Old folks meet
"Expo Grandpa", 74-year-old Gao Dahua, met "Expo Granny" Tomiyo Yamada in the Central and South America Joint Pavilion recently. Gao has been to the Expo Garden 14 times and visited all the national pavilions. During their meeting, Gao presented Yamada with a poem he wrote and they exchanged stories about their regular visits to the Expo Garden.
Trashy art
Artworks made from trash displayed at the Montreal Case Pavilion have won Touchmedia's Eco-Art China 2010 competition. Artist Tan Lu from Sichuan won first prize of a trip for two to Montreal for his work created from soft drink cans, cotton flannel, foam and cardboard. Tan, a 33-year-old hearing-impaired railway worker, spent 10 days working on a delicate cutting and engraving artwork called Peony & Phoenix. It was a piece he felt represented the spirit of his hometown, Mianyang, a city being rebuilt following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Another winner was "Expo Granny" Tomiyo Yamada from Japan, with an ukiyo-e print of Mount Fuji.
Kafka honored
Czech Republic Pavilion Week will be held in the Expo Garden until Sept 19. To commemorate the work of famous Czech author Franz Kafka, an exhibition of this influential novelist is being held in the pavilion. Czech Jewish author Arnost Lustig, who received the Franz Kafka Prize in 2008, attended the opening ceremony and recited part of his work to an audience of 20 Chinese students.
New passport
Xiao Baode, 79, could not hold back his tears when Expo volunteer Chen Zhenru handed him an Expo passport filled with pavilion stamps. Xiao lost his Expo passport, which contained about 50 stamps, on Aug 23. Volunteers from Shanghai Maritime University heard about Xiao's loss, replaced the passport, and spent 11 days collecting 67 Expo pavilion stamps.
Solar winner
Officials from the Belgian pharmaceutical company, Solvay, which sponsors the world's largest solar-powered airplane, Solar Impulse, visited the Expo Garden recently to take part in the Solvay Celebration Day organized by the Belgium-EU Pavilion. In July, Solar Impulse completed a 26-hour nighttime flight. Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, who pioneered the solar-powered flight, will visit the Expo Garden on Oct 10.
China Daily
(China Daily 09/10/2010)
