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The Mexico Pavilion will send its hand-made kites and masks to Mexican firms operating on the mainland when the Expo ends. Gao Erqiang / China Daily |
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Three-quarters of the red solar cells that coat the Switzerland Pavilion have already been sold for 260 yuan apiece. Photos by Gao Erqiang / China Daily |
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Environmentally friendly bicycles from the Denmark Pavilion (above) and the Elisabeth Star diamond necklace from the Belgium-EU Pavilion will soon be auctioned for charitable causes. |
Expo prepares for a looming garage sale as pavilions auction and give away materials and exhibits in line with the Expo's environmental theme, Yu Ran reports.
The Switzerland Pavilion is making sure its exhibition and building materials are not all laid to waste when the Expo 2010 Shanghai ends on Oct 31 by pre-selling the solar cells that coat its exterior, a trend that other pavilions are starting to pick up on.
The red solar cells that decorate the pavilion's faade and provide light for its two-cylinder ski lift are available at its merchandise shop for 260 yuan apiece. Three-quarters have already been sold, according to employee Li Jia.
"We're pretty sure they'll all be gone within this month," she said, adding that purchases are limited to five per customer.
The pavilion's interactive faade uses 8,000 cells to show the huge amount of unused energy at our disposal every day. Due to the structure's intelligent design, this energy can be harnessed from the flashes elicited by visitor's cameras.
"I love the color and the effect the cells create at night. I've already left a wall free in my new apartment to hang them up," said Wang Derui, who bought five of the cells.
Meanwhile, the Taipei World Trade Center sold the Taiwan Pavilion, which it operates, to Taiwan's Hsinchu City for NT$458.88 million($14.81 million) last month, a sum it claimed was 10 percent above the original bidding price.
Numerous national pavilions told China Daily they have received interest from various regions in China to purchase their structures when the Expo ends, but few, if any, deals have been confirmed.
According to World Expo rules, all pavilions must be torn down when the Expo runs its course and their exhibitions removed, although the rules do allow for sales, auctions and recycling.
However there has been talk during the ongoing Expo that one or two of the pavilions in the Urban Best Practices Area (UBPA), a new addition to the World Expo, may remain in place.
The Shanghai government has expressed interest in integrating some of these experiments in ecologically aware urban engineering into new districts or urban developments in China's bustling financial hub.
Contributing to local charities is another option for pavilions seeking a better solution to their exhibits than simply dumping them in the garbage can as they depart.
China Business Network (CBN), the business arm of Shanghai Media Group, plans to launch a program called Expo Auction Hall on Ningxia TV on Oct 17. The show will give pavilions a platform on which to put parts of their displays under the hammer, with a percentage of the proceeds going to charitable causes.
The project aims to fit with the Expo's theme of "Better City, Better Life" by making better use of the resources around us, program staff said.
Exhibits that have already been confirmed include The Elisabeth Star, a piece of jewelry featuring a yellow diamond. It was created for the Belgium-EU Pavilion by Belgian jeweler Wolfers, the official jeweler of the King of Belgium. It features a 27-carat pear-shaped diamond as its centerpiece.
"We expect it will fetch at least 24 million yuan ($3.59 million), which is its real value, but it may go for more," said Mickey Weinstock, the pavilion's diamond coordinator. "We will also be putting other important diamonds from our collection up for auction."
Other highlights are three environmentally friendly bicycles from the Denmark Pavilion and an ancient Chinese vessel with three legs that weighs 469 kilograms and ranks as the world's heaviest jade tripod. The latter belongs to the Devnet Pavilion.
Organizers of the show said they plan to hold an online auction later featuring diamonds from Antwerp and chocolate souvenirs, also provided by the Belgium-EU Pavilion. Portugal is donating a soccer jersey signed by Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, while Spain will give jerseys and soccer boots signed by other members of the top-flight Spanish league team.
"At the moment, we're still finalizing negotiations with pavilions regarding their exhibits. Hopefully we'll be able to reach agreements on more items by early October," said Chen Zhen, who works at CBN's brand operation department.
Stine Guldmann, the director of the Denmark Pavilion, said that the bicycles it is donating are only the tip of the iceberg for what it is planning.
"The social bench that runs through our pavilion is made of steel, which can be reused after the Expo, while the furniture in our VIP facilities will be donated to the Nordic Center at (Shanghai's) Fudan University," she said.
Almost all of the pavilion's materials will be reused or donated to others, she added. The Danish Embassy in Beijing has purchased 35 of the pavilion's popular Copenhagen City bicycles for an online competition it will run soon.
Meanwhile, the Finland, Thailand and Belgium-EU pavilions have made donations to the Expo Museum. Finland will also give certain artifacts to a school in earthquake-ravaged Sichuan province. Finnish companies and governmental organizations in China built the school.
The UK Pavilion, also known as the "Seed Cathedral", is planning to donate the 60,000 seeds embedded in its structure's acrylic rods to primary schools in rural China. The Mexico Pavilion will send its hand-made kites and masks to Mexican firms operating on the mainland.
"We are also going to be giving away souvenirs like pins, cards, pictures and posters with each purchase to clear our stocks," said Alfonso Araujo, who manages the pavilion's merchandise outlet.
(China Daily 10/08/2010)
