The Shenzhen Case Pavilion chose a different path from other pavilions in the Urban Best Practice Area (UBPA) in the Expo Garden to present its image. Instead of going high-tech and carbon neutral, the pavilion decided to showcase the stunning success of one of its districts, the art hub of Dafen.

Dafen, once a poor village, has been transformed into the world's largest supplier of replica oil paintings.

Dafen is celebrated by a huge painting of the Mona Lisa attached to the Shenzhen Case Pavilion's faade. The painting, which lies on its side, is composed of 999 individual art pieces created by 507 Dafen artists. It is, not surprisingly, the largest copy of Mona Lisa in the world, according to a spokeswoman at the pavilion.

"We've made a special trip to the Shenzhen Case Pavilion to see the huge Mona Lisa," said 31-year-old Rui Lin from Weifang in Shandong province, "My son saw it on TV and he insisted on coming to see it.

"Though he is too young to understand how difficult it would be to construct this amazing piece, we taught him to respect the artists' efforts," he said.

Based on the theme: "Frontier for China's Dreams", the pavilion has only limited space inside - a mere 400 square meters - but it is well worth the 20 minutes it takes to explore. More than 750,000 people have already visited, making it one of the most popular pavilions in UBPA.

"We are very pleased with the number of visitors," said Zhang Furong, director of the operation department of the pavilion, "Shenzhen is the laboratory of China's dreams, it is a very attractive icon for visitors, especially the younger generation."

The limited space inside the Shenzhen Pavilion is made more interesting by incorporating different levels harboring all sorts of nooks and crannies, making the visit more of a discovery.

There are two video walls near the entrance to pavilion. One traces the incredible changes that have occurred in Shenzhen since it was declared a special economic zone 30 years ago. The other presents the equally stunning transformation of Dafen, this time through animation.

"We are looking forward to having more visitors," Zhang said, "We aim to tell that Shenzhen is a city for people with dreams."

For related video, please refer to http://www.ttav89.com/video

China Daily

(China Daily 08/20/2010)