Drizzle on a regular May day in Shanghai has not dampened the enthusiasm of Expo visitors, least of all at the German pavilion, where crowds of people queued for up to two hours for entry.

German Pavilion director Urte Fechter attributed the popularity to its "interactive activities which enable the public to learn knowledge."

"Germany pavilion wants to show to the world what can be done to make life better, so there are a lot of ideas from Germany, especially regarding sustainability for the future generations," Fechter told Xinhua.

Composed of four exhibition structures and wrapped up in silver membrane, the German Pavilion was dubbed "Balancity," a neologism created to show such a German notion: a nice city should keep balance between work and leisure, innovation and tradition, as well as modernization and preservation.

With a land area of nearly 6,000 square meters, the German Pavilion is one of the largest at the Shanghai Expo Park and receives about 40,000 visitors each day, according to staff estimates.

"Germany fulfills the theme of the Expo, which is 'Better City, Better Life,' and there are nice ideas from Germany (at the pavilion)," a visitor who requires anonymity said after his tour at the pavilion.

Upon entry to the pavilion's main hall, two virtual narrators Jens and Yan Yan guide the way. In one of the exhibition halls, a conveyor belt-shaped transmission reminds visitors of their visit to a country which is well-known for its delicate machinery.

Fechter said a lot of techniques such as those applied in the sector of water-cleaning and river-cleaning were on display.

"They are already being used or will be used in Germany in the near future. They are all examples of German industry," she said.

The tour to the German Pavilion would culminate in the hall of the metal sphere.

In a dark enclosed hall, a glittering gigantic metal sphere would move back and forth in response to spectators' voice fluctuations.

The sphere, which is 3 meters in diameter, was a new invention from a German university, said Fechter.

Tens of thousands of visitors line up to feel what it is like to drive a 1.23-ton metal ball merely with their voice.

Fechter said the concept of the German Pavilion was not to bring as many people as possible to visit the pavilion.

"We want the visitors of the German Pavilion to feel comfortable. Our measurement will not be pushing people through the pavilion, but to get them relaxed and let them march through if they want to," she said.

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