Hong Hao (right), director of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, shakes hands with Manuel Salchli, deputy commissioner general of the Swiss pavilion in the Expo

Hong Hao (right), director of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, and Manuel Salchli, deputy commissioner general of the Swiss pavilion in the Expo, unveils the model of Swiss pavilion.

Switzerland today unveiled the model of its national pavilion for World Expo Shanghai, a pavilion with soybean-fibre coverage and entertaining rooftop cable cars.

The country, famous for its chocolate, watch and natural scenery, revealed its detail plan after signing the participation contract with the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination.

The design, chosen out of the 104 candidates through a world-wide competition, focuses on the sustainable development as well as harmony and balance, which coincide with the Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang.

bird's eye view of the Swiss pavilion

For the 4,000 square meter pavilion, the Swiss government poured 140 million yuan (US$18.52 million) into the project, which is bigger than the budget in Aichi Expo in 2005 and Hanover Expo in 2000.

"This piece of work best shows the characteristics of modern Switzerland -- pursuing excellence, innovation and high-quality life," said Manuel Salchli, deputy commissioner general of the Swiss pavilion in the Expo. "We hope to attract a big percentage of the 70 million visitors to the Expo Shanghai."

The most distinguished feature of the pavilion is the outside curtain, made from degradable soybeans and dye-sensitized solar cells that are capable of generating electricity, introduces Salchli.

The curtain will present an image of forest, which will remind people of the nature, said Salchli. And the fibre of the curtain could be degraded after being disposed in the soil in two week.

layout of Swiss pavilion

The ground floor of the pavilion will have a cinema playing the movies of the scenery in Switzerland, a shopping mall introducing the Swiss products, such as milk, and a small exhibition for visitors when queuing for the main entertaining event -- the cable car.

The cable car will lift visitors from the ground floor, where the exhibition focuses on busy urban life, to the roof, where provides a tranquil space close to the nature and far away from the crowd.

The chairs are low so that people could be close to the rooftop grassland during their 10-minute rooftop trip, said Andreas Brundler, the architect who designed the pavilion.

Sunflowers and dandelions will be planted on the grassland, said the content designer Andreas Hunkeler.

The total capacity for the cable car is 3,500 people per hour, four people in a row and the chairs will be shelters to ensure the operation under the raining weather, said Hunkeler.

The model will tour with the World Expo exhibition, now being held in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, which introduces World Expos to Chinese public, starting from next stop Beijing.

Switzerland, the first country to announce the final design for its pavilion, is the third country to sign the participation contract with the organizers, following Ukraine and Hungary.