Part of the pavilion tells the honest tale of Dafen's low paid reproduction artists

We've pointed to a lot of Adam Minter's work before, especially in relation to the Expo, but I think what he's found here has topped it all. For both the Chinese and foreign press the story of the Expo has been mostly architecture and lineup related, with few genuinely exciting pieces produced. Here, Minter has managed to find a deeply moving human interest story, and for anyone looking to find something of the "real" China at Expo 2010 Shanghai, maybe the only must-see pavilion.

The Shenzhen Pavilion, situated in the lonely hinterland of the drably-named Urban Best Practice Area, will certainly surprise you--especially if you've actually been to a few of the other pavilions. As you'd expect, Expo, with its themes of progress, development and family fun for all, puts every country's best face forward (just look at the North Korean pavilion--paradise!), offering visitors pretty sanitized, and usually very optimistic views.

The Shenzhen Pavilion, however, differs immensely from its peers in the forthright, downright poetic approach it takes in representing this young city's arc of development. I'd tell you more, but Adam Minter had done such a good job telling this story that you'll have to skip over to his article
Exquisite Fakes and Real Caesareans: Shenzhen’s Subversive Expo 2010 Pavilion to read it.

More Adam Minter on ChinaTravel.net:

Adam Minter: US Pavilion enriching key organizer? Is that, um, legal?

Will the USA Pavilion showcase American good governance?

Adam Minter: How the US blew it at Shanghai Expo

See Adam Minter's own site: Shanghai Scrap

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