The Czech pavilion at Expo wants to be purchased by the Chinese city of Hu-zhou

Prague/Shanghai - The Czech pavilion at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai wants to be purchased by the Chinese city of Huzhou. The city leadership, which has about 2.8 million residents, would like to place the building in a newly constructed urban zone by the lake. Huzhou intends to cover all costs associated with relocation, subsequent construction, maintenance, and further operation of the pavilion, said the Czech Commissioner for participation Pavel Stehlík today in a phone call from Shanghai. Negotiations are still ongoing regarding the exact amount the Czech state will receive for the pavilion.
    The building and its interactive exhibition Fruits of Civilization will continue to promote the Czech Republic even after the world exhibition ends. "A place for it has already been designated in the land use plan. So for us, this is a partner that has taken a number of steps that inspire our trust," Stehlík said about the city hall, with which he has been negotiating the sale for several weeks.
    The leadership of Huzhou, located in the western part of China 160 kilometers from Shanghai, is now constructing a new section near the lake. The large zone is intended to attract tourists, and according to Stehlík, the pavilion should be located at its center.
    With an average of over forty thousand visitors per day, the Czech pavilion hopes to break the attendance record currently held by the Czech national booth from the 1958 Brussels expo with six million visitors. According to the Czech office for Expo 2010, approximately 13 percent of the total number of visitors are flocking to the Czech pavilion.
    The theme of the world exhibition in China is Better City - Better Life. The six-month expo will conclude in October. The government has allocated around half a billion crowns for Czech participation. According to earlier information, selling the pavilion could potentially reimburse the costs of its construction and presentation amounting to 170 million crowns.
    Among the main attractions of the Czech exhibition are reliefs from under the statue of St. John of Nepomuk, which were brought as a symbol of luck from Charles Bridge. After the exhibition ends, the plaques will return to it. However, other exhibits are also attracting the Chinese, such as a kaleidoscope representing Czech wonders or a giant golden tear that is part of an installation for creating perfumes based on the visitor's emotions.