BEIJING, Feb. 18 -- Draped in red cloth, China's pavilion at the 2010 World
Expo is at first glance a very obviously Chinese structure.
When the mysterious red veil is lifted, however, it is revealed as a
complex structure that celebrates a diverse range of traditional Chinese
elements, including architecture, calligraphy, gardening and urban planning.
Standing in the central location of the Expo site at 63 meters tall, triple
the height of any other pavilion, the structure certainly will become a fine
exhibit for Shanghai to present to the world ahead of the Expo opening.
The main structure of the China Pavilion, "The Crown of the East," has a
distinctive roof, made of traditional dougong or brackets, which has a history
dating back more than 2,000 years.
The dougong style features wooden brackets fixed layer upon layer between
the top of a column and a crossbeam. This unique structural component of
interlocking wooden brackets is one of the most important elements in
traditional Chinese architecture.
Dougong was widely used in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-467 BC). After
the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the bracket sets became more ornamental than
structural when used in palatial structures and important religious buildings.
Ancient craftsmen cut the wooden pieces to fit together so perfectly that
no glue or fasteners were necessary. Today, visitors can still see these
distinct brackets in the Forbidden City and Summer Palace in Beijing.
The six-layer, 30-meter-high dougong roof is actually the exhibition area
of the Chinese national pavilion. The 56 brackets used in the roof symbolize the
56 minority ethnic groups in China.
The top of the roof features a Sudoku grid, which was a traditional urban
planning feature in ancient Chinese cities such as Xi'an (Shaanxi Province) and
Beijing.
When the sun shines into the pavilion, there will be a smaller Sudoku shadow in the semi-open square on the ground floor of the structure.
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