Visitors top 1 million at China Pavilion of Dubai Expo

2022-02-04 15:40:00 source：China Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai

On Feb. 3, a family from Sudan visited the China Pavilion of the Dubai Expo, pushing the number of visitors to the pavilion over one million.  

When Arxin and his wife entered the China Pavilion with their three children, they were greeted by applause with words of“Welcome the millionth visitor to the China Pavilion” displayed on a big screen. Director of the China Pavilion Guo Yinghui, and Deputy Directors Zhou Guangyao, Feng Yunlong and Yin Dapeng welcomed the family and gave them commemorative gifts, including tea, silk, Chinese wok, Wukong (Monkey King) robot and gift box of Spring Festival couplets, as well as panda toys and panda badges.  

As the pavilion was celebrating the Chinese New Year, the pavilion staff offered Arxin and his daughters Hanfu (traditional Chinese apparel) to wear and invited them to experience a series of Chinese New Year cultural activities held at the plaza in front of the pavilion.  

The Arxin family first watched dragon and lion dance performances. The God of Wealth played by an actor sent them auspicious wishes and taught them to say“Gong Xi Fa Cai” (wishing you prosperity in Chinese). Then, pavilion Deputy Director Yin Dapeng taught the family to write the Chinese character“Fu” (bliss) and Spring Festival couplets. It was the first time for the Arxin family to write with brush and ink. 

At the century-old Yangzhou Yechun Restaurant in the pavilion, the Arxin family learned to make dumplings, a must-have food for the Chinese people during the Spring Festival. 

The family also visited the exhibitions in the China Pavilion. As a big space fan, Arxin’s eldest son showed great interest in the space-related exhibits. He was familiar with China’s space achievements including the Chang’e-5 lunar probe, Mars probe Tianwen-1, and Beidou Navigation Satellite System. 

Arxin said in an interview that he was lucky and surprised to be the millionth visitor of the China Pavilion, and felt the hospitality of the pavilion when the staff welcomed them. 

Since Jan. 31, the China Pavilion has launched a variety of Spring Festival celebration activities, including live streaming of pandas’ daily life, Hanfu display, Hanfu and music show, and dragon and lion dance performances, creating a festive Chinese New Year atmosphere for the expo. An elephant-related exhibition and the“Chinese characters Tree” at the plaza in front of the pavilion will be on display until March 1, allowing all visitors to feel, experience and understand China through the expo.  

As of Jan. 31, the Dubai Expo had received 11.6 million visitors. Themed“Connecting Minds, Creating the Future,” the expo has become the first expo held since the outbreak of COVID-19 and the first expo held in the Middle East. The expo will conclude on March 31.