Welcome back, colleagues and friends, to this exciting April issue of Cuisine & Culture featuring The World Expo 2010 which will begin showcasing its charms in Shanghai tonight with a spectacular opening ceremony and continue for 184 days afterwards.

This world's grand gathering, with the theme of "Better City, Better Life", draws an unprecedented 192 countries and 50 plus international organizations embodying the common aspirations of mankind for a better life and a better future.

In the 5.28 square-kilometer expo park straddling the Huangpu River, architects from across the globe have joined hands to set up a "town of aspirations" brimming with original designs and colorful cultural diversities.

As the largest, most important, representative and authoritative organization the worldwide, the United Nations, together with its various organizations led by UN-Habitat, present at the UN Pavilion how they have made great efforts and achieved significant results in fields of sustainable development, climate change, and urban management, among others.

The Africa Pavilion features efforts made on the African continent in addressing the challenges posed by global climate deterioration, illustrating  the key role clean energy has been playing in the management and development of cities and the improvement of people’s standard of living.

The Japanese Pavilion, costing 133 million U.S. dollars, is a semi-circular structure covered by a purple-colored membrane, and is dubbed "Purple Silkworm Island" by local residents in Shanghai.

Solar energy and advanced environment-friendly and recycling technologies were used in building the "island" to make it a "breathing organism" and promote harmony between man and nature.                   

Britain has set up in the Shanghai Expo a "Crystal Palace" -- a dazzling cube formed by more than 60,000 slim and transparent acrylic rods containing seeds of different plants that were collected in a biodiversity project.

The pavilion, nicknamed "dandelion" by the Chinese public, intends to convey the idea of "Building on the past, Shaping our future."

Meanwhile, the Danes have brought all the way to Shanghai their "Little Mermaid" statue, and the Czechs will present in their pavilion the 300-year-old Bronze plaques that rest on the base of the Saint John Nepomucensis statue in Prague.

The above are but just a few.

More significant is that these marvellous designs are finally transformed from blueprint to reality even as the world is just starting to recover from a severe global financial crisis.

The Shanghai Expo provides a grand platform for people from every corner of the globe longing for a better future to exchange ideas and enhance mutual understanding.

At the exposition, the Russians, who view the event as a "global science and technology contest," will introduce to the world their breakthroughs in tidal power stations and new nuclear technologies in energy and ecological spheres.

Hamburg, a sister city of Shanghai, built a "Hamburg House" in the expo park, using solar and geothermal energy and ventilation systems to make its energy consumption 86 percent less than ordinary buildings of the same size.

The house will be transferred to the Shanghai municipality as a gift after the expo, serving as a symbol of the friendship between the two cities.

During the 184 days of grand feasts, visitors will no doubt be inspired by exchanges between civilizations and cultures, advanced notions in urban development as well as brand new ideas to boost sustainable urban development.

Colleagues and friends Cuisine & Culture is delighted to present you this sneak preview of The World Expo 2010, Shanghai with an attachment of a slight show, albeit in Chinese for which this Editor owes you an apology for not being able to render it into English thanks to a busy schedule. The eye-catching graphics in the show, though, are self explanatory which speak for themselves.

Enjoy!

From the Editor: Cuisine & Culture obtains its materials both online and off line with sources omitted for reason of simplicity but can be provided upon request. Certain materials come in languages other than English that Cuisine & Culture renders into English to the best of its ability. Cuisine & Culture is not in a position to verify the veracity of the materials provided herein. Reader’s discretion is kindly advised.

A Special Acknowledgement of Thanks from Cuisine & Culture

Cuisine & Culture wishes to express its heartfelt thanks to Kevin Wambura of the ITS team here at UNON in Nairobi and Yawtsong Lee, a veteran interpreter at UN headquarters, now retired, for their technical advice and assistance and is hereby extremely pleased to retain them as Technical Advisors to Cuisine & Culture.