai to narrowly miss the storm. This was also good news for all the countries that are busy constructing their pavilions for the Shanghai Expo.

John Hansen is the project director of Denmark's Expo Secretariat. He says the Danish pavilion is coming along well.

"We had great luck when the typhoon passed besides Shanghai and therefore we have finalized the construction of the basement. The steel structure is under production and starting from the end of this month it will be erected. And the whole pavilion structure will be finished by the beginning of November. We are planning to be totally ready with the pavilion by April 1st."

The structure of the Danish pavilion is a spiral circuit, covering about 3,000 square meters. The pavilion is designed as a miniature of a Danish street. As the kingdom of fairytales, the Danish pavilion made its theme as "Welfairytales", which is a combination of "Welfare" and "fairytales".

Project director John Hansen elaborates on the theme.

"The idea is that 'welfare' is what most countries and societies are aiming for. You could also say that after wealth comes welfare. And that is then combined with this outset of using the tradition for story telling, so the welfare and fairytales become 'welfairytales'."

By means of short interactive stories, the Danes will show people how wealth and welfare can be two sides of the same coin.

And people can expect to find the "Little Mermaid" welcoming visitors to the entrance of the Danish pavilion. The world acclaimed sculpture will be transferred from Copenhagen harbour to Shanghai, together with some harbour water, to form a little pond as part of the Danish pavilion.

As part of a cultural exchange program, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei will create another piece of art to be shown at the Copenhagen harbor during the little mermaid's absence.

Meanwhile, visitors to the Danish pavilion will be able to experience it by riding bicycles as organizers are planning to provide 500 of them. John Hansen explains.(www.hXen.com)

"It's of course a challenging concept and we have to be sure nobody gets hurt, but we have kept onto this idea because it is a symbolic way of both what the individual in the modern way of living in a city can use as transport and it is what you can expect to find in Denmark."

Picnic areas, a 300-meter long social bench and weekly music concerts will also be available at the Danish Expo pavilion.

He Fei, CRI NEWS.