Many people make the mistake of only visiting the large country pavilions, for example Germany, France etc etc, but sometimes size really doesn't matter. A lot of the small countries, the provincial pavilions have put in a lot of energy, creativity and pride into their pavilions. Also they provide a very detailed tour of each pavilion. That is why our CEO really enjoys the provincial pavilions, they're very helpful, accommodating and really enjoy the USAP's outreach. Because of this relationship, we have managed to have several "pavilion exchanges" where two employees from said pavilion come work at our pavilion for a shift and vice versa. So far we've had students go to Jiangsu (which sadly I missed!!), Inner Mongolia and the Sichuan pavilion. I think Ali and Lawrence got to participate in a traditional Shaanxi wedding ceremony and were married on spot.
Yi-Xian and I met up with Bessie and Rune (Martin's assistants) at the VIP entrance, (Okay sadly I don't have any photos of this party)
1) Sichuan Pavilion
our first stop was at the Sichuan pavilion, where they treated us like royalty. Every story has its beggining, so the Director of Sichuan pavilion showed us Sichuan's beginning with a sculpture very similar to Mayan culture, but no one knows what happened to the tribe or people who made these (just like the Mayans....freaky!) and then they took us into a "typical street scene", a bronze statue of two people sipping tea at a tea house.
Then we were shown this giant screen that displayed a glowing heart. If you touch the screen a smaller heart is taken out and you can sign your name on the touch screen monitor below. This is to show a small amount of love and sympathy to those who were victims of the 5.12.08 Sichuan earthquake. Then they have a display of the progress/aid and what is being done to help those who lost their homes, lives, and loved ones. There has been so much humanitarian aid poured into this area and it does show a tremendous amount of hope, optimism and team work. I was surprised and happy to see the amount of effort and donations going towards Sichuan from people within the country (Beijing, Shanghai, Xinjiang, the list goes on!). It's optimistic to see that people are always willing to help their fellow neighbor.
Afterward, Martin signed their guest book and each one of us received an adorable Sichuan pin that had a cuddly little panda on it! Happy Days!
(During this whole tour, Yixian went to every pavilion possible to get her passport stamped, I found it amusing :-D)
2) Hunan Pavilion (Mao's hometown!)
On this reddish whitish loop you see below is actually a loop made out of recycled bamboo. Projected onto this loop is a 3-D movie showcasing the beauties and achievements that occured in Hunan (tea, temples, Chairman Mao, poets, spicy chili....), The girls who work at the Hunan pavilion were so kind to us, and I was brave enough to continue talking to them and we exchanged business cards!!
"I'm so glad, I like friends!" Amy said. Well hopefully Yi Xian and I will see Amy hopefully soon.
3) Dance at the Xinjiang pavilion
Just like at the Sichuan , we got the VIP treatment, we headed up to their VIP lounge, Martin made some conversation and then we go to see their show, which depending on the day showcases a different folk dance. Today from what I saw, they performed a story about a beautiful girl and four boys who want to court her, but only if she agrees! They have to woo her! (I think I deleted my video.....grrrrr)
When the dancing was over, the Xinjiang media rushed in to grab an interview with Martin and we all received colorful Uighur hats (I wish I knew the proper name!)
Conclusion: CEO tour was indeed quite fun, even though I had to hold all the presents we got from each pavilion! They were very informative, kind, and so hospitable that I felt overwhelmed at times from their sincere efforts to make us enjoy touring around their pavilions. Hope to see you soon!
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