France Expo Special: French Pavilion offers stimulation for all the senses
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| Visitors enjoy the painting The Angelus (1857-1859) by Jean-Franois Millet in the French Pavilion. |
The French Pavilion, with its "sensual city" theme, provides pleasures for the senses and examples of the urban good life at the Expo Garden.
"Our pavilion showcases classic French gardens, food, wine and fashion as well as modern urban achievements," said Jose Freches, the French Pavilion's commissioner general.
The futuristic building looks like a white palace floating over a stretch of water. In the pavilion, visitors will find French delicacies, courtyards, clear water, perfumes and old movies, which evoke the charm of France.
When you enter you step into the Versailles Garden, designed by French landscape architects. There are streams, fountains, singing birds and fragrant flowers.
One of the most attractive exhibits on display is the collection of masterpieces from the Orsay Museum with a total value of over seven hundred million euros, including paintings by Cezanne, Van Gogh, Miller, Manet, Bonnard and Gauguin and the sculpture, the Age of Bronze, by Rodin.
"I came to visit French Pavilion purely to see those seven masterpieces. I love art, especially paintings from France," Chen Jiashu, a 19-year old student who majored in art design at the University of Yangzhou, said.
The Louis Vuitton space can be accessed via a replica of Hector Guimard's famous Art Nouveau entrance for the Paris metro. This marks the beginning of a virtual journey through Paris via a state-of-the-art digital projection which plays with perceptions of space, at times seeming to skim the surface of the Seine, at others soaring upwards with the towers of Notre Dame.
In this magical ambiance stars become tiny Monogram flowers, and everywhere there is something new and extraordinary to see. Linking Paris and Shanghai, the tour guide is a Chinese dancer who collects the Monogram flower stars in a Louis Vuitton Bucket bag, then tips them out into a trunk, which explodes in a shower of gold.
"I'm amazed by the luxurious and mysterious design of the exhibit where shinning stars and butterflies lead us to the Louis Vuitton world," Gao Pei, a 22-year old girl from Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, said.
The French restaurant, "6Sens" headed by the Pourcel brothers, both of whom are Michelin two-star chefs is a treat for tourists.
Another attraction for visitors might be the 2010 weddings that can be celebrated within the French Pavilion. At the end of tour, visitors are also able to buy magnolia-scented perfume made especially for the Expo.
"I have to queue at least half an hour to get into the gift shop for the perfume but I still think it's worth waiting. It has a smell of magnolia which represents Shanghai and the noble Chinese sprit," said a lady from Beijing, who bought a few bottles as gifts for her friends.
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