Russia has fairy-tale visions for the Expo

Officials unveil Russia Pavilion design. [en.expo2010.cn]

Russia will decorate its pavilion for the 2010 World Expo like a fairy-tale world, showing a comfortable city as seen through children's eyes.

The country unveiled its pavilion design which will be on a 6,000-square-meter plot and feature 12 white towers inspired by traditional Russian women's costume on July 29, 2009.

The 20-meter towers, in white, red and gold, will duplicate the ancient Ural towns dating back 3,000 years ago, but given a modern touch with their irregular shapes. They demonstrate the diversity of both ancient and modern cities, said Vladimir Strashko, Russia's commission general for the Expo.

A 15-meter-tall central building will link the towers.

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Inside the three-story building, there will be a display of scenes from the fairy tale "The Adventures of DUNNO and His Friends," written by children's author Nikolay Nosov.

The novel tells the story of Neznaika, a 15-year-old boy and his friends. They have journeys to some fantastic cities where cars are fueled by strawberry jam and huge cakes are used as houses.

Their adventures include three fictional cities: the City of Flowers, the City of Sun and the City of Moon, which will be the three main exhibition areas.

The walls of the pavilion will be painted in vivid colors and visitors can enter mushroom-shape houses just like in a fairy tale.

"People are always seeking the ideal city to live, and we think the most comfortable city in children's eyes is the most livable city," said Boris Krasnov, chief designer of the pavilion.

"We welcome children from across the world to visit our pavilion," he said.

The most advanced technologies that will lead to a better city will be exhibited in the fairy-tale setting and the achievements of Russian youth and young scientists will be highlighted.

The City of Flowers will exhibit environment-related technology. The City of Sun will showcase new clean energies. The City of Moon will focus on space exploration. Yury Gagarin's 1961 flight which made him the first man in space will be showcased.

Four of the 12 towers will be accessible to the public, with different Russian regions having showcases. The other towers will be VIP rooms or be closed for technical uses.

The pavilion theme is "New Russia: city and citizen."