China Pavilion a hit with visitors at Expo Milano 2015

The Shandong Week industry event at the China Pavilion in Expo Milano 2015. [Photo by Tuo Yannan/China Daily]

"Agricultural civilization" forms the core concept of the China Pavilion. It is structured like a thatched cottage used by Chinese farmers to rest after hours of laboring in paddy fields.

The pavilion also embodies the project's theme, "The Land of Hope"－the roof is covered by a layer of shingled bamboo, making the building seem like a moving wheat field under the breeze from a distance. According to Wang, the roof panels were designed via a unique digital process by China's Tsinghua University. The building combines existing civilization concepts and ideas for future development.

"The China Pavilion is aimed at merging the two perspectives together. As an ancient civilization, agriculture and food safety are important issues to China, while sustainability is also a crucial element for future development," Wang said. Sustainability in the design is reflected in half opened spaces to lower energy consumption and generate less waste.

Beneath the roof, a landscaped field representing the concept of "land" incorporates the building's exhibition program. With a 20-minute multimedia installation consisting of 22,000 LED stalks integrated into the landscape, visitors from the second floor are able to see different beautiful patterns, including traditional terraced fields, colorful flowers and changing lights made by the stalks .