Taiwan to showcase award-winning World Expo pavilion at lantern festival

Taipei, Feb. 4 (CNA) Taiwan's award-winning Tech World Pavilion, which attracted nearly 1.2 million visitors at last year's World Expo in Osaka, will be recreated and unveiled during this year's Taiwan Lantern Festival in Chiayi County, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Wednesday.

The pavilion will be open from March 1 to March 15, starting two days before the Lantern Festival, which runs from March 3 to March 15, organizers said.

Built for the Osaka Expo, the pavilion gained international recognition after its "Life Theater" won a bronze award at the World Expolympics, an international exhibition design competition, last September in the Best Exhibit/Display category and was shortlisted for several other design honors.

Cho said the pavilion is being brought back to Taiwan to give local audiences access to an exhibition linking technology, nature and culture, with Chiayi selected because the pavilion's "Nature Theater" draws inspiration from Yushan and Taiwan's mountainous landscapes.

Because Expo rules require pavilions to be dismantled and recycled after the event, the structure cannot be relocated in full and will instead be recreated using advanced projection and digital reproduction technologies, said Susan Hu (胡啟娟), deputy director general of the International Trade Administration.

According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the pavilion features three immersive zones, including the Life Theater, which highlights Taiwan's ecological resilience through kinetic LED installations, and the Nature Theater, which uses 3D technology to recreate landscapes such as Jiaming Lake.

The third zone, the Future Theater, showcases Taiwan's role in the global semiconductor supply chain using high-resolution Mini LED displays.

Admission will be available via online reservations and on-site queuing, with the booking platform opening at noon on Thursday at https://www.accupass.com/event/2601130444481255256588.

Organizers said the pavilion's return is a one-off exhibition, with a budget of NT$80 million to NT$90 million (US$2.5 million-US$2.8 million) funded by remaining Expo construction funds and government support, adding that there are no plans for a permanent installation.