Irish Expo pavilion holds up well against awesome 'giants'

SHANGHAI LETTER:Those gathered for Ireland's national day at the Expo seemed to get caught up the self-belief and chutzpah that still exist in China

THE ELEGANTLY goose- stepping People’s Liberation Army soldier reverentially raised the Irish Tricolour against the misty white morning sky over the Shanghai Expo. It is Ireland’s national day at the Expo, and it’s a stirring sight to see the green, white and orange juxtaposed beside China’s revolutionary red flag.

A pitch-perfect rendition of Amhrán na bhFiann, then President Mary McAleese and assembled dignitaries gathered for a selection of Irish songs, dancing and music by the jovial Brú Ború ensemble.

Most of the Irish in the audience had seen it the night before at a consulate reception, including the President, but that doesn’t matter. The whole event is conducted against a huge photo backdrop of the Rock of Cashel, complete with scaffolding. Then into a cavalcade of buses – frankly the only way to travel around the site – and on to the Chinese pavilion. Having visited the Expo’s vast precincts the other way – on foot in baking heat without a clue of where to go – the swift carriage via People Carrier was much appreciated.

Expo is the greatest show on Earth with 190 different countries parading their wares for all the world to see, in pavilions ranging from the garishly spectacular to the sullenly muted, with all hues in between, and the character of each building largely depends on the economic circumstances of the originating country.

There are queues the like of which the world has never seen in peacetime.

At the Saudi pavilion, the Moon Boat, a major draw because it looks like a spaceship, there are queues of eight hours to get in every day.

People sprint, literally, from the entrance gates to get into the queue as it can save hours of waiting.

The German pavilion has also proven a strong draw, with its focus on the fact that cities can be quite nice places to live in, a very focused take on the Expo theme of “Better City, Better Life”.

Anyone hoping to get into the Chinese pavilion, by far the biggest at the Expo and one of the few structures that will remain when the six-month event ends on October 31st, needs to have made an appointment back in the last century.

The pavilion, in seven shades of red, is made on traditional lines, using wooden brackets that rest on each other and do not require screws or bolts.

A highlight with the Irish delegation was a video installation based on the Song Dynasty painting Along the River during the Qingming Festival,which is shown in a 49-metre-long hall on a large screen.

Zhang Zeduan’s original version is already five metres long, but clever animation has brought the scene in Kaifeng, China’s capital 900 years ago, to life.

The China pavilion is so awe-inspiring in its scale that the Irish pavilion looks tiny in comparison, but it holds up well, given that it does the same thing, that is, showcases the historical and cultural development of the country, and also gives a forum for closer economic ties.

President McAleese is arriving here after a successful first leg of her China visit, in Beijing, where she met the man who is expected to be the next president of China, Xi Jinping. She strides through the gates which show Ireland’s historical development, enjoys the artistic exhibits on display and meets and greets the Irish community in Shanghai, including singing along charmingly with a group of children singing local songs.

She also sees Brú Ború for the third time in less than 24 hours and shows no obvious signs of fatigue.

Shanghai feels like it has been taken over by the Irish. There are 70 would-be Ernst Young Entrepreneurs of the Year on the prowl in the city, and also a group of Irish film-makers in town to back the two Irish films in competition at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

Neil Jordan's Ondinewas awarded the "Jin Jue", or Golden Goblet, for best cinematography at the festival, the first Irish film to win a gong here.

“The film festival presented a fantastic platform for as many people as possible in Shanghai, and beyond, to see these films and learn a lot more about Ireland,” said Niall O’Reilly, a consultant who basically organised Irish participation in the festival as a labour of love.

The Irish contingent – local expatriates, visiting entrepreneurs, politicos, musicians and film-makers, meet at the reception at the Shangri-La hotel, which is, of course, run by an Irishman.

The gathering is instilled with the confidence and chutzpah that still exist in China, the kind of self-belief that the financial crisis has largely killed off in Ireland and much of the rest of the world.

People are talking about possibilities – a possible factory opening here, a movie co- production there, although without succumbing to the hubris that wrecked the last economic upswing.

For a few seconds you can see a future for Ireland, mapped out against the Shanghai skyline.