City Pavilion 中意城市馆

As the first month of the Milan Expo reaches its end, with the grounds attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each day, attention is being drawn by those standout additions to this year’s array of exhibits and pavilions. With 130 countries participating and 60 self-made pavilions from around the world open for viewing, there is no shortage of eye-catching exhibits one of which is the stunning City Pavilion. This year marks the first time in Expo history that China has displayed a self-built pavilion, and it is quite literally making waves. The existence of the pavilion itself not only represents the burgeoning prosperity of China’s economy over the last 20 years but also indicates a promising step forward in its relationship with Italy.

Built on 4,590 square meters and located in the core of Decumano, of the building is a piece of art in and of itself. In a powerfully successful collaboration between China’s own Tsinghua University and New York’s architecture firm Studio Link-Arc, chief architect Lu Yichen has created a masterpiece. Each detail of the building was meticulously designed. The waving roofline, which has been reported to remind visitors of a field of grain or a cloud floating on the horizon, was based off of the shapes of the Beijing cityscape on the Northern side and the skyline created by a mountain range in rural China on the southern. Over 1,000 woven bamboo panels form the roof, allowing natural sunlight into the pavilion and even minimizing the carbon footprint of the building itself.

But it isn’t just the appearance and design of the building that stuns visitors. The themes and exhibitions on display inside are just as awe-inspiring. The message chosen for the entire exhibition this year, “Land of Hope,Food for Life”, in relation to the overall Expo message “Feeding the planet, Food for Life,” created the inspiration for the exhibition. The Chinese pavilion recreates this message in four separate areas in the space,each themed after a word: “Paradise, Earth, Humanity and Harmony.”

The “Paradise” portion of the exhibition represents the agricultural history of China, displaying 24 periods on agricultural calendars as marked by the sun, a vital element in agriculture. The “Earth” area emphasizes the natural resources and richness of Chinese lands while the “Humanity” area represents humanity’s adaptation to areas and how nature impacts cultures and traditions. Lastly the “Harmony” area represents finding a balance between the philosophy of sustainability on this planet and the desire for human development.

Inside the pavilion visitors will also see many exhibits showcasing China’s ancient food culture. Clay figures portray people eating or making food, representing the way a meal can bring people together. In one of the main rooms, what appears to be a field of straw is fixed with LED lights that can be remotely controlled, changing colors constantly and giving the impression of growing crops.

With all of this thought and detail, China’s pavilion has become an instant success. Fulfilling the goal of Expo 2015 in its illustration of maintaining cultural tradition to support natural sustainability and rational progress, the pavilion marks a stepping stone for China, “The Land of Hope,” and is reported to have seen more than a million visitors in the first month of the 2015 Milan Expo.

2015年米兰世博会初月展已经接近尾声，每天到访的游客成千上万，现在人们的注意力转向一系列的展览和展馆。本次世博会一共有超过130个国家参加，有60个来自不同国家的自建展馆对游客开放，其中备受瞩目的当属中意城市馆。今年是中国第一次在米兰世博会上展出自建展馆，这也引起了不小的轰动。该展馆的存在不仅仅代表了中国在过去20年来的经济繁荣，也是中意友好关系的重要的一步。

中意城市馆坐落于米兰市中心的奥斯塔公爵广场，占地4590平方米，该建筑本身就是一件艺术品。 该展馆是纽约Studio Link-Arc和清华大学美术学院的完美合作，这也是主建筑师Lu Yichen的一项巨作。展馆的每个细节都是一丝不苟的设计成品。据报道，游客都称屋顶的波浪轮廓像是一片广阔的田野，也像是漂浮在地平线上的一团云朵。该模型是根据北京的北面方向俯瞰北京的都市风光而制成，轮廓线是根据中国南方乡村的山脉走向获得灵感。屋顶是由超过1000个编织竹胶板制成，使自然光可以直接照射在馆内，甚至可以将展馆本身的碳排放量降到最低。

但是不仅仅是建筑本身的外形和设计让游客赞叹不已，展馆的主题和馆内的展出物品也让大家叹为观止。本展览的主题“希望的田野，生命的源泉”也正好契合了本届世博会的主题“给养地球：生命的能源”。中国馆通过四个不同的板块将主题再现，每个板块代表的主题分别为“天堂、地球、人类和和谐”。

展馆中的“天堂”板块代表了中国农业社会的发展历史，展出了由太阳为标记的24个农业日历，是农业社会中至关重要的一个元素。“地球”板块强调了中国自然资源的丰富和土地辽阔，“人类”板块则代表了人们的随域而迁，更是展示了自然对文化和传统的巨大影响。最后一个“和谐”板块向人们展示了在地球上寻找持续性哲学的平衡和人类人类发展的需求。

展馆内游客们还可以看到很多中国古代食物文化的陈列品。粘土人像栩栩如生地刻画了在吃饭的人们和人们做饭时的情景，表达了吃饭也是将人们聚在一起的一种方法。在其中的一个主房间中，由LED灯拼成的稻草田野是可以远程控制的，可以不断变换颜色像是在生长的农作物。

因为这些新意和细节，使中国意城市馆成了一幅巨作。该馆不仅达成了2015米兰世博会的保持农业传统以支持自然持续性和合理发展的目标，也是中国发展史上的一个里程碑，正如其主题“希望的田野”一样，据报道已经有超过一百万的游客到访米世博会。

Stefano Mologni was instrumental in the creation of China’s contribution to EXPO 2015 in his role as Secretary General of China Corporate United Pavilion. Having worked in the design, fashion, architecture and modeling industries, he has now lived in China for almost ten years. He focuses on international projects and is currently based in Shanghai.

Stefano Mologni先生作为 2015年米兰世博会中国企业联合馆的秘书长，对中国在这届世博会的发展有很大贡献。他已经在中国居住了近10年，曾就职于设计、时尚、建筑和模型产业。目前，他住在上海，专注于开展一些国际项目。