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French flavors to hit the city
By Yang Jian |
July 16, 2009, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MOST tourists to France will include these things in their must-do list: taste French cuisine; drink authentic French red wine in a typical Versailles Garden; view some priceless paintings in art galleries; and, of course, bring some souvenirs home.
Next year you will be able to do all of these things within one hour and without leaving Shanghai. It will all come true at the France Pavilion at the World Expo 2010.
Even better than going to France, perhaps, Expo visitors will be able to meet heartthrob actor Alain Delon, an Expo ambassador for France, or even take part in a French wedding.
And mystery souvenirs will be given out to visitors every day for free.
The "Sensual City," a 6,000-square-meter pavilion on the banks of the Huangpu River, will showcase the sights, smells, tastes, sounds and feel of France - visitors will be able to admire French gardens and paintings, smell French perfume, taste French cuisine, touch the cool water of pools and fountains, and watch clips from classic French films to soak up the glamor of France.
The building itself will be impressive with a large, classical roof garden and a pond. The walls of the square-shaped structure, which is made from a special concrete, will be covered in plants and it will look like a white floating palace.
The pavilion design was chosen by French President Nicolas Sarkozy from 49 candidates. The president will visit the pavilion on June 21 next year on France's Special Day.
Gardens are the centerpiece of the pavilion.
Visitors will first come across a central hanging garden on the ground floor.
Plants will cover the walls and ground, with streams flowing freely around. Here visitors can prepare to enter the pavilion itself or relax to bird song and the sounds of French cities about them.
Or they can proceed to the roof garden by walking up a gentle ramp.
There a French restaurant called Sixieme Sens (The Sixth Sense) will serve all kinds of food with a different menu every day.
Diners will be able to view the roof garden, the scenery along the Huangpu River and the chefs at work. A sensual combination of fresh air, sunshine, flowing water, singing birds, fragrant flowers - and marvelous food.
Inside there are other temptations to this miniature part of France.
Seven masterpieces are being loaned to the French exhibition for the period of the Expo. The Musee d'Orsay in Paris is sending some outstanding pieces including works by Cezanne, Manet, Millet, Rodin and Van Gogh.
"It means that out of the 10 best masterpieces from this great museum, seven will be in China for six months. They've never left the country for so long," says Franck Serrano, director of the pavilion.
The paintings will be transported to Expo in seven flights. Special security measures will be taken for the art during Expo, he said.
Pavilion staff will wear the same costume as the pavilion mascot Leon the cat, who sports a white T-shirt, blue beret and blue, white and red overalls.
The pavilion will also offer dream weddings for 1,400 couples and visitors can watch or, perhaps, join in.
Seven group weddings are planned during the six-month event.
For each special day 200 couples will tie the knot inside classical French-style gardens. The mayor of the French city of Tours will issue marriage licenses to the couples and Delon will witness some of the weddings.
At a cost of 50 million euros (US$70 million), the "Sensual City" is one of the costliest pavilions at the Shanghai Expo and the most expensive investment of the French government in a World Expo.
About 90 percent of the budget will be financed by the government and the rest will be provided by the private sector.
The French Expo team previously planned to collect half from private business but had to change the plan because of the global financial crisis.
However, the government has not and will not cut the total budget because of the important relationship between China and France, Serrano says. Sensual City aWhat to see?
The paintings including Paul Cezanne's "Woman with Coffee Pot," Vincent van Gogh's "The Dance Hall in Arles," Jean-Francois Millet's "The Angelus" and Edouard Manet's "The Balcony."
The sculpture "The Age of Bronze" by Auguste Rodin.
Alain Delon, Expo ambassador for France who will be roaming around the pavilion.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy (who will come to the pavilion on June 21 on the Special Day for the pavilion).
Pavilion staff wearing the same clothes as the pavilion mascot Leon the cat, who sports a white T-shirt, blue beret and blue, white and red overalls.
What to eat?
The French restaurant, Sixieme Sens (The Sixth Sense) will serve all kinds of food with a different menu every day. People can enjoy the roof garden, the scenery along the Huangpu River and the food at the same time.
Want to have fun?
Seven group weddings are planned for the six-month event. Each time, about 200 couples will tie the knot inside classical French-style gardens in the pavilion. The mayor of the French city of Tours will hand out licenses to the couples and Alain Delon will witness some of the weddings.
Next year you will be able to do all of these things within one hour and without leaving Shanghai. It will all come true at the France Pavilion at the World Expo 2010.
Even better than going to France, perhaps, Expo visitors will be able to meet heartthrob actor Alain Delon, an Expo ambassador for France, or even take part in a French wedding.
And mystery souvenirs will be given out to visitors every day for free.
The "Sensual City," a 6,000-square-meter pavilion on the banks of the Huangpu River, will showcase the sights, smells, tastes, sounds and feel of France - visitors will be able to admire French gardens and paintings, smell French perfume, taste French cuisine, touch the cool water of pools and fountains, and watch clips from classic French films to soak up the glamor of France.
The building itself will be impressive with a large, classical roof garden and a pond. The walls of the square-shaped structure, which is made from a special concrete, will be covered in plants and it will look like a white floating palace.
The pavilion design was chosen by French President Nicolas Sarkozy from 49 candidates. The president will visit the pavilion on June 21 next year on France's Special Day.
Gardens are the centerpiece of the pavilion.
Visitors will first come across a central hanging garden on the ground floor.
Plants will cover the walls and ground, with streams flowing freely around. Here visitors can prepare to enter the pavilion itself or relax to bird song and the sounds of French cities about them.
Or they can proceed to the roof garden by walking up a gentle ramp.
There a French restaurant called Sixieme Sens (The Sixth Sense) will serve all kinds of food with a different menu every day.
Diners will be able to view the roof garden, the scenery along the Huangpu River and the chefs at work. A sensual combination of fresh air, sunshine, flowing water, singing birds, fragrant flowers - and marvelous food.
Inside there are other temptations to this miniature part of France.
Seven masterpieces are being loaned to the French exhibition for the period of the Expo. The Musee d'Orsay in Paris is sending some outstanding pieces including works by Cezanne, Manet, Millet, Rodin and Van Gogh.
"It means that out of the 10 best masterpieces from this great museum, seven will be in China for six months. They've never left the country for so long," says Franck Serrano, director of the pavilion.
The paintings will be transported to Expo in seven flights. Special security measures will be taken for the art during Expo, he said.
Pavilion staff will wear the same costume as the pavilion mascot Leon the cat, who sports a white T-shirt, blue beret and blue, white and red overalls.
The pavilion will also offer dream weddings for 1,400 couples and visitors can watch or, perhaps, join in.
Seven group weddings are planned during the six-month event.
For each special day 200 couples will tie the knot inside classical French-style gardens. The mayor of the French city of Tours will issue marriage licenses to the couples and Delon will witness some of the weddings.
At a cost of 50 million euros (US$70 million), the "Sensual City" is one of the costliest pavilions at the Shanghai Expo and the most expensive investment of the French government in a World Expo.
About 90 percent of the budget will be financed by the government and the rest will be provided by the private sector.
The French Expo team previously planned to collect half from private business but had to change the plan because of the global financial crisis.
However, the government has not and will not cut the total budget because of the important relationship between China and France, Serrano says. Sensual City aWhat to see?
The paintings including Paul Cezanne's "Woman with Coffee Pot," Vincent van Gogh's "The Dance Hall in Arles," Jean-Francois Millet's "The Angelus" and Edouard Manet's "The Balcony."
The sculpture "The Age of Bronze" by Auguste Rodin.
Alain Delon, Expo ambassador for France who will be roaming around the pavilion.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy (who will come to the pavilion on June 21 on the Special Day for the pavilion).
Pavilion staff wearing the same clothes as the pavilion mascot Leon the cat, who sports a white T-shirt, blue beret and blue, white and red overalls.
What to eat?
The French restaurant, Sixieme Sens (The Sixth Sense) will serve all kinds of food with a different menu every day. People can enjoy the roof garden, the scenery along the Huangpu River and the food at the same time.
Want to have fun?
Seven group weddings are planned for the six-month event. Each time, about 200 couples will tie the knot inside classical French-style gardens in the pavilion. The mayor of the French city of Tours will hand out licenses to the couples and Alain Delon will witness some of the weddings.
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